Getting a Men's League Started..

[dr.spankenstein]

Roller Derby man asked in a previous post:

i chris christine want to start a mens team in van buren arkansas if you can help me out i would be very greatful

You've come to the right place. This board was organized by men's derby leagues: Harm City Homicide, New York Shock Exchange, and the men's division of Pioneer Valley Roller Derby. These leagues have nearly 4 years cumulative experience organizing and running their respective leagues - so we can hopefully provide you with some valuable insight.

Also - there are guys from all over the country who have founded men's leagues and can also jump in and offer suggestions.

The first things you'll want to do is to recruit and then find a place to practice.

Recruiting:
There are lots of ways to go about this:
- Get an email address and (ideally) a myspace account for your new league. Your myspace account will allow you to post 'up to the minute' information about your league: practice space, events, pictures, info about your league.

- Schedule a time and place for your first meeting - where you will talk about what you are doing. and how you plan to get it going. This shows people that you are SERIOUS about organizing. And gives potential recruits a definite time/place to gather and meet up

- Put up paper flyers in area hotspots: roller rinks, music stores, tattoo shops, basically anywhere. talk it up. Make sure the flyers have your email address, and links to your myspace, and the time/date of your first meeting. People may travel up to 2-3 hours to practice. I believe, the Midwest Men's Roller Derby league has an interesting setup where they practice in different cities for each practice. So THINK BIG. Post your flyers as far away as you can.

- You can advertise online - on craigslist, or other internet resources. post HERE on the Men's Derby Coalition boards. There are other yahoo groups, and forums related to roller derby that might be read by guys in your area who want to play.

Find a place to practice:
Until you have a group of people who can chip in and pay dues, it might not make sense to look for dedicated practice space that costs $$$. When PVRD was starting out, we went to open skates at our local rinks. Mainly we were learning how to skate. Some of our more experienced skaters taught our inexperienced skaters. We also took skating lessons as a league. Once we got the basics, we reached out to our local women's derby teams for help with drills, and gameplay, etc. As you get more established, we can definitely help you with that here.

You can also find outdoor locations (through the summer). Skating in public places (legally) will also drum up interest in your league. People will stop by and say 'hey what are you doing' and then you can hand them a flyer.

Depending on how fast your league is growing, it might be prudent to start talking to local venues (rinks, sports complexes, warehouse spaces - basically anywhere with hard wood, sport court, cement or any other suitable skating floor). You should find out how much they charge and see what it would take to afford that space. Shop around.

That should be a good start. Anyone else have suggestions?

[slim]

This is all great info, Dr. Spankenstein. Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

I really must re-iterate how important it is to have regular practices, even if it just means three or four guys meeting up in a parking lot outside somewhere at 9 AM on a Saturday morning (hey, that's how Homicide got started!). Find a time that works for you and get the guys you do have, whether it's three people or ten, used to coming and working out together. If you can find coaches among experienced derby skaters, all the better.

If not, focus primarily on endurance, form, and basic derby skills (falls, maneuverability, etc.) for those first practices. Continue making a presence at local open skates, also, where you can practice the simpler stuff.

Eventually, you will start picking people up, people who see you at open skates or derby events or in a bar and are intrigued by what you're doing. This is where those regular practices will come most in handy. Already having some experience under your belts, a regular time and place to encourage folks to meet up at, and the ability to work together will really aid in early recruitment.

Also, if you're in a city with a local derby team, I can't stress enough how much it has helped us to work with them whenever possible. Our girls provided us with coaches early on, gave us opportunities to skate in a real rink far before that was within our budget, supported us at fundraisers and events, everything. We forged a close relationship early on, based on ground rules that we set up together (protocol re: approaching each other's sponsors, when it is and isn't OK to share a practice, basic rules of respect), and because of that, we were able to grow together. When we grew a bit bigger, that early relationship later allowed us to do things like host double-headers, make financial commitments together, and even appear together in front of crowds of 1500+.

Of course, you don't need a women's team in order to function - but if you've got one, work with it! There was some initial resistance at first, but eventually we all realized that we're doing this because we love the sport.

