Derby Name: Ivanna Destroya

Number: 47

Team(s): Hellbombers, BRRG All-Stars, Midwest MEGA Team

Position(s): Pivot, Jammer, Blocker

You are a sensational jammer, yet you prefer pivot, why? HA! I don’t think I would use the word sensational to describe my jamming. During our first All-Star season I was used solely as pivot and I became a lot more comfortable at the front of the pack blocking. I’ve been working to get my jamming sparkle back though!

How did you learn of the league? I had heard Columbus started up a league and thought it sounded like a lot of fun. I googled to see if Cleveland had a league but there was nothing. I was considering making the commute to Columbus to play, but before that happened I found a group of women trying to start a league here and joined as soon as I could.

What can you do to further challenge yourself in the league? I always have a list of goals I want to achieve, both long term and short term stuff. I use that to keep myself motivated to push my boundaries and to not quit when I hit the wall.

What are your thoughts/feelings on the state of Roller Derby today? It’s great! I think it’d be great if we could get paid to do this some day.

Fill in the Blanks:
Roller Derby is to Ivanna Destroya as leggings are to Lohan

Your skill set is amazing, do you cross-train in anything? I practice out running lions, tigers and bears….oh my! I also lift cars a couple times a week.

What skates are you currently using? 965s and with reactors. Wheels are usually Zodiacs (lt blue). Big thanks to Rich and Skater’s Edge for hooking me up!

What do you do when you are not skating? hang out with my bffs, eat burritos, ride around with the all-girl bike gang, gchat/fbook/twitter, talk in abrevs, paint my nails, think of spiteful things to do, dramatic re-enacting, wear rompers, jump on beds with Slaughter, CoCo and Booty, think about how I’m not skating.

Which travel team game was your most challenging? I don’t think I could pick just one. I’m bad at the ‘what is your favorite’ questions. Each bout has some aspect that’s challenging for me, whether is skating, my mental game, or captaining. Cincinnati was one of my first bouts as captain so I really felt a lot of pressure. They were controlling the pace of the game early on and we really had to focus and re-group. We came so close to upsetting them, and it was one of the first times I think we all truly played as a team. The Brewcity bout we knew had a lot riding on it with regards to making regionals. We dug ourselves into a hole early on and let them get a big lead. But we made a huge comeback to close the gap to 5 points. I’m 100% confident that if we had one more jam we could have won. Hopefully we’ll get a chance for a rematch soon. Detroit was a big eye opener for me that we had a lot of work to do if we wanted to be competitive at the national level.

What are your thoughts on the differences from ’08 All-Stars to ’09 All-Stars? Well, we have a lot more experience playing interleague now compared to ’08. I think we’ve really upped how we’re training and we’re pushing ourselves a lot harder. We’re also taking the game a lot more serious now. We know if we want to be contenders we need to step it up. We’ve really been focusing on playing as a team this year as well. I think in the past we were relying on individual skaters to get the job done. Eva and myself have been trying really hard to emphasize ‘team’ and that we’re only as strong as our weakest player. We’ve grown so much as a team, and it’s really exciting to see how well we’re starting to play.

How has roller derby changed your life? I have met so many rad people from all over the country because of derby. I don’t do all that sappy shit so that’s all you’re getting outta me!

Is your family supportive of you in the league? Absolutely! They are extremely supportive and really into derby. They come to bouts whenever they can, and sometimes come on the road to see the All-Stars play.

Have you ever thought to go free agent, in attempts to balance the league? Sure, I’ve thought about it. You’ll just have to wait and see….

Have you had to make any sacrifices for derby? Summer time is really tough since we have home bouts and the All-Stars travel a lot. I try to keep a balance between skating and my other derby responsibilities with my ‘real’ life. It doesn’t always work out though.

What do you think is necessary to propel the sport of roller derby further? I think we’re headed down the right path. Continued exposure on a national level, finding new ways to train and push the limits.

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