I am a blocker. That’s what my thick body and big booty were built for. While all of us can pick out favorite blockers we crush on hard from the most popular WFTDA charter teams, the truth is that most blockers don’t see a lot of the spotlight. Unless they are derby-experienced, most fans focus on the jammers and the announcers talk about them a lot more, too. It can be argued that they score all the points but, sometimes, it’s discouraging to blockers who may quite literally be busting their asses to provide the perfect, tenacious combination of offense and defense at the same time.
Then I started jamming. When our league recruits someone with jamming promise, they move up pretty quickly, leaving little for the c-team. We have a game on Saturday and, of our 4-jammer rotation, only 1 is really a jammer.
The reason the jammers deserve our respect and recognition is because this shit is hard. Yes, derby is hard but jamming is harder. The reasons why people avoid the star, why there are games of “not it” at scrimmage practice – are the same reasons why they deserve all of the accolades they receive and more. I’m not the first person to suggest that it’s not a star on her head, it’s a target. The jammers take more hits than anyone on the track and, I speculate, are more likely to face serious injury as a result. Pushing through 4 strong women is no easy task and, in about 10 seconds, she has to do it all again – making it the purest form of high intensity interval training. She also bears more responsibility and takes more blame. If she has a bad jam or goes to the box, her whole team and coaches and many fans will notice. Blockers get to be a little more anonymous.
So, don’t judge and don’t hate. Thank and encourage your jammer even if she sucks…especially if you’re not willing to take the star.
Cinder Block 