Violent Bob is Dublin’s A team Bench and Coach. He’s well known around Europe having led multiple bootcamps on Bench Coaching and being the 15th player on track. He wrote the below piece following the A Team’s back to back double header against Middlesbrough and Hot Wheel, on October 22nd, in Leeds.
2016 has been a learning curve for our team, and as we huddled up for our game against Middlesbrough – the first of a double header that would also see us take on our old friends Hot Wheel – last weekend, that was the focus in the moments before the first whistle. The game against Belfast to start our year seemed a world away, but we’ve seen every game this season as an opportunity – a chance to execute the things we’ve worked on in practice, a chance to grow together as a team, a chance to be shown by our opponent where we need to sharpen up. There’s an old cliché – “win or learn – never lose”, and I think as cheesy as it sounds, there’s a lot of wisdom in that. And we knew that today, with only a 45-minute break between our two games, we certainly wouldn’t have any time to dwell on things before resetting for the next game. The lessons would have to be learned quickly and acted upon immediately.
As we made our way to the airport at stupid-o’clock that morning, there was a sense of quiet determination around the team (in between yawns, obviously!). We touched down in Leeds and were picked up by a bus that looked like something straight out of Postman Pat. Before long we were at the venue and into our pregame routine. We circled up in a little meeting room that had some really creepy-looking CPR dummies in it, and discussed our goals. Something we’ve made a point of doing this year is to celebrate the little things. Before every game we share our own personal goal for the game so that everyone can have victories along the way no matter what the result. Performance is always our first focus, today was no different. That day, the theme of our personal goals was that we wanted to build on the work we’d already done, that we wanted to put on a strong performance, that we would keep our heads in the face of a tough challenge, and that we use these games as a stepping stone on our journey. I was delighted with the mindset of the team going into the day, because we knew that neither Middlesbrough or Hot Wheel would give an inch. We’d need to pull together as a team and face them head on.
We went through our breathing exercises (another pregame ritual we’ve been using for the last while), and before we knew it, it was on to warmups and then, finally, game time.
The first half was a very back-and-forth 30 minutes with some fearsome blocking, sharp recycling and breath-taking jamming from both teams, with the Milk Rollers going into half-time with their noses in front. A successful official review at the end of the half had us starting the second half on a power jam, and during our half time huddle we felt like the game was very finely balanced, and there for the taking. The packs and jammers got together to fine tune plans for the second half.
The second half began and we started strong, gaining lead and scoring points. Early in the second half Middlesbrough seemed to shift gears and pulled away out of our reach very quickly and mercilessly. What had been a very balanced game in the first period ended in a 249-87 victory to Middlesbrough.
What I’m most proud of is that not once did our heads drop. We threw everything we had at them, and they had an answer for it. All credit to them for that. But even though we lost, we weren’t beaten. There’s a hell of a lot of heart in this team, and I was incredibly proud of the strength that we showed in the face of this tough battle. And after the final whistle, I’d foreseen the short gap between games being a major hurdle for us to overcome, but looking around the circle, I could see that no-one had flinched. There was a determination in everyone’s eyes, and we knew that our work wasn’t done. It was 2.35. We had Hot Wheel at 3.15. And we were ready.
Our “annual” game with Hot Wheel is always one we look forward to – we’ve developed a pretty strong bond with them having faced one another so often, but we’d never played them under conditions like these. Not only were we fresh off an exhausting game, but a couple of niggling injuries saw us going into this one with 12 players rather than our usual 14. Some changes to our jammer rotation and our packs presented the players with a chance to get some experience in new roles. Once we took the lead we never rescinded it, and in the face of a tough challenge – not only did we have the physical challenge of a strong Hot Wheel team, we had the mental challenge of overcoming the events of the earlier game, we came away with a 201-80 victory.
Overall, it was a the kind of day that shows you what a team is made of. I’ve been coaching DRD for nearly 7 years and in terms of the level of opponents and tightness of the schedule, this was one of the toughest days I’ve ever experienced, but our team was its match and we came away with our heads held high. The determination and the passion of this group continues to both amaze and to inspire me as we take this journey together. But believe me when I say that the Middlesbrough result is one that will stay with us for a while. We’ve taken the lessons from the day and are already hard at work. Something I’ve said a lot in the past is that a team can either be defined by a result, or defined by how they bounce back from that result.
We play Glasgow Roller Derby this Saturday. Come watch us bounce back.
On behalf of the team I’d like to thank both Hot Wheel and MMR for being wonderful opponents, we hope we meet again soon. Also to all the officials, announcers, medics and volunteers for such a fantastically well-run day. We couldn’t do it without you.
#allin
-vb-
