r/rollerderby • u/Frequent_Major6736 • 2d ago
Gameplay and strategy Tiny skater issues
Hi! I don’t really know if I’m loosing my mind but I am 115lbs 5’2 and I’m struggling being on an adult team. My teammates are way more built and are better players than I am and I feel very stuck feeling like I HAVE to be a jammer in order to be useful/not useful to my team because I can’t hold myself against other adults to save my life in a wall. I also feel like in turn I’m just getting beat up and that’s mentally exhausting. Anyone else a short & skinny player out there and how do you or your teammates manage with it?
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u/polkadotsci 2d ago edited 1d ago
There's a discord group called Wall of Small that is all smaller skaters. They've competed together in person too!
eta: this link should work vs the one I had copied from another post https://discord.gg/WhGjt5Ayh
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u/cyrpt1ds 2d ago
Would you mind DMing me an invite? I’d love to join as well!
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u/destiinatiion Skater 2d ago
Can I get one too?? Tried the link but didn’t work. Here for the small wall
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u/Formal_Swordfish666 2d ago
Whats considered short there? Im 5’5 ish but im w/ wftda and mrda and am usually one of the shortest there
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u/WillowWhipss 11h ago
If you’re short for your league, you belong in the discord! Generally people are 5’3” and under for WFTDA and 5’6” and under for MRDA/open in there 😊
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u/d-wail 2d ago
See if you can find footage of Willow Whips out of Canada. She’s tiny and has gotten MVP blocker awards.
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u/Devyn-1212 2d ago
I’ve jammed against Willow Whips and she was a menace!! I’d be coming out of the pack and see her and think “easy, she’s so tiny” and she held me like she was 300lbs
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u/awesome_possum__ 2d ago
I'll die on this hill. But stop focussing on leg strength, start focussing on core strength. Youll be able to take hits better and remain more stable if you have a strong core and engage it during contact.
https://www.instagram.com/alexderavanesian?igsi=eHgyYjBlMzR2NjJx
I follow this guy and it's made a WORLD of difference! Alot of the movements are full body as well, and of course you can modify as needed
Once you have a stable core, you'll be able to stay lower for longer and can absorb hits better
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u/citizencupcake 1d ago
Yes core but also yes legs. Why would we stop focusing on leg strength?
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u/awesome_possum__ 12h ago
Because core will translate to other body mechanics later on. It doesn't really mean much to have strong legs if you can't hit someone without falling down or can't take hit and are falling every time. But with most core work outs, like I said above, they evolve into full body work outs and legs will eventually get stronger regardless if you're focussing on them or not. I never said to ignore them, I just said to focus on strengthening the core so that they can stay lower and engage their muscles during contact so they can remain stable and upright.
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u/Pinstripe-Giraffe 2d ago
As a ref I’ve known a fair number of tiny skaters, and the ones who are both small (short and/or slim) and successful blockers are the ones who do a lot of powerlifting. Another commenter mentioned Willow Whips - I know her IRL and I’m certain she could squat my weight (with full gear on and holding a big water bottle haha). I used to belong to an MRDA league and I’ve seen women a little bigger than you absolutely blast full-grown men off their skates. One of them was also doing strongman sports in her spare time, another one built a weight rack in her parents’ basement.
Pop down to your local gym and see if they have an intro package of a few sessions with a personal trainer, and learn how to safely pick up heavy things and put them back down again.
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u/Frequent_Major6736 2d ago
Definitely! I mean I know I can’t change my height but I can definitely add muscle, I’m working on getting a membership so I can start doing some training for derby/myself
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u/Chilewilly 2d ago
As mentioned, you can be great blocker by getting under them and driving their thighs. You can also get through spaces within the pack easier than many other skaters, which you can use to cut off jammers and/or use as a pivot.
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u/pigeonsgambit 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hellooo, 5'3" 120lbs blocker checking in! I'm 34, so I don't think I'm getting much bigger at this stage. 😂
I was a jammer when I started playing, because I figured that was the only way to be useful at this size. I switched to blocking a few years in (recommended by my captains) and I'm a much more effective blocker than jammer, even though I'm smaller than pretty much every other blocker on track.
Get LOW. Jammers can't move well if you're on their legs. Practice every skill lower than you are right now, so your natural movement on track gets lower. Track lower, run lower.
Strength and muscular endurance. I do HIIT training (resistance and cardio) 5 times a week. My recovery is quick and I've developed muscular strength and endurance particularly in my legs, back, and shoulders to help hold and contain jammers.
Speed is your friend. Stick to jammers like velcro. Your suck back on a disengaging jammer should be immediate, same with lateral tracking. I'm usually the one chasing out and catching at the front if the jammer escapes, and running back while avoiding being caught.
Practice effectice offense techniques. It's hard to move a skater much bigger than you, but it's much easier to get low and lock their legs in place to let your jammer escape.
Use your whole body. Don't be afraid to catch with your leg or your arm (legally!) and whip around in front of them. Small bodies take up less space on track, so we need to get creative with covering that space sometimes.
Hope that helps 🫶
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u/allstate_mayhem 2d ago
Well. Players your size do often make their way to jamming - but as I've said elsewhere here, jamming at that size means you have to be a cut above in skating ability to make up for your size, fast, high mobility etc. But every D line needs a fast blocker as well. Someone who can match pace with a jammer in the open is always useful. You'll have a hard time making "hard stop" type blocks (I mean, you'll use them, but they won't be like your bigger homies, right). But you can shore this up by becoming a positional master. Some of the best blockers in your weight range are surgical when facing down the track (i.e. not backwards skating) and using their back zone to deny lanes. learn to maneuver inside/outside fast and become one of those crazy glue types.
