Continued growth and team building will be the focus of the Estevan junior roller derby Coaler Rollers this fall as the club tries to build on last season's success.
Lorelei Lachambre, coach of the Coaler Rollers, said the team enjoyed a great 2015-16 season where the girls had the opportunity to get in some game action and do a bit of travelling including completing a successful trip to the Canadian Roller Derby information 2016 Junior Roller Derby Tournament in Calgary this past June. She said they want to keep growing the game in the southeast this season and that starts with having all of their skaters back this fall with more girls signing up to play.
“We're hoping to see probably 25 skaters return, (which) would be on my wish list,” said Lachambre. “I'd love to have at least 10 new girls come and try it out, but if we get more than that we will make it happen.”
Lachambre said there is not much game time in the fall season, so the focus instead will be on teaching their new recruits the basics of roller skating such as stopping, pushing and learning to fall safely. She said their returning skaters will be split up into separate groups based on their ability with some girls continuing work on their skating skills and others doing more advanced game play and strategy work in anticipation for the team's February to June campaign when the squad competes in the Southeast Saskatchewan Roller Derby Association.
The Coaler Rollers fall season is highlighted by a number of team-building activities like the club's annual zombie walk fundraiser for the Estevan food bank in October and it's silly Olympic Games on skates night in November. Lachambre said the friendships and the athleticism that is built through these events and their practices makes roller derby a fantastic sport for girls to take up.
“You're going to gain muscle, you're going to gain balance, you're going to gain speed (and) you're going to gain a sense of pride in the physicality of doing this sport,” she said. “The other thing we focus on is the non-athletic side of things like the team that you build, the sportsmanship, the camaraderie and absolutely the feeling that you get being part of something that is all girls and very empowering.”
The Coaler Rollers will start the fall campaign with two recruitment sessions running from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Bienfait Memorial Arena on Sept. 8 and Sept. 11, which will also serve as a short practice where the team's coaches and veteran players will guide the new recruits through an introduction to the game. Girls in grades 4 to 12 are eligible to join and practices with the team are free of charge for the month of September. The Coaler Rollers are also providing any needed equipment for the first month of the season.
