Rohnert Park roller derby leagues, lessons an escape for adults, youths

Fourth-graders Xitlaly Avalos and Milla Budesa were zipping around the rink at Cal Skate Rohnert Park on a recent evening, roller skating to loud rock music as colorful overhead lights swirled upon them. This was no open-skate session, though: These girls mean business.

They're learning the finer points of roller derby through Rohnert Park-based Resurrection Roller Derby, a flat track roller derby league with a roster of more than two dozen competitive and recreational skaters.

Its Junior Roller Derby League for skaters 7 to 17 is the only juniors program in the North Bay. Although Resurrection Roller Derby is for women, the junior league welcomes all young skaters, including transgender and nonbinary kids and teens.

Many juniors skate for skill-building and fun, but some - like Xitlaly and Milla - hope to one day compete in bouts as members of Resurrection Roller Derby.

“I'm doing this for fun, and I want to be on the team when I get older,” said Milla, 9, of Sebastopol. She's participated in the junior league for two years. “You get to play around at first, but some of it's challenging, like when you hold hands and go backwards.”

Nine-year-old Xitlaly, who lives in Cotati, has attended juniors sessions for about a year. She was a bit hesitant at first, but didn't let that stop her. “It was hard at first, but in my opinion it's fun,” Xitlaly said.

Lady Gaga's “Poker Face” was playing as the girls went through drills to learn the snowplow, a technique for slowing down or stopping. Legs extended in a widened stance, they turned their toes inward to decrease momentum. It's one of many moves helping juniors build confidence and athletic ability.

Developing teamwork and sportsmanship is equally important, said Brandie Mein, who helps instruct the juniors and has been a member of Resurrection Roller Derby since 2011, the year both programs were founded.

Mein, 43, better known at the rink by her roller derby name, Krash, said there are numerous benefits to skaters of all ages. Roller derby is about athleticism and camaraderie, with hopes of the sport being added to the Olympic Games.

“It's definitely more of a serious sport than showmanship,” said Mein, a Santa Rosa mother of two and a property manager and real estate agent. Though there's a “higher turnover rate” compared to other sports, “The ones who do stick around are really competitive. They're hooked not so much on the sport but on the community we have.”

As a full contact sport, roller derby is perceived as rough and tumble, but players build strong bonds, are supportive of one another and assist with volunteer efforts. In recent months, Resurrection Roller Derby helped out at Blind Scream Haunted House in Santa Rosa, the Lagunitas Beer Circus in Petaluma, and helped clean up after Fourth of July festivities in Rohnert Park. They've raised money and awareness for numerous nonprofits and social causes at their home bouts and community functions.

Kaley Mounts of Santa Rosa, a 27-year-old special education teacher, serves as coaching director for the women's league. She said the sport “has a huge queer presence” and is particularly welcoming “to women who've been left out of a lot of sports.”

The nonprofit, all-volunteer Resurrection Roller Derby “has carved out this beautiful diverse community,” Mounts said, one that welcomes women of all sexual orientations and athletes “who've been kind of marginalized.”

She noted that many skaters, like herself, are drawn to the idea of feeling “strong and tough,” always rising up after getting knocked down. “I don't think I could feel that way with another sport,” said Mounts, who goes by the roller derby name “Lavender Menace.”

She's participated in the league for more than five years, and is enthusiastic about junior skaters developing skills and potentially joining women's leagues. “It's going to be really important for the longevity of the sport,” she said.

Mein, more than eight years with Resurrection Roller Derby (including six years coaching), said players often surprise themselves as they practice, develop skills and overcome self-imposed limitations.

“Every individual is pushing themselves to see exactly what they can do,” she said. “Everyone out here is trying to prove to themselves how strong they are.”

From the moment Mein put on a pair of skates at a “Back to Basics” roller derby program, “I felt like I was 16 again.” That appeal encompasses all walks of life: Resurrection Roller Derby includes women from 18 to 62 from across Sonoma and Napa counties who attend team-building and strategy sessions on Mondays and Thursdays and skills sessions geared toward newer skaters on Tuesdays.

Practices are held in the evenings, providing an escape from the workday. Team members have a wide variety of professions, including nurses, massage therapists, housekeepers, photographers and dog handlers.

“This is our playland,” Mein said. “It's just two hours out of your day where you come to forget about everything else.”

The women serve as role models for junior derby skaters. Thirty youth are enrolled in the current 10-week program. The junior derby is offered four times per year, with the next session beginning in January.

Decked out in the same safety gear as adult skaters - helmets, wrist and mouth guards, knee and elbow pads, and also wearing quad skates - juniors learn skills and strategies for roller derby success.

The game, with five players per team, features a jammer who scores points by lapping opposing teammates around the track. Blockers try to prevent jammers from moving ahead of the pack during units of play called jams.

There are numerous rules and regulations sanctioned by the Women's Flat Track Roller Derby Association. Elbowing isn't allowed; skaters can't make contact with opponents' heads, backs, knees, lower legs or feet. The aggressive, fast-paced bouts require perseverance. “The hits are definitely hard and real,” Mein said.

Skaters are trained how to fall to prevent injuries, and how to simultaneously play offense and defense. “It's both at the same time. That's why the strategy of it is so fun,” Mein said. “There's lots of teamwork involved.”

Mounts said some spectators are surprised by the sport's complexity and level of athleticism. Today's roller derby is a highly competitive, challenging sport without the sensationalized antics and skimpy attire that once dominated bouts.

Though some skaters do elect to wear fishnets - traditional in the old days of the sport - athleticism reigns supreme for Resurrection Roller Derby.

Their dedication is reaching a new generation through the junior skaters. “They're the future of our sport,” Mein said. “That's how important they are.”