A US Scrimmage (or two)

The other day, I NSO'd for two scrimmages here stateside.  One in a nice little practice venue, the other in the bouting venue with a floor big enough to fit 6 tracks with OPR lanes, when the seats were retracted.  Three key things were ran differently to what I've seen in the UK.

1. Player Rotation
   
   Basically, the skaters formed a queue where the 'bench' would be. The front 5 decided amongst themselves who would be jammer and who would be pivot. Should penalties dictate that fewer than 5 would skate, those further back in the queue would step out, regardless of skating skill.
   
   This was amazing! All skaters, regardless of how "good" or not they were got a roughly equal amount of time on the track. As well, those still working on their skills got paired up with (and against) much more talented skaters. What a learning opportunity! Sure it occasionally led to lop-sided jams, but anyone concerned about the score in a scrimmage has his/her priorities seriously, seriously wrong.
   
   
2. Static Recycling
   
   Recycling the jammer has been explained to death. Everyone knows it, everyone does it. Thing is, these girls did it differently. Basically, when the jammer was hit out, one skater would jet back about 20' to recycle her. The others would immediately form a wall at the back of the pack ready to catch the jammer once she'd come in. No one went back to help the recycler, she sort of expected that the jammer would beat her one-on-one. She'd try, of course, but she'd expect to join the wall as soon as the jammer came back in.
   
   This meant that the pack was roughly stationary on the track, as the one teams movements were backward when the jammer was out, and only slightly forward when the jammer was in. The team defending the actively scoring jammer was thus limited to a short engagement zone and forced to sacrifice blockers to bridging. It wasn't at all the boring stand-still derby, it was exciting. Loads of contact, skaters jostling for position, and key walling skills. It just didn't orbit the centre.
   
3. Jamming on the Margin
   
   There was one jammer who had this down to a T. She was fast as hell, could juke and jump like a champ. So, needless to say, her first pass was often less than 10 seconds between the double whistle releasing her and lead jam status. Her opposing jammer would usually exit the pack about 40'-50' behind her. Now, conventional logic says to call off the jam just before the non-lead jammer arrives at the pack. Save points, right? I'm a fan of it, and I know others who value saving points almost above all else.
   
   However, this girl had done her maths. If she gained a 50' advantage on the first pass, she should be able to trust her pack to hold the opposing jammer for just as long on the second. Thus, when she's on her second pass, she should have about 100' of advantage. If she does well to not get held up, and her pack works brilliantly, she may even be able to get a grand slam in on the second or third pass.
   
   It's a risky play. If she gets held up on her second pass, then she may concede as many points as she scores. But if she goes flying through the pack before her opponent even engages, then she has the time to go around and increase her marginal lead. It was beautiful to watch.

All in all, the quality of derby was comparable to what I've seen in the UK.  There were just these few key things to make it a bit more interesting to watch.  As well, there were no bench staff anywhere to be seen.  I don't know when they practice with their skaters, but it wasn't at these scrimmages.

That's my first report from the States.  Roll on!

Requests

Well, as y'all know, I just love going to see some derby.  And, as a sports fan, I like to see close games. If the result's decided before halftime, it's really far less fun.  Sure, it's good for teams to work on their tactics, to give new jammers a run, etc.  But as a sports fan, I want to see it come down to the last jam.

That being said, I've compiled a list of bouts I'd love to see.  Most of 'em are really close:

Roll'd Firm:  Glasgow v Auld Reekie
Glasgow are more highly ranked, but it's a natural rivalry and about a 60-40 win likelihood.  That means it's really anybody's bout.  I have no doubt the atmosphere would be awesome!

Eastbourne Extreme re-match:  Croydon v Big Bucks
In the summer, down by the seaside, these two went to the last jam.  Hell, these two went to the last pass!  It came down to when the fourth whistle went, how many points had been racked up.  Oh, man, these two deserve a re-match!

Roses-Leafs:  England v Canada
Sure, Canada are highly unlikely to do a European tour, like USA did.  However, it'd be wonderful to settle that score.  Who's #2 in the world?  60 minutes to settle the question.  Win percentages?  55-45 in favour of Canada.  (Did I hear you say OT?)

4 Nations:  England v Scotland v Wales v Ireland
Ok, England's gonna win the tournament, at least the first time around.  Thing is, the other bouts will be excellent, it'll be a good time had by all, and planning the event will spur Wales into forming a team.  How great would this be to have as a standard summertime fixture?

