Playing in Overtime

It's not something that happens in a lot of bouts. Overtime – An additional jam to determine the winner of a tied game.

In close games, everything is in the details and mistakes are magnified tenfold.

The Quad-City Rollers have found themselves in two different overtime jams this season. The first was against the Rockford Rage's Ragdolls, a mix of their Travel team and secondary-level players.

That game ended in a loss after Q-C jammer Lady Gotcha tapped out for an injury stoppage, and giving the point advantage to Rockford.

On August 27, the Rollers got to play against The Outfit's newest team, Shakedown, comprised of B and C team skaters. Two years ago, Q-C's A-team played against The Outfit B-team (The Shade Brigade), and lost handedly.

This time, Q-C would get some measure of revenge after both teams would skate to a 150-150 tie after the Rollers would fail to get a 3-point differential to come out with a win.

The overtime happens when the game is tied at the natural end of the game clock and any current jams are finished.

Often called overtime or sudden death, the overtime jam actually is an extension of the second half, and not a new half in regards to scoring.

The overtime jam consists of No Lead Jammer being designated; scoring occurs on every pass (even the initial one) and will continue for a full 2 minutes, or until a natural conclusion (referee stoppage, injury stoppage).

Lucky enough, the Rollers managed a 166-158 win even after losing two blockers to the box.

The key with overtime is pack control. In overtime, you know the jam is going to last for 2 minutes, so staying composed is mandatory.

I talk a lot about positive point differential (getting more points than opponents), and most people probably will say "no duh." For regulation jam games, positive point differentials and utilizing lead jammer is important. Without lead jammer, teams instead have to focus on the point differentials and pack control for the whole 2 minutes.

After overtime, the winner is decided by who earned the most points. If the game remains a tie, an additional overtime jam will commence.

In overtime, winning can be measured by a 1-0 point jam or a 20-19 point jam. Keeping pack control and tight focus can make the difference in earning that one extra point, instead of losing that extra point.

I encourage teams to practice specific situations to become more and more comfortable when those happen in bout situations.

Because our team had the previous experience in overtime, our focus was on our pack control.

We knew that the overtime jam was a possibility so we had our next line ready to go. Had we not anticipated the new jam, we would have thrown five girls out there that might be in penalty trouble.

The Rollers were also aware of how the overtime jam worked, so the blockers worked on getting our jammer through and collapsing on the opposing jammer, to minimize the amount of points she could score.

Practice overtime jams whenever possible: 2 minutes, no lead and scoring on the first pass. While they happen quite infrequently, they do happen. You want to be prepared when they do.

Running set plays and executing

Running set plays or sets occur on lots of other sports, but the idea mostly comes from basketball, that Western Hemisphere pastime in which coaches call timeout and draw up the play to win the game.


Derby is slightly different. While our sport does draw on a rich history dating back to the Depression era, most of the sport draws its inspiration from the 70s-style bank track where body slamming and elbows to the face won over strategy.


But, since the sports rebirth in the early-2000s, teams and leagues have been making strong headway to legitimize the sport, and thus the introduction of sets.


When I first started, spectators would ask me if we had plays or not. At the time my answer was "no," but only because we hadn't developed as strong as a team yet and trying to get 25-30 players to follow a "play" was nearly impossible. As we improved we started to incorporating different set plays and it started to improve our game.


We worked as a team and recognized the benefits of having goals. From here we can continue to evolve.


This summer we're working on a specific goal to incorporate a new style largely credited to Pitchit Davis, who with some help is credited with helping several teams break the wall to become great.


With any system of sets, I have a few rules of thumb:
1. Don't introduce more sets than your players have the ability to learn. This generally means more than one. The larger the group of players the less likely everyone is going to understand. Keep it simple. Multiple moving parts makes it harder to learn. Learn it, then move on.
2. Practice, practice, practice. It's incredibly hard to introduce a set in the middle of the game. But it does happen. Use practice time to run sets over and over again. Start out playing against imaginary opponents, then move to using players being dumb or playing stupid (simply skating bodies on the track) and finally graduate to full practice.
3. Don't give up on a set just because people don't understand it. Walk them through it. Explain it. Tell your players why it works and why it doesn't. Players will never develop trust in you if you constantly throw away your ideas.
4. In scrimmage and bout situations, if your team fails executing a set. Try to break it down for them when they're done. You're the coach or captain: You should know exactly what happened. Draw it out for them. This may mean not having an eye on the game for a jam, but it can be crucial for your team to know where they went wrong.
5. Likewise, if they execute a set properly reward/praise them immediately. And once they come off the track from that jam. And again on the bench. AND again at the after-party. (Oh, we're not done.) When you have practice again, praise her again. Positive reward/praise builds confidence and ability than negative or none at all.


