Talking Derby to DNN: Claire D. Way, Boston Captain

By MercyLess, Last updated Sun Jul 19 2009 1:51am

In the days after the Texas Rollergirls' top-ten marathon weekend, DNN's Mercy Less interviewed representatives of each participating team for their reflections on the bouts. In the fourth and final interview, Mercy talks with Boston captain Claire D. Way.

DNN: How did you prepare your team for your bout against the Texecutioners?

Claire: Basically, leading up to it, we had been playing a really hard season for us. Last year we played a lot of teams that were below us, and this year we really wanted to step it up and play some of the top teams in derby. We played Gotham, we've played Philly, we had some really difficult games. We've just been learning from our mistakes as we go. Each game our weaknesses get revealed.

From that point on, from one bout, when we see what's revealed, to the next bout, we go back and really try to concentrate on what was revealed as our biggest weaknesses. And for us it was our power jams, so we spent a lot of time in practice working on the power jams, and how to be more successful at that.

DNN: What was your feeling about your team's performance going into this game? What were your expectations?

Claire: I was expecting it to be a really difficult and challenging game, but I was really ready and excited for it. Texas was the first team in modern flat track roller derby, and I was really considering it a true honor to take the track against them on my own turf.

DNN: What were the keys for Boston's success in this game?

Claire: We went into the into the game being like, "It doesn't matter if we win this game, or if we lose this game, we're going to win either way with the experience that we walk away from this with." I feel like that was really important for us, that we weren't fixated on "Oh, we really have to win this bout."

We were just like, "We're gonna go out there, we're gonna play roller derby, we're gonna leave everything we have out there on the track. No matter what the result is, it's going to be really awesome and great and beneficial for us." Then the next time we hit the track we're going to be better and stronger.

DNN: What kind of bench discussions were you having, throughout the game?

Claire: Generally our bench, historically, has been intense, for some reason it was the calmest experience I've had with my team on the bench. Even though it was certainly one of our toughest games that we've had this season. I feel like every game we're maturing a little bit more, and we're able to let the little things roll off our backs more and more.

In our conversations we try to focus on what we can do, to better ourselves, as opposed to what the other team is doing well. We try to talk about ourselves more than the other team. I would definitely say that the mood of the bench was more focused than it has been all season. I think it was partly because we weren't so  focused on winning, that we were able to be more focused on our game, and just being who we are as skaters, without stressing out.

DNN: What was the biggest challenge in this game for your team?

Claire: They had really, really intense defense. I think we had a little bit of trouble with our offense. Texas is just really solid all around. It was hard to find any weakness in their team, at all, to exploit.

DNN: What was the best moment of this game for you personally?

Claire: For me, I jam exclusively, and I didn't feel like I scored so many points (I haven't seen the stats yet), but I think that I did  a really good job of chasing down their jammers. I would get out of the pack a second behind their jammers, and I think I did a really good job chasing the opposing jammer and making her call it off.

I think that for me a good thing was that I was able to bring my speed, that I usually have at practice, into game play. For some reason I have trouble bringing my intensity that I have in practice to bouts. Which I feel like, for a lot of people, it's the opposite. But for me, I've had trouble bringing the skater that I am in practice to bouts. I feel like I was really able to make that seamless transition...

DNN: What was the best moment for your team, as captain?

Claire: Just to see that everything that we had been working on and talking about at practice was being executed, the way we were talking about executing things. That we just had this unspoken communication, because we really knew what one another was thinking without saying anything at all. It was really awesome to see that happening at such a high level.

DNN: If you could give out 3 MVPs to anyone on Boston for this game, who would they be, and why? On the Texecutioners?

Claire: It's really hard. I would probably have to say Lois Carmen Dominator from my team, I thought she really did an amazing job booty blocking this game. She had had some self-doubt for a little while, she thought she was off her game for a little while. I thought that she really brought her full range of skills to this bout, and I was really proud of her. To see her get over her problems that I didn't think she was having, but she thought she was having. It was really gratifying to see her overcome that from her personal point of view.

For Texas, I was really impressed by all their jammers, and their speed. For me, I'm also a jammer, that's the first thing that I look at. Rice Rocket - I think she really did an excellent job jamming. Her speed was really impressive.

DNN: What advice would you give other teams that are entering such high level competition, or considering taking on a team that tough?

Claire: Never give up! (laughs) I know it sounds cheesy, 'don't give up', but believe in yourself, and know that you can rely on your teammates. Know that you can rely on yourself. I feel like that really, truly goes a long way. If you have confidence in yourself, that just radiates.

DNN: How is your team feeling coming out of this game, and heading into ECE?

Claire: We are feeling very, very, very excited! I don't think we could be much prouder. I mean, yes, we lost, but from our perspective, we're really not looking at it as a loss. In our opinion we held our own, and proved ourselves. We feel like we've been the underdogs in the derby world for awhile, and I feel like we proved to ourselves in this bout that we are a team to be taken really seriously, after some tough competition.

DNN: What are your predictions for Boston for tournament season this year?

Claire: I know that we're gonna go out there and play one game at a time. One jam at a time. One jam at a time is our team motto. We really try to just focus on the moment that we're living in, and forget about everything that's happened before, not fixate on what's to come. We really are a team that tries to live in the moment. Come tournament season we're just going to try to take it one step at a time, and not overlook anything. Absorb it all, and do the best we can.

Photo 2: Erin Caruso
Homepage photo: Kris Ireland