Iona De-Track – you are our skater of the month!!!

Congratulations on being our skater of the month – how do you feel about this amazing accolade?
Thank you! I am honoured and exceptionally pleased by this lovely surprise… Also, looking forward to my cape! I get a cape, right?

What are you doing right now?
I am eating (quelle surprise!), and putting my feet up, after a hard day’s work, earning the pennies to fund my derby habit.

As our awesome head of mental training, you have helped so many dollies take control of their emotions during training and bouting – what advice can you give to others?
Take your mental training as seriously as your skills, tactics, fitness, rules knowledge etc. Derby is still a new sport, and a very physical one, but the mental game is incredibly important. It doesn’t matter  how talented or knowledgeable you are, if you don’t have the mental  skills to support your talent or knowledge on the track.

A little birdy told us, that not only are you a formidable dolly but you are also rather good at the more tame sport of hula hooping? What other activities do you like to participate in?
Before derby and hooping, my first love was yoga. It sounds an odd combination, but the strength, balance and mental focus I learned from it prepared me well for derby. Aside from yoga, another hobby of mine is fire spinning. That didn’t prepare me at all for derby, but it is cheaper than central heating in the winter.

Who are you most terrified of meeting on the track – anyone?
I’m too much of a people-person to be terrified of anyone. If there’s an Official Time Out, I’m usually one of the first to start a chat with the opposition…

If you can tell someone new to derby just 3 things – what would they be?
1) You “can’t”…. YET. But you will!
2) Get stuck in. Learn everything you can about derby – the rules, the way it’s played, the way your skates fit together, how to NSO, how your league runs… All of it will come in handy at some point.
3) Don’ t try to guess what your derby journey will look like or what you’ll be capable of in that time. Turn up, skate, and you’ll surprise yourself – that’s the best part!

If you could pick any song you wanted just for you for your skate out what would it be?
I love DRR’s song: “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC. It’s perfect!

What is your most favourite roller derby moment so far?
Making my travel team debut in Belgium was an amazing experience, and taught me a lot.

What Derby plans do you have for the future?
Jam more. Block more. Play more derby!

Thank you for your time and for this interview, we hope it will inspire ‘mental’ skaters all over the country to become as awesome as YOU! 🙂