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u/AdLeading3583 2d ago
I'm one of the smaller skaters on my team, and I was statistically the best blocker in our league last season. U just gotta learn to leverage ur body in the right way. Def check out everyone that's being recommended in this thread, and also Dylan Botts from Puget Sound Outcast. He taught me everything I know about being small and stopping anyone
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u/robot_invader Ref, PBJ, Coach, BoD 2d ago
I'm a relatively big, relatively tall dude abs play coed. When I jam, I'll try to go fancy, but I turn on the power when that's not working. In either mode, l ittle blockers who engage below the hips and have good edge control are the worst.
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u/pendragwen Skater 2d ago
I'm only a little bigger than you! I've historically only been a jammer, but am trying to broaden my range into competent blocking this season. All my (still infrequent) success comes from having a smaller hit box and lower center of gravity. I find that bigger players are often surprised when I can withstand or give a strong hit, and that moment of surprise after is when I can accomplish things.
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u/tryonosaurus94 2d ago
One of the scariest blockers I ever knew was your size. It's all about leverage, try to get under people.
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u/RiaoraCreations 1d ago
I was that tiny when I started derby. I couldn’t build any muscle and I was just struggling on the track against people who had more weight and muscle behind them. I finally realized that I was not eating enough protein or calories during the day. Not saying you should try to gain weight or anything if you don’t want to, but my derby skills improved a lot just from gaining 20-ish lbs (I was underweight and basically malnourished though, so I felt wayyy better after gaining weight in my everyday life too). Falling also hurts a lot less when you’ve got some cushion. I realized that if I wanted to be an athlete, I had to eat like an athlete. If you aren’t having energy/muscle problems like I was, then definitely look at your stance and get even lower if you can. Also, consider watching footage of yourself at practice, sometimes it’s easier to see what we can improve on when we look on from the outside.
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u/destiinatiion Skater 2d ago
I’m about the same size (my teammates have me lay down twice to measure out the track) and just want to say thanks for making this post! I gravitate towards jamming, but want to be a better blocker so that I can become a better jammer. All of these comments are exactly what I’ve been told by longtime (15+ years) skaters, and it has helped me tremendously!
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u/confuzzledeb 1d ago
as a taller person short blockers were my nightmare. Im 5'9" and I had to develop so much more leg strength and core strength to even get in a wall with my shorter blockers. and as a jammer, forget about it. they could get under me in ways that it was hard to combat.
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u/Muffintop_mafia Jammer 1d ago
We have a few similar sized skaters on our team and theyre some of the best blockers we have. And its because they get INCREDIBLY low. Its hard to generate power against a blocker that had their ass in your shins. So unfortunately, I just have to say the cliche "get lower" comment.
BUT a good way to get your confidence/stability up is cat and mouse. Its 1 on 1 blocking where the "jammer" tries to push and laterally get past you, but doesnt try to blow your shit up with 100% effort. They put in as much effort as you need to, to practice the skill. It has been the single greatest drill for me to get more confident blocking.
Lastly, something to keep in your mind if youve never done this drill before. You’re going to be bad at it and feel very uncomfortable doing it. But that is absolutely FINE. You should feel uncomfortable. That means your body is learning a new thing. Its gonna suck, but its also only going to serve to make you better. ^ _ ^
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u/jeanquad507 1d ago
I'm tall but I have less mass than a lot of my teammates and what I think can't be overstated is form. If you have really good body positioning when you hit, drive, or hold, you make physics work for you. A bigger person sometimes gets away with just being big and they can shoulder hit with no leg behind it and still wreck people. You're gonna have to be as close to perfect as possible. You'll need to hit whole body and low as possible. Lots of edges. I do plows going down really steep hills alternating legs.
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u/Due_Regret355 18h ago
Agreed with what everyone else said here, too! When I started derby I thought that my body type was only good for jamming, but I had no interest in jamming. One question I would ask people is how to be an effective blocker if you aren't rocking a bigger body. Things that have worked for me: get strong, use your size to be an agile blocker who can stay on a jammer through their juking and move quickly laterally. Use physics to your advantage ("drop" when a jammer hits your wall - to direct their force down).
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u/WillowWhipss 10h ago
Get even lower than you think you need to, if they can’t use their upper body for leverage they lose a ton of their power.
As others have said, go and lift weights. Fundamentals I always include in workouts are some variation of;
Day 1;
Squats (back, front, sumo, Bulgarian split, etc)
Deadlift (RDL, single leg, hex bar)
Day 2;
Overhead press (strict or dipped, bar or dumbbell, including single arm)
Bench press (standard, slow down explosive up, single arm etc)
I then do accessory add ons to each of those focusing on plyometrics, core, explosive power, etc.
Day 3 is cardio / plyometrics
Hope this helps!!
I have some videos on my TikTok of some of my workouts to give some ideas, WillowWhips
Also thanks to people in here saying nice things about me 🥺🥺🥺
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u/sassytit 1d ago
As a tall player, I always say this is a small girl's game!
More than once I've set up on the line to play O on a player that is suddenly at knee hight for me and then there's nothing I can do about that. It becomes illegal contact for me so I have to get out of their way and pick a new target.
Trying to stop a blocker that can get underneath me is im possible. Being pushed by a blocker that's below me, all they have to do is push up with force and I'm done for....
Keep going and find your shorty superpowers fr
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u/FavoredKaveman 2d ago
Have you tried… getting lower?
You’re describing my nightmare blockers. Being small just makes it easier to get under foot. You don’t have to obliterate anyone with your hits. You just gotta steer their thighs where you want them to go. You get lower than they can, and come up to get them off balance. You give them no place to hit you besides your head and your back, and send them to jail if they try.