Skater Spotlight: Napollyanna Dynomight

Mighty is a skater with the Varsity Brawlers, and she helps with training and coaching the LA Junior Derby Dolls.  The Junior Derby Dolls have a game this Saturday!

LADD: How long have you been coaching the juniors?

ND: I started assisting Sunday morning classes back in 2012. I’ve been working with them in various capacities ever since - whether teaching those classes when the instructor retired, jam reffing (non VB) games, coaching junior VB (for two straight years of Champs trophies!) or coaching the pink and black teams this season. 

LADD: Roller derby is a time-consuming sport as just a team skater.  What drives you to coach and work with the juniors as well?

ND: The juniors themselves! They are great girls!

LADD: What is the most rewarding aspect of coaching junior roller derby?

ND: I love when coaching a game and the girls take the goal that we’ve set and execute it better and better throughout the game. As the coach, it’s on me to figure out what is the most appropriate goal for where the girls are at skill and strategy-wise. To do that and then have the girls come through is a pretty exhilarating experience. 

LADD: In your day job, you're a teacher.  Do you find that background helpful when coaching juniors? 

ND: My day job totally helps me when coaching! I use the same strategies and methods for instructing my students as I do when I work with the junior skaters. I’ve even had the privilege to teach some of my 7th grade English students in roller derby- I think I might be more excited by that than they are; hard to tell. ;)

LADD: What challenges does a coach face that are unique when working with junior skaters as opposed to adults?

ND: In juniors games, there are two level sets of skaters. So we’ll have one pack be advanced girls and the next pack be beginning/intermediates. Adult skaters on teams are all at the same basic level of proficiency. So when coaching the juniors, I need to alter my strategies and goals depending on which group is skating. Roller derby is a fast enough game already, and having to switch gears every other jam is demanding. But I love the challenge!

LADD: Do the juniors also skate flat track roller derby?  Do they like it, or do they prefer to stick to banked track roller derby?

ND: Oh banked track all the way! It’s almost like an amusement park ride- who wouldn’t want to skate that?! 

LADD: What is it like working with parents of junior skaters?

ND: I love when the parents and I can both share in the delight of seeing their daughter grow and develop. I’ve had numerous conversations with different parents all with the same experience of having their daughter blossom in all sorts of ways once she started skating- confidence grows, friendships develop, and even though she will fall a million times, she will get back up each and every time- a great life lesson for anyone!

LADD: What would you say to a parent who is considering enrolling their daughter in the junior roller derby program?  What if a parent has a son, aged 7-17 who wants to play roller derby as well?

ND: Sign her up! And sons can find their place in the derby community as a referee! 

LADD: If a parent is looking for more information on the junior league, where should they go?

ND: The website: juniors.derbydolls.com

LADD: Share with us a secret that few people know about you.

ND: Benjamin Moore is one of my best friends. I love painting my apartment! If I wasn’t a teacher, I might just have been an interior designer. It brings me great joy to have an idea for a space and then make it a reality. 

LADD: The Varsity Brawlers just won a close game against the Fight Crew to move into a tie for first place with the defending champion Sirens.  What is the mood in the Varsity Brawlers locker room right now?  Is this the year the team will win their first championship?

ND: VB has worked incredibly hard to get where we’re at. We are proud that the hard work has paid off so far, but it no way means that we rest easy. With each team playing each other twice this season, we have to keep busting our tails each and every practice. And, yes we are going to win Champs! 

LADD: Are you a part of any groups or committees within the league, aside from the juniors program?

ND: I am part of Training Team. I just can’t help that teacher in me!