Battle of the Blokes:  SDRD v Quad Guard
No explanation necessary.  Needs to be an annual fixture, needs to be at Earl's Court, if not ExCeL.  Or O₂.  These guys could turn that thing into "rollerdome" for one night.


If anybody knows when one of these is scheduled, feel free to tell me.  I'd love to be there!
Roll on!

Keys to the Game post-mortem

So, before the bout, Dan asked me what my 2 keys for each team were.  Here they are, to refresh your memory:

• England
1. Maximise power jam utilisation
2. Adapt to what works

• USA
3. Manage endurance levels
4. Stick to fundamentals derby

Basically, the Roses were going to be outclassed in a 1-on-1 basis, so they needed to take advantage of what factors swung in their favour.

According to an article I recently read in the New Yorker, 71% of David-Goliath matchups are won by Goliath.  Of course, that's what one would expect.  After all, were the upsets too common, they wouldn't be exciting; were they impossible, sport would be no fun to watch.

However, if David employs unconventional strategies, his win percentage jumps up to over 60%.  This, and page after page of anecdotal evidence in the article, show that simply being a better team is not required to have a winning season.  Instead, a game-play designed to take that advantage away may do the trick.

In derby, that anecdotal evidence comes from the invention of those tactics and plays that are now standard.  The Philly wall, the scrum start, even the knee start were groundbreaking in their time.  Those were, at first, tricks--almost the guerilla warfare of roller derby.  Now, of course, they're standard.

My keys to the game were what an English David needs to beat an American Goliath, and what that Goliath must do to maintain the expected dominance.

Let's break 'em down point-by-point.

1. The Roses were given 4 power jams, or 5 if you want to break the double-penalty into two separate statistical events.  I do not.  Of these, they averaged 11 points per power jam.
   
   However, that average is buoyed up by that final power jam, in all the others, England was only able to manage 2 scoring passes at most.  Why was this?
   
   Well, USA's power jam defence was stifling.  Plain and simple, they played two physical blockers, and two pack controllers to keep the England jammer going at a damn slow pace.
   
   What could England do?  Well, they could've used "non-traditional tactics" and broken the pack. USA were quite good at not conceding out-of-play penalties, so this would've likely worked.  However, that would've likely been "not very sporting," and not exactly in England's national character. 
   
   Thus, England were relegated to losing the power jam battle.
   
   
   
   
2. Adaptation.  This one the Roses did much better in the first half.  At the beginning, England earned lead jam status only 1 time in the first 5 jams.
   
   Then, they switched.  What they were doing wasn't working, so they made the tiniest of adjustments.  Between jams 5 and 10, England only conceded lead jam 1 time!  Their adaptation was highly successful, and they stuck with it.
   
   Difficulty was, Team USA adapted very quickly themselves.  Their 2-wall was quick to escort the red-shirted jammer to either the inside or outside line, leaving most of the track open for the England wall, pushed by the US jammer, to overtake them.  Where the USA had lost control of the bout trying to control laterally, they switched to controlling vertical zones.
   
   Never again would England gain that upper hand.  
   
   
   
   
3. The American skaters had skated in three bouts already that weekend, and this was their fourth.  They had cycled out only two skaters, most of them were racking up the miles on the clock.  [Fun fact: 33 laps = 1 mile]
   
   However, the first instance of a skater looking tired was in the second half.  V-Diva approached the pack at something quite less than her usual mad dash, and visibly took her breath before engaging the blockers.
   
   To her credit, there were only about 10 minutes left in the bout. She had earned her fatigue. As well, Team USA's patient jamming style lent itself to masking any other fatigue. There's no doubt the skaters were worn out and slept like rocks, but they had a style of play that lent itself to that concern over endurance.
   
   Thus, the US skaters showed just what athletes they are, after a full weekend of derby.
   
