Talking Derby to DNN: Desi Cration, Texecutioners Co-Captain
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 first of four interviews, Mercy talks with Texecutioners co-captain Desi Cration.
DNN: How did you prepare your team for the bout against Gotham?
Desi: A whole bunch of hard work. We’ve added in some extra workouts. A lot of it was just coming together as a team and really stepping up as far as knowing that there is just a whole bunch of competition out there. In order to stay with the best, you’ve gotta train like crazy.
DNN: What was your feeling about your team’s performance going into this gigantic weekend? Did you have expectations?
Desi: We had expectations to do our best. I don’t know that there was really a clear, defined answer to that. Of course we want to win, but what we wanted coming into this weekend was to have the experience, and to play against three fantastic teams, and really getting some good competition to play against. I think we really did everything we intended to do, just by coming out there, playing under the new ruleset, playing against teams that we haven’t played against. Doing all those things really was our biggest accomplishment.
DNN: What would you say was the most challenging thing about each game for your team?
Desi: (laughs) Sleep deprivation by the end of the weekend! Both nights when we got there, we didn’t get in until after 2:00 am. Other than that – that was a major thing – but it did represent what happens in tournaments, not getting enough sleep.
Gotham being the first one, we were most looking forward to, and had really high expectations of that game, and knew that it was going to be fast-paced and against the best in the country. They proved themselves at Nationals, their team is so deep, and they work like such a well-oiled machine. That was kind of a difficult part, in that you can’t take out one player, you have to take out an entire team when you try to work with Gotham. So understanding their team play was probably the most difficult thing about Gotham.
Archived DNN Boutcast - video and text
Playing against Charm City, playing in an environment where it wasn’t an actual public bout, so there was no production, was quite difficult. Not to mention we were going up against the likes of Flo Shizzle and Dolly Rocket, Joy Collision – I mean, we really had our hands full with quite a few of their skaters. The fact that it was in a non-prodcution environment.
Archived DNN Boutcast - text
DNN: The closed doors bout…do you feel like that made it different?
Desi: It was very interesting…other than the fact that the game was as fierce and competitive as it was, the atmosphere was just off. It didn’t change the game play, but it changed your perception of it. I don’t know if that makes sense. It was also 11:00 am, and that’s not really the time of day that anyone’s used to playing a sanctioned bout. So that did influence things – it made it a little bit confusing.
DNN: I imagined that it must be sort of weird not to have that instant feedback of crowd response…I was curious to hear if it felt different.
Desi: It absolutely felt different. But I think it’s going to become more and more the way things go. Just a huge thanks to Boston for even allowing this to happen! You know, two teams playing on difficult turf on a Saturday morning – not really the norm.
DNN: And what was challenging about the Boston game?
Desi: Well at that point we were going into our third game. Our first whistle from the Gotham game was at 8:15 Friday night, and our last whistle for the Boston game was 9:15 on Saturday night. So by the time we got there, we had been playing a lot. Which is the case in any tournament, but we also had the extra driving in between from one city to the next, which added that extra element.
Boston as a team – man do they have some fans…Harley Quinn was trying to explain to us that we needed to stick to the schedule, because they actually end up shutting down areas for the audience to go because they’ve had incidents with refs there. That made it interesting! But the game – there were a few players that we didn’t know, but for the most part, I don’t believe Texas has played Boston, at least in what I can remember.
The game itself – it was really a point where we needed to come together as a team and start to rely on each other. It’s not home where you’re playing fresh in front of friends and family in the audience. It’s that time when you come together as a team, and lean on each other. We just suck it up and know that at least after the afterparty, you don’t need anything left with that kind of energy. You gotta get through that, though, too.
Archived DNN Boutcast - audio and text
DNN: What was the best moment of each game for you, personally?
Desi: They honestly kind of blur together after skating for, like, 25 hours total. With Gotham it was honestly just the overall feeling at the end of the game. I think that was the most awesome moment for me. That was one of the best games that I personally had skated in. And just that feeling of having high level competition – there wasn’t any chatty back and forth – everything that happened was positions, it was just such a well-run game. I loved that.
In the Charm City bout, knowing that one girl hadn’t split her head open – that was good. That doesn’t have to do with the game. There are some wicked little corners on that Boston floor!
The Boston game, at the end, the feeling of the completion of the weekend. I feel that that was just such a fantastic feeling at the end – everything that I remember of the weekend was of the team working so well together, coming together. I don’t remember just one moment – this play or that play – it really was just seeing every skater performing her best and doing what needed to be done.
DNN: What were the keys to the Texecutioners competing successfully throughout all three of these really competitive games?
Desi: Working together, stepping up and working really hard.
DNN: Can you tell me a little about your training? Did you work on endurance, did you work on strategy, teamwork?
Desi: It was yes, yes and yes! We also started adding a new component. We have a fantastic new coach and she runs us ragged. It’s fantastic! She does a running workout where we scale some stairs that I didn’t know could be scaled before. We get done running the stairs, we go down to the bottom, and we do that over and over and over. As soon as you feel like you’re going to throw up, just do it quietly, and get back out there when you’re done throwing up!
DNN: What kind of bench talk was going on during these bouts?
Desi: Mostly it was just a reminder for everybody to play together. Play as a team, and really center on your teammates. Just working together. We’re noticing it’s about individuals very much on the level of playing as a team. There was a lot of stressing, "you help me out when I need it, and I’ll be there when you need it." It was a lot of players saying, "when you do this, I’ll do this." How to bring it together, and how to not get caught up in a moment, but to look at the game overall.
DNN: If you could give out multiple MVPs to anyone on all of the teams you played, who would they be, and why?
