SISTERS
PHOTO BY TRISTAN KING PHOTOGRAPHY
PHOTO BY DONNA OLMSTEAD
When Steel City Roller Derby was founded in 2006, it was one of 26 teams in the world— all of which were located in the United States. A little more than a decade later, there are over 2,000 leagues around the world. Steel City consists of several hometown teams including the Mon Monsters, Allegheny Avengers and Penn Bruisers, in addition to two travel teams— the B-Team named Steel Beamers and the A-Team named Steel Hurtin’, a nickname derived from the 1970s Steel Curtain.
Roller Derby has taken the Groll sisters all over the country and around the world as they’ ve played abroad in Australia, England and Canada.“ Since Roller Derby is still a growing sport, there are no full-time paid players,” explains Heather.“ It’ s a semi-professional sport and almost every expense is out of pocket.” Since games are held on weekends, most team members work during the day and / or on off-practice nights.
Leanne is currently an assistant manager at the Youngstown Country Club in Youngstown, Ohio, and has a degree from Youngstown State University in Exercise Science, giving her a leg up on the competition when it comes to training techniques and coaching in Roller Derby.
Despite her lack of interest in academics in high school, Heather graduated college with a major in Math and Science and currently works as a Technical Trainer, specializing in corrosion for NiSource.“ Turns out I do love math and science after all,” she laughs.
“ However, out of an estimated 30,000 Roller Derby players around the world, few are lucky enough to be sponsored,” continues Heather. Both
PHOTO BY JUAN P. PADEN
Heather and Leanne are among the lucky ones. Heather signed on with Riedell Roller Skates in 2011 and Leanne signed on with one of the first Roller Derby-specific skate companies, Mota.“ We are both very lucky to be among the few that have been asked to represent these roller skate companies and we do so proudly,” says Heather.
Roller Derby is more than a hobby for the Groll sisters— it’ s a lifestyle. While the Roller Derby season goes from January through September, the sisters train year round with practices that involve full-contact hits, strategy, agility and strength building in addition to individual workouts that include lifting at the gym, running on the trail, speed skating, yoga, biking and many other demanding physical activities. In the off-season, the sisters focus their efforts on guest coaching in some of the surrounding leagues and try to share their insight on skill, game play— both mental and physical— and how to be a good Derby sister.
Roller Derby is a tight-knit group, accepting of all shapes, sizes, races, genders, backgrounds and more. According to the Groll sisters, the sport can take players from anywhere and give them the opportunity to be a rock star, with 60 new best friends, and a huge support system.
“ This decade-long chapter has been a very rewarding experience for me,” says Heather.“ My sister, who’ s been playing for seven years now, has made it even more enriching.” Both sisters agree their parents have been a strong influence and support, carving a path that allowed their children to explore both academics and athletics throughout their lives, as they tried to find the perfect fit. Heather also credits one of her Peters Township Middle School teachers, Donna Vaverka, for encouraging her to follow her dreams.“ She used to tell me almost every day that I was going to be something big some day, and always asked me not to forget her when
I was accepting my Grammy or Oscar one day,” says Heather.“ Now, as a world-traveled, sponsored Roller Derby Queen, here’ s my‘ I’ d like to thank …’ for Mrs. Vaverka!” n
Peters Township | February / March 2017 | icmags. com 43