An Evening With The Eastern Iowa Outlaws-- Part Two

One of the latecomers to practice was one of the Cedar Rapids Rollergirls who made the jump to the Outlaws with Miller. Kathie Saunders, aka Mis-B-Havin. Saunders, who works at Cargill, jetted over to Monticello after getting off of a plane from Minneapolis where she attended various meetings. Not only that, Saunders, 43, also teaches fitness classes, including kickboxing, water aerobics and cycling, something she has done for the past 14 years.

Yet it was an feat of athleticism that she could not do that led her to begin a derby career in March 2009.

“I didn’t know how to skate and someone said ‘You should try out’ and so I decided I should,” Saunders said with a giggle“It probably took me a good six months to learn how to stay on my skates really well. I skated probably three time my entire life.”

Yet it was the fact that she hadn’t skated that motivated her because she saw it as a challenge. The challenge has come with some consequences, however. Saunders said that only recently has she started collecting bruises as the beginning struggles with skating have given way to a crazier approach that comes with confidence.

At home, Saunders has two children, one who is a college student at the University of Iowa and the other who is a sophomore. They are thrilled with their mothers derby adventure, but not surprised.

“I have this personality where people are not surprised when I go out and do things,” she said. “You know ‘Oh my God what are you doing now?’”

Her only previous bout experience was in a scrimmage, but she will be one of the Outlaws to attend the mixer bout in Beloit this Saturday.

The three hour practice in Monticello was a challenging, sweat soaked affair featuring drills testing skill and endurance.

During one drill, as the Outlaws skated around the makeshift derby oval, Miller blows a whistle

“BASEBALL!”

Immediately the girls on the track, who were going at a decent speed on their skates, hit the ground and do five sit ups. They get up off the ground and start to skate again.

A few seconds later, Miller yells, “ROCKSTAR!”

The team hits the deck and does five push-ups before getting up again for more skating. Among those engaged in this exercise was the skater known as Holly Hotwheels.



By day, Holly Hotwheels is known as Amber Jordan, a stay at home mom. Jordan’s adventure with roller derby began when she, accompanying a friend to a Cedar Rapids Rollergirl tryout at Super Skate in Cedar Rapids in February 2009, decided to put on a pair of quads after over 15 years.

“And I got to thinking ‘Hey! I don’t think I’m that bad!’” she said. “Then I got to thinking, you know, ‘I live in Scotch Grove. That would be an hour drive for me.’ And then I was like ‘You know what? You’re only young once you better do it now.’ So I did it and got on (with the Rollergirls).”

From there, Jordan, 37, immersed herself in the world of roller derby, to the point where her husband believed she became obsessed. After derby practice she would arrive home and hit the internet, looking at derby videos on YouTube.com, reading up on derby tips and drill, and even getting addicted to tights. Initially she would be more of a blocker, but after finding that she could attain a great amount of speed on the track, she decided to add jammer to her derby repertoire.

Her first bout was with the Cedar Rapids Rollergirls in November 2009, an experience she described as being full of adrenaline. More bout experience is in the future for Jordan and some of the members of the Outlaws when they travel to Beloit, Wisconsin to participate in the Military Madness Roller Derby Mixer on Saturday.

Jordan described her experience with the Outlaws as being a very happy one, with team members providing an environment where no one talks negatively about others and where a lot of bonding occurs between her and her teammates.
“We push each other in good ways,” Jordan said. “I can push somebody-not intentionally pushing them- to be faster or to try harder. And if someone is having a bad day, which we’ve all had our bad days and we think ‘why are we doing this?, we can see that in your eyes and you go pep that person up and bring them up.”

The practice moved into a drill where the Outlaws divided themselves into three groups. The two girls on the out lines were blockers with the center line being a jammer. One series saw Mis-B-Havin as a jammer and a player known as Da Thrilla Ice, or Ice for short, and another Outlaw serving as blockers. Despite the speed of Mis-B-Havin, Ice virtually stopped her cold by extending her backside in a textbook blocking maneuver. This was greeted with a positive reaction her fellow Outlaws, the coaches and Mis-B-Havin herself.

“Big ass, no pass,” Ice said as she skated back toward the line.

Outside the derby world, Ice is known as Christina Updegraff, 25, a mother and bartender at Buffalo Wild Wings in Cedar Rapids. Before seeing a Cedar Rapids Rollergirls bout that piqued her interest, Updegraff did not know that Roller Derby was as big of a deal as it turned out to be. Ice found out from fellow Outlaw Big Show that tryouts for the Outlaws were taking place, so she jumped at the chance- despite not donning a pair of roller skates in six years.

Updegraff said her first practice with the team was difficult with her struggling with balance and basic derby moves like the crossover. She credits Outlaw coaches for working with her one-on-one and understanding her skill level and her drive to succeed at a sport that she fell in love with at first sight. This drive is best exhibited by the fact that Updegraff has diabetes.

“I can’t do a lot of sports because getting hot and stuff gets me really dizzy and sick and stuff like that. For some reason there is a lot more strength in me than…I don’t know why. I don’t know why I do this,” she said with a laugh adding that she makes sure her blood sugar is up before practice.

At the end of practice, as the Outlaws gathered around center court to cool down, Vomacka led the team in an exercise where a team member is singled out and the rest of the team gives positive feedback as to the players performance. Vomacka finished this exercise by addressing the Outlaws as a team, crediting their perseverance.

“Hardly anyone just gives up and takes off their skates and that makes me smile,” she said. “Something must be here for you all to keep coming back.”