Molly Musket’s Top 5 Pump Up Songs!

Name: Molly Musket (author of the series, “Mom Rolls On“)

Hometown: Holyoke, Mass.

Derby number:

Team: Quabbin Missile Crisis, WMDs

My top 5 pump up songs!

1. Fugazi – Waiting Room
2. Kanye West – All of the Lights
3. Led Zeppelin – When the Levee Breaks
4. Missy Elliott – Gossip Folks
5. Arcade Five – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

On my perfect derby day, I would make every hit, kick tons of ass, have a burger at the after party and find a hot tub to sit in after.

This season, I will become the immovable rock I know I can be.

Mom Rolls On: How I learned to stop worrying and love “The Mom”

I am a worrier. I worry about pretty much everything under the sun.
 
Roller derby has only made this worse.
 
We just recruited a new class of fresh meat in February, and I find myself strangely protective of them, especially when our vet skaters zoom around and push and hit each other in the vicinity of a fledgling freshie. The fact that most falls are minor has not prevented me from wanting to wrap each and every one in bubble wrap and give them a hug when someone hurts them. My motto isn’t “toughen up” it’s “I’m sorry that this is happening to you.” I’m that person reminding people to watch their fingers and to stretch an extra round before going to bed.
 
I’ve also told a teammate that her super cute gold glimmer bottoms, which were smoking hot, did not fit over the pads she should be wearing, since she just bruised her tailbone. She laughed, rolled her eyes, called me “Mom,” and then took my advice.
 
At some point I realized that I was doing all of these things subconciously and that these people, as much as I love and respect them, are not my children.
 
So why make it my problem? Well. I have the added experience (or burden) of knowing that you are all someone else’s children, and that there are a lot of mamas out there who worry every time their children tie on skates and go in circles hitting each other.  So. In an attempt to legitimize my worrying I’m going to make you this offer. Let your moms know that there is a tried and true mama in your league who is making sure that you’re okay, that you’re not getting hurt by doing stupid(er) things, and that you will always have someone with you at the hospital if things take a turn for the worse.
 
I am who I am, and if that person is a worrywart who wants your fingers to stay intact (so keep them tucked in darnit) then so be it. I am embracing The Mom.

Mom Rolls On

Musket at a PVRD bout

Like most folks, I have many things to do and many roles in my life. I’m Rose when I’m at my day job, and on the derby track I’m Molly Musket. Mostly though, I’m just “Mommy.”

Quick backstory: I’ve been practicing with Pioneer Valley Roller Derby for just about a year and a half but I’ve been interested in the modern incarnation of roller derby for much longer.

My husband, Grizzly Adam, skates with our men’s team and together we have two little girls, aged seven and three. We are lucky to have a little village to help us raise our daughters with friends and family who totally support us and our love of this sport.

On most practice nights, I’m busy cooking dinner and helping with homework while wearing Derby Skinz and knee socks. My daughters trip over my skates—not the other way around. I’ve put Power Bars into lunches and wondered why they’re protesting on the ride home from school.

I had the idea for this column because I couldn’t find any others like it out there. Yes, you find the occasional “Mom by day, derby queen by night” feature in a local paper. But those in the derby world don’t get the mama perspective too often, and I think that’s a shame.

Because we’re all more than people who skate. I’m here to show how roller derby is so many things to so many people, and give a bit of a different perspective.

So, now that I’m locked and loaded, away we go!

Molly Musket is a young mama who lives in the Valley and is raising two little girls with her husband and village. She lets her daughters skate around the hardwood floors in the house and wonders when she’ll have to teach them crossovers.

Ask the Team: Burning Hot Derby Emotion and Other Strategies for A Cold Bunker

For the second “Ask the Team” question, we turned to a very topical subject: the temperature in the Bunker.

As PVRDers know, as the mercury drops outside, the indoor temperature also plummets—down as low as a brisk 40-something degrees. Other than moving really, really fast (“Skate!” said Gnome), what are the tactics skaters use to cope with the cooler weather?

A few said they relied on their love of derby: as someone put it “a burning hot derby emotion in my guts” (we advised them to talk to their PCP). Bitches Bruze said she didn’t need any extra gear since “her love of derby keeps me warm through the 49-degree practice space months.”

