The training you've all been through can't get much harder
than what's behind you. There aren't too many more drills you haven't done repeatedly
or tried at least once.
Between bouts you have 4 weeks to perfect
the skills you've practiced over and over into "how
to play the game" and "how to skate better". I'm talking now about what you're going to do for the audience.
How they'll perceive you as a skater, athlete and performer. How your job is to make them love the game
and be ancy for the next bout. They need to come back to see how the teams get along, how the bad attitude
skaters cause trouble and how the good girl skaters behave.
Roller derby, in it's legitimate state of performance is TERRIBLY boring and
repetitive! It has to be filled with moments that show crashes, danger, violent
moves and suspense. Roller Derby needs danger and excitement in order to become
talked about or to entertain large audiences with thrills that bring them back
for more.
Most people think all jams used to be choreographed or "set" but that
isn't true. Usually just the building action of the grudges, and the growing
excitement in a period were set. All others were ad-libs and called out in the
pack as the jammers left the pack.
If Roller Derby were (all) real wouldn't we all be in the hospital, disabled
and scared off in just a few games?
Excitement has to build in each period, creating an exciting and thrilling
atmosphere for our audience to stay and want to come back for more. This
is up to you fancy skaters now to build the action on the track.
We've certainly got some of the best skating down in the entire nation right
now so let's show them how we skate and keep them glued to their seats with
excitement and high energy. We've got to create some "heat"
Heat is the art of causing conflict, while in the midst of competition.
It is arguments and friction between key players. 
Heat is the essence of
roller derby. Heat is what keeps fans glued to their seats, waiting to see
what's going to happen next. Heat can be as simple as a skater taking their
helmet off, and yelling with a finger pointed towards another skater. Heat
is usually when one team resorts to cheating, in order to win. Usually they
cheat behind the referee's backs so the fans become riled. Heat can lead
into illegal blocks that draw penalties. Heat can finally break in an all
out fight, where the poor skater who's been the brunt of the heat finally
sticks up for her self and fights back. This is when the audience reached
a point of pandemonium. They all want to see her come back. The essence
of roller derby in a nut shell, the "come upance". However, developing a
slow and simmering set of heat moves that build to a boiling point, and
hate for the bad guy, is an art.
The heat artist is the most important skater on each visiting team. They have perfected their villainous acting skills to the point where people actually believe in them and
dislike them the moment the come out of the dressing room
The heat artist makes the first illegal move against a home team skater.
There's usually only ONE heat artist on the visiting team. Only one to two skaters should be the appointed heat artist.
How are they appointed? Their acting seems real!
And they have a
deep bag of tricks to continually build the tension and hate with the crowd. It is an art.
But "heat" has to make sense; so just for an example: Let's say a home team skater passes the visiting team heat artist for a point on the very first jam. Well, the heat artist is outdone! So, she takes her helmet off,
and bops the little jammer on the head. Poor sportsmanlike reaction to being scored upon, right! That's the point!
This time the heat artist frowns big, yells, and grabs the little jammer and knocks her over. The crowd boos! And the heat artist gets a penalty.
Now the rivalry is really on!
Then, in yet another jam, the heat artist decides to pick up the points they are behind, She ends up at the back of the pack only to be blocked out by legal blocks by the home team's best blocker. 
The heat artist signals a
teammate to come back and help her through for the point. Instead, the helping visitor, throws a block at the home team blocker, who side steps, and the visiting team skaters hit one another and go down! The crowd loves it.
NO SCORE. The heat artist gets mad at her own teammate. So all through the period the heat, created by the heat artist is building, just like a great plot in a compelling play.
This is what helps make the game exciting - Its all an important part of the illusion (the performance part of the game).
So who should your teams heat artist be? Well she can frown a lot, looks & acts like a bully, she comes across as trustworthy or even
evil (ok, a "bad girl").
The point of the "heat artist" is that As the game rolls on, the heat artist resorts to breaking the rules, because she can't stand losing.
She may kick an opponent. She may use an elbow and jab upwards on a home town jammers jaw, throwing the poor jammers helmet off, while she winces in pain. ("OUIE BOO HOO" cries downed skater)
(ok not a real "jab to the jaw" and we're gonna practice this you pretend to give a hard hit and the other girl learns how to accept it.
This trouble maker might just punch an opposing skater when the referee's are not looking. 
Her cheating will draw penalties.
Visiting heat artists throw temper tantrums, toss helmets at other skaters, make threatening gestures and just generally pull out all the stops to prove to the audience the visitors will do most anything to win.
Heat is always a form of conflict, centered around points scored by one team.
It can be yelling at the referee, or the audience. It can be when a the heat artist taunts the other team and threatens them that if they don't stop what they are doing, or they will get a punch in the nose.
Good heat artists develop many techniques to intimidate and threaten, at the early part of the game they rarely actually fight.
Each team usually has a single skater or more who are known to cause the heat because (usually afer much time skating)all those antics get the fans riled up!.
This is the person responsible for starting the red shirt action right away. It is usually done in the very first Jam so that the audience knows what team are the bad guys. 
