Skater Spotlight: Sly Foxx

This skater spotlight is on Sly Foxx, co-captain of your Fight Crew!

LADD: What is the story behind your derby name and number?

 SF: I have an unhealthy fascination with Guy Fawkes, and my cousin actually came up with Sly Fawkes when I was struggling to come up with something clever. My number is 115, "Remember Remember the 5th of November!" Tragically there was a neighboring league who had a skater with the name Gay Fawkes and there was no way I would get my name approved. I'm not sure if you know this, but coming up with a clever and original derby name is both time consuming and exhausting, so at that point I was like screw it, Sly Foxx it is, I had a Baby Doll Brawl and not dying to worry about.

LADD: In addition to being co-captain of Fight Crew, have you held other positions within the league (e.g., committees/groups)?

SF: Oh god. I have been the co-head of Fresh Meat, a Fresh Meat Mama, a Ri-Ette, I was a member of our RaD team for a while… Currently, alongside co-captaining Fight Crew, I am co-head of our Training Team, on the Executive Committee, and a full time derby cheerleader. It's hard to not throw yourself head first into this league.

LADD:  You mentioned Training Team... Could you see yourself becoming a coach later?

SF: Absolutely! I am going to keep skating as long as my legs don't give out, but that would be my next move after retiring. I was able to bench coach a couple Jr. Fight Crew bouts and a Baby Doll Brawl one season and I caught the bug! It's awesome to be part of that experience for younger and newer skaters and watching them grow.

LADD: How did you feel about working with the Fresh Meat?

SF: Fresh Meat was everything for me. I walked into an open tryout in full hair and makeup like it was an audition - what a mistake that was. Derby was really scary for me at first and there were a few times that I thought maybe it wasn't for me. I was so terrified of hitting and getting hit to the point that in my very first bout my coaches didn't block me once, which NEVER happens - I was that bad! But through and through I stuck with it and made some incredible friendships and had a lot of love and mentors along the way. I was very loved through Fresh Meat.

That's eventually what made me want to step up and help run the program - roller derby is hard on the body and soul and sometimes you just need someone in your corner telling you you're doing the right thing and to keep trucking.

LADD: Do you have a derby hero? Who has been most influential in your derby career?

 SF: Hands down that would be Haught Wheels, or H-Dubs, or Mommy. She has always been someone I aspire to be like, not just in derby, but as a real life adult. She is an extraordinary teacher and has this way of explaining life and derby to me that just gives me hope regardless of the situation. I feel especially lucky to call her one of my closest friends, but she is much more than that - she is a friend, a nurturer, a therapist, a confidant, a mentor, and one bad ass derby skater. I don't want to brag, but I have a key to her house.

LADD: Did you have any skating experience prior to coming to LADD?

 SF: I was a roller figure skater from the time I could walk, and I got about 20 years worth of experience leading up to derby. I was on a precision team for about 10 years, which is like synchronized swimming on roller skates - it's really beautiful to watch and incredibly difficult and rewarding to get 20 people skating in unison to music and choreography. When I was 22 my figure skating coach got the opportunity of a lifetime to move across the world and at that time I felt it be best for me to move on too. I feel incredibly fortunate that I found LADD within six months of retiring from figure skating because I was having a really hard time coping with not being on wheels.

LADD:  Have any of your roller figure skating friends seen you play roller derby?  Did any of them want to give it a try?

SF: I actually found out about LADD through a roller figure skating friend. Four of us tried out and we all made it! Unfortunately it ended up not being for the others and they moved on to other hobbies. Although a lot of the skills transcend from figure skating into derby, you have to be able to get laid out and not take it personally - something I also struggled with in the beginning. I continue to act as a derby recruiter though. I'm constantly trying to get friends and family to give it a go!

LADD: Fight Crew recently drafted two new skaters in Pip Girl and Die Fledermauz.  How much of a role did you have in the draft process and why did the team select these two skaters?

 SF: Fight Crew is an incredible team in the sense that everyone's voice is heard. We discussed for several months on what we needed to strive this season and our team gave their full support that Rebel and I would bring home the gold - and I am very confident we did. Pip and Mauzer just get roller derby, they understand strategy and know their strengths, you can't instill that confidence in someone - it's there or it's not. They are exactly what we need: they're incredibly smart, positive, not to mention they're sturdy as fuck… can I say fuck?

LADD: What are the Fight Crew fans like?  Tell us a story about a memorable fan experience.

 SF: Fight Crew by far has the best fans - they are a special breed. They support us at our best and our worst and are always there when we need them. They're just good people. We have this one fan, David Bickford, or as I like to call him Mr. Bickford, Bickman, Crystal Bick, or Webster's Bicktionary, and he is just one of a kind. He is supportive to the entire derby community and shows up to almost every bout, always with a smile and kind words, regardless of the outcome. Fight Crew started a fundraiser a couple years ago to raise money for new uniforms because we pay for most of our gear out of pocket, and Mr. Bickford funded my entire uniform for me, which I can never thank him enough for. His name is actually printed on the inside of my jersey!

LADD: How do you feel about flat track roller derby?

 SF: I have a huge respect for flat track, it's like patting your head and rubbing your belly and roller skating and writing a novel and teaching physics all at the same time. It's just not for me though - I like to fly.

LADD: When you are not skating, what do you do for fun?

 SF: Wait, when am I not skating?! I am on a trivia team, which I take just as seriously as derby - we are the Little Urban Achievers and we have shirts - I'm Bunny. I also love spending time with my family and my dog, eating at new restaurants, going on adventures with friends, the usual I suppose.

LADD: Do you have a derby wife?  

 SF: I'm not a huge believer in the derby wife thing -mostly because I despise the word "wifey". I'm all about derby relatives though, so I'm pretty sure that makes me a hypocrite. Fight Crew + a handful of others are my sisters, I have 4 derby children that I have been a total deadbeat mom to, and I have 2 derby moms - Skeev Jobs and Haught Wheels. All of these people have helped nurture the woman you see today.

LADD: Who are your derby children? Do you have to pay derby child support?

 SF: My derby children are Fresh Meat skaters who I choose to mentor when they come into the program, usually because I see some similarities between us or because I feel like I can help them get to where they want to be. Back when I was co-head of the program it was really easy to keep tabs on them because I was there ALL THE TIME, but now that I am just their trainer I don't get to see them as often. I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew sometimes so I haven't been the best mother to some of them recently, but they have grown into beautiful skaters just the same. I would consider my derby child support the knowledge I bestow upon them :) and the fact that I lose my voice just about every time I watch them skate - man, they're good!

LADD: Two years ago, Fight Crew and the Tough Cookies battled it out in the Championship game.  This year, both teams are searching for their first win.  What is the atmosphere like in the Fight Crew locker room leading up to this game against the Cookies?

 SF: We just have to remember to play our game and to never go into a situation thinking we have it in the bag. Fight Crew and Tough Cookies are pretty neck and neck this season, so regardless of the outcome both teams are going to have to work at 110%. I am so proud of my team this season, with the move and the league evolving into this completely new structure and lives changing drastically, we have stuck it out together. All I ever want for Fight Crew is for them to feel like proud and capable athletes and teammates, because they are. I know every captain feels this way about their teammates, but win or lose I am so proud and fortunate to call those women my family.