If you don't have a ready source of experienced skaters to aid you in initial coaching, don't be afraid to ask folks from afar. I know I personally travel for derby almost every weekend, and find myself in a different city every time. With such a supportive and connected community, you're never as far away as you think you are from personal support and coaching during those rough early months.

I still find myself bursting with pride when I think how far Homicide has come since those days of skating around in circles in an old parking lot, pretending not to be hungover. I also can't believe how far other men's teams have come in an equally short period of time. Whenever things are discouraging, think of that, and remember that you are never alone!

Virginia Slim
Captain, Harm City Homicide (Baltimore, MD)

[Bazooka Joe]

Since Dr. Spankenstein pretty much covered everything I would have offered from our experiences, let me just add:

Be Patient

I believe strongly that this is key to the success of any derby club. Do not rush things. Resist the urge to bout right away. Develop your skaters, develop your club. Work on skills, work on your club's structure, work on your relationships with other leagues. Do not go off half cocked. Every derby league's success or failure has an impact on the community as a whole. This is especially true for the guys, since there are relatively few of us.

Thank you

[Roller Jock]

Hey guys,

Has the Pioneer Valley team thought about starting a men's team in the Metro Boston area? A lot of us in Boston don't have cars so getting to Northampton is really tough.

[Jurasskick Park]

Hey Roller Jock -

We can put you in touch with Wrench, who comes out from Boston to practice with us regularly - I'm sure he has room for more!

I don't know exactly where he is coming from, but it might be better than not playing roller derby at all...

-JP

[Bazooka Joe]

Hey guys,

Has the Pioneer Valley team thought about starting a men's team in the Metro Boston area? A lot of us in Boston don't have cars so getting to Northampton is really tough.

I have certainly fantasized about setting up a Pioneer Valley Roller Derby - Eastern Division. How deliciously ironic it would be to have something in Boston run by an organization based in Fascinating & Mysterious Western Mass.© (as someone who grew up in Metro Boston and has spent the last 8 years West of Worcester I am officially qualified to say that)

Unfortunately, until scientists get off their asses and perfect that machine that inserts 12 more hours into the day, I'm afraid we aren't in a position to branch out that far.

Last I checked, there were plenty of guys in Boston and Providence who would like to play Roller Derby. The problem thus far has been getting someone to take the lead. Big Willy of PRD has stepped forward to try to get something going in Providence. You can reach him here on this board.

As JP mentioned, Wrench, a ref from Boston Derby Dames has been practicing with us for a few months and will be playing with us in our upcoming bouts. I will send you his address. You can talk to him about trying to get something going in the Hub, or perhaps you could hitch a ride with him to a practice or three out here.

Thank you

[Rollerjock]

What's up guys?

I love in Boston, and really want to play Roller Derby. I know there's the PVRD, but I don't have transportation to get out to Northampton. Do you think PVRD would be interested in helping to start a Metro Boston team?

[dr.spankenstein]

Hey RollerJock,

We'd love to help get something started out there - but it seems like nobody really has the time to take the helm. There is a league forming in Worcester - Central Mass Roller Derby. Reffington Steele is the guy you'd want to get in touch with there.

Alternately - there are a few guys (like Wrench, and Fresh Eddie) who commute from Boston to Pioneer Valley. You might be able to catch a ride with one of them.

I'd definitely love to get you more involved - its clear that you still want to play! Private message me if you have any specific questions or if there is anything I can do to help facilitate.

[Reffington Steele]

We'd love for you to come skate with us over in Worcester, but I don't think we currently have any members coming from Boston. I'm guessing if you can't make it to Northampton, you can't make it to Leominster where we practice either. If you ever get a car or a friend with one, we're having practices every Sunday for the month of March at Roll-on America (http://www.rollonamerica.com) and we'd love to have you.

[Wrench]

Hey RollerJock.

I emailed you before when you 1st posted. Please send me your contact info so I can keep in contact if we ever get something happening in the Boston area. Right now I have an injured knee and ankle and can't play derby but hope to be back shortly.

heres my email: macken5000@hotmail.com

-Wrench