East Lansing, Mich. Lansing Roller Derby is set to begin its season next week.
Ali ‘Jahrmageddon’ Zahr, the league’s president and coach, says he is trying to fix not only the mechanics of the teams but also their mindset. Zahar has been active in the league since 2011.
“Whatever that pump-up, as a coach, I try to help people find that. For some people, all they really need is to be hypnotized, and they need to be tempered a little. and they need to find that kind of inner fire, and other people need to keep it cool, keep the cucumber cool and keep it zen because it helps them focus. So, whatever that kind of The coaching model that I use personally is I coach on an individual basis,” Jahr said.
Individuality is important in this league but working as a team is also important, and for many of these athletes, this is their first time doing so.
“I think it’s really important for the community to have a space for women, and non-binary folk, and transgender folk, and to have a safe space for those people to participate in a sport, and you should also know that Won’t be how much it brings to women.” Lives,” said Poison.
The derby celebrates individuals and helps guide its athletes, as many of them were not initially athletes.
โMost people who come here don’t have experience playing sports, which is surprising to me. In fact 80% of the people who join our league don’t necessarily play sports, and they definitely Full-contact sports didn’t happen. So it’s been a weird unique situation which is unbelievably awful,” Zahar said.
Getting into contact sports can be overwhelming for some, but Jahr says he focuses on the basics first. Then, they test each athlete with a skill assessment before introducing them to physical contact.
They also provide training camps for adults and children.