   
   
   
4. Did the Americans stick to fundamentals? Did they ever!
   
   The scrum start is now a fundamental of derby.  The tourists executed it masterfully and didn't try to do anything fancy with diagonal knee stars or trying to force England out of position.  A few times I saw a blocker take a "bookend" position on the England line.  Before the jam started, she had shifted to a standard defence, bringing back the fundamentals.
   [Green pivot "bookending" the pink wall]
   
   As well, during those oh-so-important power jams, the US offence stuck with goating an English blocker.  Goating, that's right, the tactic that has otherwise given way to the conga line on the outside edge of the track, was utilised by the best skaters in the world.  Much as I'm an advocate for teams using the tactics that best suit them rather than the ones used by the biggest teams, I hope this becomes a trend.
   
   [Skate! Skate! Those things are on your feet for a reason! Tactics be damned, no one wanted to take up the game because they wanted to stand still on a track looking like they need a cigarette. Just because it's legal doesn't make it derby. /rant]
   
   So, stick to fundamentals?  Yeah, they did.  Like the deaf school's basketball team I used to watch, these girls showed the value of basic skills applied together.
   

So, on my totally unofficial keys, England get a ½ out of 2, and USA get a full 2.  That being said, there can be no doubt that the Roses' walls and pack skills proved their worth against an amazingly skilled team.

Now, I bet y'all expect me to discuss rankings.  Not this time!  Maybe next time...

This weekend, I hope to make it up to Central City to see the double header there.  If you're going, come say "hey" to me!

England v USA stats

So, let's take a look at some numbers, shall we?

Team		Score	LJs	LJ ppj	PJs	PJ ppj	Short PJs	Stops	1Pass
3	England	70	7	5.7	4	11.0	1	7	14
1	USA	296	32	9.2	5	15.6	0	31	4

About the bout: 

USA of course outscoring England and winning the battle for Lead Jam status.  With lead jam, USA doing a little over 50% better than England.  Interesting to note here is that both teams were recording 2-pass derby with lead jam status.  The defence-offence transition was apparently a bit weak for both teams.

Both teams had a handful of power jams, but USA was better able to make use of them.  I, personally, attribute that more to the difference in the pack than that of the jammers.  The USA blockers were quite adept at getting a shoulder or a hip in the way, and then never breaking that contact.

Often the USA power jam defence was based on only one or two blockers engaging the jammer--the others simply made sure those two stayed in play.  The two who were engaging were often grabbing the far sides of each others' bodies, to make sure that wall stayed tight.  The amazing thing was that this was only done on the side opposite the jammer.  When the jammer tried to go through there, all the grabbing ceased, so that a devastating muliplayer block major was avoided!

USA able to keep England from scoring almost every time they had lead, but the Roses (it just felt right to call 'em that at the bout) able to prevent USA from scoring every lead jam.

One deciding factor was that Team USA were able to hold Team England scoreless the first 11 jams of the second half.  The lead was only 71 points coming back from the break, so that  jump provided the proverbial icing on the cake.

And the world? 

Team England showed their world-class power last night.  Canada were beaten by USA in the world cup 336-33, so the Roses out-performed the World Cup silver medallist side.  Canada recorded 9 LJs to USA's 25 in that bout, but that's within the margin of error of England's 7 LJs.

The USA showed their strength against the Scandinavians on Saturday, and defeated Finland on their home soil by a massive margin.  The tourists here did not bring their B-list skaters, they came to roll over the opposition wherever they went.

Nonetheless, little old England, that plucky little island country that has consistently punched above its weight this summer in Stratford, did so again in Newham.  The Roses taught the Americans that derby over on this side of the pond is not to be underestimated.

--[Edit: I am aware that Team GB is not equivalent to Team England.  However, English athletes were part of the team that punched above their weight in the Olympics, so I took a bit of artistic license.  I did have to take a moment in the broadcast to explain the nature of the UK as a union of countries to the US viewers.]--

Therefore, I think England should be considered the world #2 nation for roller derby.

What do you think?  Take a moment to fill out a simple poll and tell me where you think England, USA, Canada, etc. stand in the world of International Roller Derby. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YNXJV5H


Roll on Roses!

About last night

Well, England lost to USA, as about anyone would predict.  296-70, final score.  However, in that first half England had just over ⅓ of the lead jams in the bout, and a few quality power jams.

As per my proposed ranking system, England should fall to 4th position, but I do not think that would fairly reflect last night's bout at all!  England still, in my opinion, belong in 3rd, and above Australia.  How should we adjust the ranking system?  Any ideas?



Bout scores:

Team		Pts	LJ	PJ
3	England	70	7	4
1	USA	296	32	5