By the beginning of 2012, WKRR head coach Barbie Clark (aka Barba Fett) was ready to start a Junior League. Her own children, along with other skaters' kids, were showing interest in the sport.
By the beginning of 2012, WKRR head coach Barbie Clark (aka Barba Fett) was ready to start a Junior League. Her own children, along with other skaters' kids, were showing interest in the sport.
"She wanted something outside of the normal, school sports fare," says BeBe, WKRR co-president. "So we went to Nasville to learn about the Junior Derby there. We brought it back to Paducah, and by the beginning of 2013 had about 20 Junior Leaguers!"
The Junior League practices weekly, focusing on not only the play of the sport, but basic life-skills such as teamwork and communication. During halftime at league home bouts, they do scrimmages complete with their own announcer.
Madison Ogg, a student at Graves County High School, is about to be one of the first to make the jump from Junior League to the adult group.
"I saw a commercial for the movie Whip It it on TV. I rented the DVD as soon as possible and fell in love with the sport. From that point, I told myself I would join a roller derby team someday. I loved skating anyways, and the fact that you could hit people was even better! A while later, I logged on to Facebook and saw that a friend of mine had shared a flyer for the new WKRR Junior team, and I told my mom I had to join."
Madison, who is also a competitive swimmer, saw something new and fresh in the derby. "I was getting tired of swimming and wanted a new sport I could play in college. I was a decent skater already and figured roller derby would be a good sport for me."
Like most new derby enthusiasts, it took a little convincing to get friends and family on board. "My friends thought I was crazy. Many of them thought I would not be strong enough for the sport. Now they think it's one of the coolest sports and keep asking to watch me play. My mom wasn't too crazy about it at first either; but it grew on her and now she supports me fully."
Madison enjoys different aspects of the sport such as teamwork, strategizing, and footwork, but it's the thrill of the game that keeps her coming back for more. "I love the sensation of going fast. I love the hits. I love anything related to danger and adrenaline, and this was the closest thing around here."
She sees her new-found love as a life-long pursuit. "I plan on playing all through college and hopefully afterwards, too. It would be nice to see roller derby become an official Olympic sport. It's great seeing all the commercials and TV shows and how well the media is accepting and promoting derby. I think the derby and I have a great future together!"
