And onto the main event:
I don't want to steal You Should Be Watching More Roller Derby's thunder but she hasn't been posting lately and there are a couple of games from RollerCon that are totally GIF worthy. So while this type of posting is more suited to Tumblr than Blogger I have no interest in creating a Tumblr and we're doing it here.
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This is a great example of using backwards crossovers to gain enough momentum to make a backwards hit worthwhile. We see that Stephanie Mainey is able to get to and make contact with the Jammer but it's Fifi-nomenon who actually has enough force to land a solid hit. Lesson learned: Don't just turn around and hope. You should still be actively skating while backwards.
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Here's an example of a jammer using a lateral toe stop move to get by on the line. Watch Satan's Little Helper (flesh tone #666) sneak by on the outside. In this case she doesn't need to use more than one or two steps to get out of a sticky situation.
...and again
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...and again.
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Proof that the same move really can work over and over and over again even when your opponents can probably guess that you're about to do it.
I don't need to explain what's going on here but I will say that we should all take this moment to appreciate that everyone gives up the inside line sometimes - even high level skaters like these. Don't be too hard on yourself when it happens to you. On the flip side, if you're jamming and your blocker gives you a massive opportunity like this it's your job as a jammer to RUN LIKE HELL. You're not safe until you're out of the engagement zone and don't ever forget it.
I feel like this version of the spin move is underrated. Smarty is not spinning here to get around her opponent. She's spinning to get out of the hit and reset behind her opponent. It works too. Freight Train thinks that she has the opportunity to pull a cut when she doesn't and Smarty pretty easily makes her way through the pack. Lesson: You as the jammer can control when a hit ends. Don't get pushed out of bounds if you don't have to. Notice that this is a clockwise spin, not the usual counter clockwise spin we would use on the outside line.
Here's the same move on the inside line.
This is what a seamless D to O transition looks like. Fifi Nomenon (the grey pivot) loses the jammer at the very start of this gif. Rather than trying to waste time, opportunity and energy chasing down the many times over world champion speed skater who is her opponent she takes out an opposing blocker and clears a very wide path for her own jammer. She is probably perfectly aware that her own jammer is in the pack and therefore taking out any opposing blocker is helpful. This is the perfect answer to a total pet peeve of mine. Skaters often chase jammers out of the pack that they have no or little hope of ever catching. If you chase her out by a half a lap and then have to come back a half a lap to the pack you have no time to help your own jammer. So if your jammer is lead you lose points. If your jammer is not lead then you could find yourself in a vortex where she's struggling and struggling and never has enough help to get through because you're spending your time as a blocker continuously running the length of the engagement zone.
I'm not saying second efforts don't work. I am saying that in the heat of actual game play you should be smart about what you can and cannot execute.
Alright kids. That's it for tonight.
