KC Derby Digest‘s featured Roller Warrior for the month of April is Track Rat!

Name: Track Rat
Team: The Victory Vixens
Number: 69

Position(s): Jammer
“Although I like to pretend that I know what I’m doing as a blocker, and I can sometimes convince myself that I am taking care of business….until I get to the bench and people are laughing hysterically at me and my lack of blocker skills.”

How she discovered KCRW:
“I was given a pair of tickets for my birthday and fell in love instantly. I will never forget my first time watching Snot Rocket jam, my mouth hanging wide open, I turned to my friend and said, ‘I have to do this.’ Six months later, I was drafted to the Victory Vixens and the rest is history!!”

Origin of her derby name:
“My derby name is based on my nickname growing up. My initials are R.A.T., so my family has called me Rat for as long as I can remember. I went with the name Track Rat because I thought it described me pretty well — a race car that isn’t the prettiest thing in the world, rough around the edges, no bells and whistles, beat all to H.E. double-hockey-sticks and back, but it’s fast and gets the job done.”

Favorite derby moment:
“My favorite derby moment is actually a group of moments — it’s any time I am skating in front of our fans at Municipal. When something awesome happens and the entire crowd goes completely nuts — a big hit, or a jammer does some cool move — to be out on the track and hear the reaction of the fans, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world. They may be cheering for something the team I’m playing did, it doesn’t matter, it still gives me goosebumps to know the fans are engaged and connected to us as skaters, it’s both humbling and empowering at the same time — which is why it’s so incredible!”

Favorite skater:
“Kelley Young, hands down. She is one of the best jammers in the country/world, but would never let you know it if you didn’t already. So many players get an ego that outshines their skating abilities, but Kelley’s lack [of ego] is a reminder to me (and countless others) that your skating can speak volumes so your mouth doesn’t have to.”

Derby philosophy:
“There are so many quotes, mantras and other feel-good reminders about the Dos and Don’ts of roller derby that it’s hard to choose just one! I think the one that applies most to me (as my teammates will attest to) is about getting in your own head, beating yourself down after a bad jam, or letting a bad call from a ref screw up your game. This happens to me more often than I care to admit, and it’s something that I am constantly battling. I just try to tell myself that if I am too far in my own head, there’s not very much of me left to be out on the track, and that’s where my team needs me.”