Love. Derby Style.

If you’re looking for the perfect place to take your special little honey bear this pre-valentines weekend, then look no further! The Roller Dames are playing a bout, just for you, Saturday, February 11! And while I’m giving advice, you probably should stop calling your boyfriend Honey Bear in public, it’s embarrassing. We are taking on the Oskaloosa Mayhem Girls (henceforth OMG) at Long Lines (which now serves booze!) at 7 pm, with shenanigans to follow at Dalton’s Office. And don’t forget to treat your sweetie to some Dames-approved valentines goodies, which will be available at the bout! They’re sweet and just a little salty, like a dame after a hard bout….ugh, that’s disgusting, never mind, the candy is not like a roller dame at all, it’s good, clean and smells delightful.

Tickets are available at Dalton’s Office, Knoepfler Chevrolet and Kinetico of Siouxland or from your friendly neighborhood dame.

Derby Mentality by PBR

Roller Derby mentality is a topic not always touched on, however is a huge part of the game on and off the track. By definition, mentality is the “mode or way of thought , outlook,” which can really play into a person’s performance more than one may realize. We all want to be winners and the best but sometimes the cards are not dealt that way. However with a POSITIVE derby mentality, anything is possible!

This positive thought process is a good tactic across the board for anyone! A coach who pushes their team with positive reinforcement versus constantly pushing negatively will see a better result within their league, the team captain that positively motivates themselves and their teammates will see a higher team morale and more drive coming from each and every person on the team. Moral of the story is that anything is possible with positive thinking! No matter how good you are we all have improvements that we can make, goals we would like to achieve, and opportunities to help fellow skate mates. If more of these things were met with a positive outlook, more positive outcomes would happen!

One of the most common feelings I hear about in derby is frustration. Individuals verbalize not being able to do something like someone else can, that they seem to be lacking that edge that they desire or that they just can’t do something, leading to frustration. Let me break it down for you: Frustration is a waste of your time folks! Whatever the source may be, take that frustration and use it as a launching tool for positive improvement. You can do anything you set you mind to as long as you don’t get in your own way! Knocking your morale down or thinking negatively will get you nowhere! Rather, look at how much you have accomplished thus far in your own personal game and know that nothing is as easy as others may make it look. Never compare your game to someone else’s because at the end of the day it is only your game you can control! We all entered and roll on that track in different ways, some with years of skating under their belts and others lacing up for the first time. We are all here because we know that roller derby is were we belong and we are all in this together. Remember that everything takes hard work, practice and time!