Diesel Doll Brings The Pain

Posted on April 9, 2009

By Holly Hitsville

Diesel Doll skates for both the Pistol Whippers (PW) and the Detroit Derby Girls (DDG) Travel Team.  On Saturday, her home team takes on the Devil’s Night Dames, which should be an intense game considering that one team has yet to lose a game this season while the other can’t seem to win. This week I caught up with Diesel Doll to talk about her skate clog envy, the lie Devil Kitty tried to sell her, and the long list of sports she has tackled.

Describe your skating and/or athletic background before roller derby.

Since I was a kid, I have always been involved in league sports and after college I was very active in a sport and social club. I have played organized softball, soccer, volleyball, flag football, ice hockey, and floor hockey. I’m also an avid lover of outdoor athletic activities like backpacking, camping, fly-fishing, rollerblading, trap shooting, and mountain biking. Back in the day, I used to roller skate all the time. I even had a pair of the adjustable metal skates that strap onto your shoes! I was jealous of the girls that had the roller skate clogs (ca. 1978).

How long have you been playing roller derby and when did you start skating for the Detroit Derby Girls (DDG) and the DDG Travel Team?

I started playing with the Detroit Derby Girls in October 2005. I was one of the original members of the “Travel Team” that played Sin City (Las Vegas) February 2006. I took a season off from the Travel Team then tried out again after I was inspired by Detroit’s performance at 2007 Nationals in Austin, TX.

What made you want to become involved in roller derby?

When I learned about DDG it sounded interesting, dangerous, and I thought, “Hey, I can do this!” I attended my first league fundraiser and thought everyone was very cool, creative, and fun. This is where Devil Kitty, in an effort to recruit players, straight up lied to me saying that derby is no more dangerous than any other sport I’ve played.

You are one of the seven founding members that still skate for the Pistol Whippers. What do you think the biggest advantage is of being on a team made up mostly of established veterans?

The PW may be known as the “old ladies” of the DDG, but we are aging like a fine cheese. We enjoy swapping recipes, crochet patterns, and playing bridge. Having a second-nature understanding of how your teammates will react in a given situation and playing on everyone’s strengths is an advantage for us. We are very excited about how well our two rookie players, Jackie O. Noyoudidnt and Mega Bloxx, have been brought into the fold and we look forward to their debut this Saturday!

The Devil’s Night Dames are coming into Saturday’s bout as the long shot and a little bit of a wildcard since five of them have never bouted before. Does playing against a relatively rookie-heavy team make you cautious at all in your skating? Or are you going to teach the new gals a hard lesson?

We are certainly NOT underestimating the player talent, seasoned or new, on the Dames. Their rookie players are emerging as hard-hitters and solid positional blockers and jammers! Having said that, the Whippers have no intentions on going easy on anyone….we approach all bouts with equal ferocity. We’ve had no luck in asking Sarah or Del Bomber to take it easy on the Dame’s rookies! Everyone in derby gets her comeuppance!

The Pistol Whippers are going into Saturday’s bout undefeated so far this season. Do you have anything you’d like to say to the Devil’s Night Dames that we could print here?

The PW’s would like to deliver an undefeated season. To do this we will need to bring some pain to the Dames.

Last two photos shot by Colin Johnson

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