In Play Learning..

This is for EVERYONE::: WATCH THIS VIDEO
Step 1
Watch the following video: "Roller derby: Lock-in game 4"
After watching it, jot down a couple of observations that you made. Did you understand what was going on? Did it feel chaotic? Did you notice specific moves or strategies that you want to try yourself? Did you feel like the teams were evenly matched? Were there players that stood out to you as being really good?

POINTS TO LOOK FOR>>>

01:05 In the first jam, the white jammer (WJ) takes the cookie (meaning, as she gets to the pack for her initial pass she tries to take the outside). The black jammer (BJ) decides on an alternate route THROUGH the pack. Who comes out of the pack first?

01:38 The BJ comes speeding (easily) through a loose pack and she's calling off the jam right as she enters the pack. Why is she doing this instead of waiting until she has passed all the white blockers (WB)? Because (we can assume) the WJ is right behind her and the BJ wants to score before calling off the jam but she also wants to keep the WJ from scoring (that's right, you ARE allowed call off the jam in the middle of the pack). Because you score points until the end of the FOURTH whistle the BJ can still score points for the WBs that she passes while the jam ref is whistling, and hopefully the WJ will not have passed any black blockers (BB) before the end of the fourth whistle (the BBs can help this by speeding up when the whistle starts to blow). In addition, as soon as the BJ passes one WB she instantly is awarded points for all the WBs in the penalty box ("ghost points") and/or outside the engagement zone; in this video it looks like there is 1 additional point for the BJ to gain. Right before the BJ gets into the pack you can hear someone in the background yelling "white to the front!" This is because the BJ is coming first, and because of the risk of ghost points. Think about it: When the back of the pack is all BBs and BJ enters first with a WJ following close behind, the WJ might actually score a point or two before the BJ even gets to the front of the pack to pass even one of the WBs. What do you think that the BJ should have done if the WJ was right on her tail and the back of the pack had been all BBs? What if it was all WBs? At what point should the BJ call off the jam?

02:38 Observe how low the WJ is as she cannonballs past some of the BBs. Is it effective? Do you think that it would be easy to notice/block someone that low?

02:50 Watch the WB with the neon green number on her shirt. She blocks a BB out of bounds and then she manages to get the rest of the WBs to slow down and essentially trap the BB once she returns in-bounds. The other BBs are still speeding to get the WJ but it only takes a few seconds for them to get more than 20 feet ahead of the pack. Because the pack is defined as "the largest group of Blockers, skating in proximity, containing members from both teams" the pack in this instance is all the WBs and the one trapped BB. This means that the BBs ahead of the pack have to let the WJ go so as not to receive out of play penalties. What are some situations where you think that repeating the WB's action would be an effective strategy? In what situations would it be a bad idea to trap a player from the opposing team and slow down the pack?

03:50 At this moment you see all the WBs get down on one knee before the whistle blows. Why are they doing this? Because skaters can only be considered part of the pack when they are upright and skating. Because a pack is the largest group of skaters from both teams, if there are no white skaters that can be considered part of the pack then there is effectually no pack at all. When the pack whistle blows, if there is no pack, then the jam whistle must be blown immediately. The action of creating a no pack situation before the pack whistle blows therefore effectively forces the jam whistle. Who does this strategy help? When do you think that this would be a smart strategy to put into play? What is the black team's bench coach yelling at his skaters when he notices what the white team is doing? Why do you think he is suggesting that particular counter-strategy?

05:38 BB #333 sees the WJ getting an arm whip from a teammate on the outside of the pack and she speeds along the inside line to then swiftly cut across and block the WJ. What do you think the BB's thought process was that lead up to this action? Where on the track do you think the WB should have given the WJ a whip to make it more difficult for the BB to block it?

06:20 Observe the WJ: She gets into a cannonball to go under two blockers arms and then pops back up and keeps skating. When do you think that you could use a move like this? When (if ever) do you think that a blocker could take advantage of a maneuver like it?

06:50 WBs make a wall at the front to block the BJ, how do the BBs destroy the wall? One BB gets the inside line and manages to push the whole wall to the side, opening up a hole on the inside for an agile jammer. A few seconds later the BB almost repeats this motion again. Why do you think that it is so important to firmly hold the inside line at all times? To look around you all the time? How does the jammer benefit from having the inside line opened up rather than the outside?

08:50 BB #180 unsuccessfully pushes her teammate into the WJ. What do we learn from this? It is crucial to always skate low so that it's not easy to get knocked down when a teammate pushes you, it's important to always communicate with your teammates so that they know if they are about to get pushed and they can brace themselves, and it's important that when you do push a teammate that you push the hips and NOT the shoulders so that it's not as easy for her to tumble over.

09:05 The WJ is in the box and BB #180 knocks a WB to the inside of the track and then successfully gets her teammates to stop, slowing the pack to a crawl. Why is she doing this? Who does it help? When should they stop skating that slowly?

PART 3

Step 3
Watch the video all the way through again, from beginning to end. Now do you feel like you have a better understanding of what's going on? Did it feel less chaotic? Answer the same questions that you answered after watching it the first time. Write down what you think worked, what didn't work, what would you want to try yourself, what strategies did you learn (if any), etc. Take the time to really thoroughly observe and get yourself involved with the game you are watching. Being an active viewer can really help you become a better player.