Perhaps the heat artist just bumps an unsuspecting white shirt down after the Jam,
or kicks them in the leg. Nothing serious, but the fans catch it and don't forget.
Heat artists often also have a side kick.
The heat artist will hit or injure an opposing jammer who just scored a point. This shows what a spoiled sport her team is. They will do this when the referees are not looking and not get a penalty. The fans see the heat, and are
tipped off right away that one team is willing to play dirty in order to win the game.
Heat artists are usually a pivot or captain skater of one of the teams. Who are some well-known heat artists? Ann Calvello, Jan Vallow, Bob Woodberry, Alfonso Reyes and Mark D'Amato (ask our Marc,"Chicago Ace" Head Ref about D'Amato) come to mind.
The heat artist makes the first illegal move, and near the end of the game, the good-athlete can't take any more and finally co-cocks them to the sheer delight of the fans. This is the release the fans look forward to. A catharsis that
send chills through fans for days and sometimes months.
The fan is hooked now, needing their regular fix of roller derby good-guy comebacks!
Now the difference between the "good girls" VS the "bad girls"
The Good Girls are either a skater who has developed her character, or really is:
- Some one who seems like everyone's best friend, true blue.
- Some one who the average person can relate to.
- Loyal, and honest.
- A team player. Sticks up for her teammates.
- A natural athlete.
- A heroine, protector of the underdog.
- Photogenic.
- Not abusive, not terribly mean, unless provoked!
- Not a fighter, unless provoked!
- An all-around good girl.
- Looks the part and seems REAL.
And about those"Red Shirts"or "bad girls":
Surprisingly, because its human nature to want to be loved, it is actually EASIER to be a red shirt than a white shirt.
You can easily become someone that the fans love to hate.
- Red shirts will cheat when the referee is not looking.
- Red shirts will kick and trip a white shirt skater in hopes of putting them out of commission for scoring.
- when a good girl jammer is on the Jam, and they make a legal score over the red shirt blocker, the red shirt blocker will take their helmet of and hit the white shirt Jammer on their head with their helmet.
The helmets pounding together make a loud sound, and the good girl recoils and holds her head as if hurt. .
- Or worse, the heat artist blocker will throw the poor little whit shirt jammer over the down or trip her. Just to be mean and prove to the white shirt,
it's not nice to score over her!. Of coarse, when the trouble player is doing this they yell to the referee "Look the other way". These poor sportsman like actions right away tell the audience that
they don't like the visiting team. .
- They cheat in order to win!
- Almost from the very first Jam, the fans are clued in to who they will like and who they won't like. How about this one, a white shirt Jammer scores a point over the red shirt captain, who slugs the
little white shirt in the gut.
- It's theater, but draws the crowd in closer to the action and endures them to their home team.
- Not a fighter, unless provoked!
- An all-around good girl.
- Looks the part and seems REAL.
Now some very key body positions you know and use; STUDY THEM!!!
This is Ann Calvello coming out of a turn (<--left)...notice how her legs are to the outside of the turn. Her chest is a BIT low, it seems she may have just gotten out of being bumped into.
Sexy boys low in the turns.(right->) This is what we were learning last Thursday night, our first
night on our newly oddly shaped track..NOTE: Legs to OUTSIDE///body leans in.. This body position equalizes the centrifugal force.. YOU have to be
low low low to get around sharp turns. Note: #18.. look at the isolation between upper VS lower body. Also NOTE the left elbow (#40) resting on left knee! This helps with balance
and allowance of your "sitting" position in the turn.
(<--left) Again low as hell in the turn and taking a hit from behind at the same time. LOOK at # 33's left knee.. she's got it bent about 80 degrees.. Something you'd
probably only be doing in a sharp turn.STYLE has to be loose and fluid!! How low can you go???
JUMPING!! (below - right)We've touched a bit on this and frankly it makes for a GREAT SHOW!!
DO it girls...don't be afraid to jump over a 
downed skater or even if you jump over her feet it looks frikken stylin' and skilled!
(remember to land very soft/loose with knees and rebound to avoid injury.) Hmm look at those big cones...
This is an example (<--left) of the dry land practice I tried to show you last week.. It takes slow
organized movements to practice moving around in a pack without your skates on. The idea is to feel the movements without the fear of falling.
Boys giving whips!! Directional whipping (whipping your jammer into an open space that you eyeball first)Is an excellent way to share some power to a tired jammer and can assist her in scoring some extra
points. We'll do some whips the next practices. Remember the grip? Get low and most weight is on your left left leg as you whip forward.
In the photo it shows the "whippie" holdin arm of the whipper..I think I showed you the whipper taking arm of the jammer.. YOU can do either! BUT do NOT grip hand to hand.
Remember gals one of the essential parts of this entire derby game is to have fun! Entertain the fans, and get them "into the game"
that's why they come...to see you!!!
The more you skate and the more you interact w/the fans..
The more they come back to see you and fall in love with you and your good and or bad girl personality!
Now read the Bay City bombers training page entirely then go and kick some ass!
Love, Bettina