Desi: Personally I think that [Gotham Girl] Kandy Kakes is just an amazing front of the pack player. I think that she is fearsome up there, and is just so tiny at the same time. I really admire her. Charm City – Joy Collision has some…she’s just so fierce out there, and, again, she’s such a little thing! When she has her eye on the prize, she goes for it.
From Boston, the one that really stuck out to me overall, and really made this weekend happen was Harley Quinn. Not only did she play amazing on the track, but she was the most amazing hostess, and represented for her league, in making the entire trip happen when we were in Boston, between the Charm City game and the Boston game.
And for that matter as well, Connecticut, there were a couple of girls from Connecticut who really, really stepped up and made that bout happen. It was just a big showing of the sisterhood of derby – allowing other teams to come in and play at your home, even if your team isn’t the only one that’s playing.
DNN: If you could give out MVPs for the weekend to the Texecutioners, who would you give them to, and why?
Desi: One person that never ceases to amaze me is Lucille Brawl. Just a fantastic skater, a fantastic person to work with, and a real eye for the game. I would say Olivia Shootin John also really came through in every situation and just jammed her little heart out. Bullet Tooth Tracey was awarded one of the MVPs, I believe from the Gotham game, she’s just amazing!
DNN: I know, I miss her!
Desi: I know, as sorry as I am that she’s not there [in Albuquerque], I’m so happy she’s in Texas! I like skating with her rather than against her! There were quite a few girls that stepped up and really made the games their own. Another one that comes to mind is Shank. She also kind of came into her groove this weekend. And I’m so sorry if I forget anyone. It was such a rush for the entire weekend.
It would be everyone that was back home, as well, because it wouldn’t be without our league, and all the people that push us, that help us. Even the girls that train with us that aren’t on the Texecutioners. They all really pushed us to get us to the weekend. What we did over the weekend was, by no small stretch, because of what they did when we were at home.
DNN: You came closer to beating Gotham than anyone has in recent history. What lessons are you taking home from this game?
Desi: Just playing against some of the best girls, that you look up to, and with the girls that you train next to, and seeing them step up. Knowing that playing against the best makes you better. We’re going to take what we learned this weekend, and put it to what really matters, next fall. At Regionals, and Nationals, hopefully.
DNN: There’s been lots of speculation online about the brilliance of your choices in competition this season, this weekend in particular. People have speculated that you’ve very carefully chosen teams that you might meet at Nationals. Is there any truth to that speculation?
Desi: Sometimes things just happen, and they fall into your lap. It was a weekend that just kind of opened up. We hadn’t originally signed up to play Gotham, that just opened up as a possibility. We had been planning on playing against Boston, and that was in the works, and then they offered us an opportunity to play another team by opening up their location. It worked out wonderfully because we got some amazing teams in there, a chance to try out everything that we have, and play against some of the best skaters in the country. Was it all orchestrated? Gosh…no. But wouldn’t we look smart if it was? The weekend just kind of took on a twist of it’s own.
DNN: How is your team feeling coming out of this incredibly competitive and exciting weekend?
Desi: They feel like they played very competitively and excitedly? They feel fantastic – it’s a good feeling knowing that hard work pays off! We also had a chance to play with the rules, and know that they were working to our benefit. Working with the rules, as they change, is always a difficult thing, especially in a high-level situation. So the chance to play with so many different refs, and improve on things that we’ve not done well in the past…our penalties have always been a problem for us, and we had a bit more of a handle on them this weekend.
DNN: What advice would you give other ambitious teams in the lower ranks who hope to compete at your level one day?
Desi: Train hard, train hard, train hard. Always be looking for the next team to play, it doesn’t matter who you play – there’s something to learn from every game. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the number one team, or a team that just started out. You learn every time you get on the track, you learn in every amazingly reffed situation, in every horribly reffed ituation. You learn about yourself, you learn about your team, and you learn about your play together. (We did have very good reffing this weekend).
DNN: What is next for the Texecutioners?
Desi: I think we’ve got one weekend off, and then it’s right back to it again. No rest for the weary – right back on it. We’re going to be back on our regular league practices, as well as the Texecutioner practices, and everywhere in between. No change right now, just right back on it.
DNN: Anything that you’re looking forward to?
Desi: We have our home teams playing weekend after next, and then the week after that, then in a month we play Bay Area, they’re coming to play against us in September, in Austin. They’re such good girls – I can’t wait to play against them. Although right now, I’m here on the coast, and I don’t know why they’d come inland! It’s gorgeous out here!
Photos: Kerry McClain
Comments
Have to agree...
As one of the refs for Charm City/Texas, I have to agree with what Desi said about the atmosphere. The time of day and lack of audience didn't really faze me; I've reffed several closed interleague scrimmages at similarly early hours. But combined with the long drive from Baltimore, the challenges of reffing in an unfamiliar environment, the stripped-down bout production, and the fact that Texas still had another game to play that day, it all made for an unusual bout experience. The formal scrimmages mentioned earlier were like seeing a big arena band play a coffeehouse. Knowing that this was the real thing made it feel more like a pre-show soundcheck...no elaborate stage lighting, no lighters in the air, no fans singing along. I never realized how important that is until it wasn't there. Having said that, it was an amazing bout, and I'm really glad I got the chance to witness and take part in it. I'm also really glad that Boston was so gracious in extending that opportunity. That's derby love at its best.
recent history
Philly has come the closest to beating Gotham (by 5 points) but that was in October, so I guess recent history is relative.
10/11/08 Derby in Dairyland 2008 Visitor 96 Philly Roller Girls 91 5
Holly Gohardly
Charm City Roller Girls
Yes, recent history means this year.
I do personally consider 2009 games "recent history" and games played in 2008 less relevant, for clarity.
I <3 TX
That is all.
seconded.
See photos from last June's bout in Boston: Texas vs CCRG