While a couple of skaters said they built insulation in the way of the bears, through stuffing themselves (“a diet rich in dairy fat—butter, cheese, whole milk.” “Excess body fat! It’s built-in insulation!”) others preferred Nike Pro Combat thermals, thermal underwear, fingerless mittens and HotHands in their wrist guards.

One particularly good tip for the thermal or long john-clad: “Make sure your knee pads are done up tight! Mine slid around the first time.”

“I add some leg warmers to keep my ankles, well, warm,” noted Molly Musket. “Other than that, I call winter ‘the months where I don’t sweat as much.’ Keep moving between drills to keep your muscles warm.”

And then there was the buddy-to-buddy strategy. “I stand next to Celia Casket! Oooh, baby!” said one skater.

Next up: Our skater’s favorite mouth guards. And whether anyone wears really small Pro Tech Dents.

Introducing the New Ask the Team Column

Lego derby by Bazooka Joe

It’s a common problem in roller derby. You’re into the sport—as a fan, an official or a player—and have a burning question. Who do you ask? Around the Bunker, there’s a simple answer: You ask other skaters.

As PVRDers gear up for practice, they often gather group wisdom on such topics as “What pads work best for you?” “How do those new gaskets feel?” “Where did you get those laces with bats on them?” “How much do nylon wheel nuts really cost?” and “Is it true that Honey Badger has strap-on mini-rockets for her skates?”

In the spirit of  such information sharing, the PVRD web team is pleased to introduce our new “Ask the Team” column. Every two weeks, we’ll select a particular question and post it on a whiteboard in our practice space. Skaters then have two weeks to add their answers. All of that collective knowledge then goes up on the blog for your reading pleasure.

Have a question you’ve always wanted to ask? Include it in a comment below!

What are your favorite wheels for skate court?

Dozen’s Experience Stops Quads in Connecticut Win

Quick stats:

Dirty Dozen 138, Connecticut Death Quads 37
MVPs #4 Zak Sabbath and #49 Bazooka Joe
Connecticut Roller Girls 71, PVRD Women 38 (30-minute)

PVRD vs. Connecticut:

Outnumbered two-to-one on the bench, the Dirty Dozen were able to leverage skater experience to stop the Death Quads with fast jamming and effective blocking. Quick starts at the whistle worked against the Quads, as the Dozen formed walls of blockers in the back of the pack and all but hid their  jammers from view. Cycling kept the opposition in check, although a few holes on the inside line gave the Quads’ jammers just enough room to squeak by and score.  By the half in Waterbury, the Dirty Dozen were leading by a 52-point advantage,   70 to the Quads’ 18. The Dozen increased that lead in the second half to bring the score to 138-37. Captain Will Jettison later said that the evening was “an incredible demonstration of the talent that is the Dirty Dozen.” Bazooka Joe snagged the Dozen’s MVP award for the night, but the unofficial, most-impressive-injury award went to Dr. Spankenstein, who left sporting a particularly impressive shiner thanks to a wayward helmet.

On the women’s side, props go to Honey Badger, Hot Head Paisan, Lis Macrum, and Molly Musket, who went up against Connecticut in their first PVRD interleague play. Cali Burr, returning to the track after taking time to complete her Massachusetts Police Academy training, was also a welcome (re) addition. The ladies of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby spent a hard-hitting 30 minutes against a mixed Connecticut Roller Girls team, but came up short by a score of PVRD 38 to CTRG 71.

Molly Musket #116

Age: 25

Hometown: Holyoke, Mass.

PVRD Stripes

 

Molly can’t live without her PVRD hoodie.

She likes the fun, fast, and super competitive drills called Blood and Thunder.

“Build a shelter, find food” is Molly’s answer to being stranded on a desert island. “I’ve watched enough survival shows to know what to do.”

Her favorite weapon of destruction is a musket, of course! But she might attach a flame thrower to the end for that extra kick.

Molly’s derby motto: It’s the only way I can legally knock someone down without getting into a bar fight.

Find out where PVRD is bouting next or give Molly a big hello on Facebook.