(My formula is: Immediate positive praise > positive praise > constructive criticism > nothing  > negative comments.)


Never (ever) criticize a player in front of everyone unless you immediately follow it with a solution, or if you want to make sure everyone understands the whole situation. 


Never be: "WHY DIDN"T YOU CALL THE JAM WHEN I TOLD YOU TO?!" when you can be: "Hey, Why didn't you call the jam?" Then give you're skater time to reply. If she didn't see you, then you need to make sure she's watching for you. If she thought she could score points, then explain to her why it was/wasn't a good idea.


I never get upset if a player chooses to make up her own mind. However, I will ask her the reasoning in her choice and we'll talk about it.


"Well, just execute him!"
Executing a set play in a bout provides one of the best highs a coach can get. Watching it all come together in one moment culminates hours and hours of practice.


In high pressure situations, sets can give your team the edge it needs to accomplish its one goal.


During a bout, don't run a set trying to put your five newest players in the game. If we've learned anything about roller derby it's no matter how many times you practice it when you're in a bout, you're going to forget it.


Make sure everyone on your bench understands the set, but most importantly make sure your next line has it down pat. Get verbal and visual confirmation that they understand. If someone isn't comfortable running the play, get someone it the line that is.


Don't get mad at the players if it simply doesn't work. A coach who takes out self-frustration on their players won't be a coach for long.


On the fly
Just like executing a set play, being able to draw one up on the fly (meaning in-game situations) uplifts you when it happens.


Drawing up plays during a game is one of the few times when everything hinges on your coaching ability. You're at the center of attention and your team is relying on you to formulate a plan.


A situation came up when we were playing a team from Des Moines several months back. Our front wall  was dominating the top of the pack for the first half, and we maintained control and the point spread. In the second half, our opponents got wise and instead of trying to break up the front wall, just established a back wall that allowed them to control from behind us. We had very little ability to get behind them to help our jammers through.


I called a timeout, regrouped my skaters and drew up a plan that would help us break their back wall, while maintaining the integrity of our front wall.


It didn't work. That time. The game ended and we lost by 40 points or so. But I didn't let it discourage me.


We took that play to practice and worked on it and worked on it.


Not long after we played Des Moines, both our A team and B team traveled up to Dubuque, Iowa, to play the Eastern Iowa Outlaws. Our B team had established a solid front wall, and just as Des Moines did, EIO learned to just build a wall behind us.


Our front wall hit turn 3, with our jammer hot behind the pack, getting ready to engage the back (and EIO's back wall). I yelled for our play and on turn 4 we executed perfectly, the outside player turned in toward the inside track catching their mid-wall player squarely in the chest with a shoulder block and taking her out of the play opening up a giant hole for our jammer to slide through.


It was like delivering birth to a roller derby baby. We continue to practice these plays over and over so that in the heat of the battle we can execute them (the plays, not the baby).


Being able to draw up plays on the fly takes one of two things (if not both): Imagination or experience.


Being creative can help a lot in drawing up new plays. Chances are someone has already drawn up similar halfway around the country, but you have to be aware of what you're players are capable. Knowing what will work, what should work and what won't work can give you an edge in drawing up plays.


Experience can play just as big of a role. Seen a situation happen years ago? How did that coach resolve the issue. Having the knowledge that you know the play work doesn't always translate to your skaters knowing how to execute. But having the confidence that the play works, is nice. Many basketball coaches have the benefit of growing up in a system in which coaching and plays are heavily involved.


Ever watch the LA Lakers and the commentators are talking about Phil Jackson's Triangle Offense. Well, Jackson was an assistant coach for Tex Winter, who used it. But Winter got it from Sam Barry, who began to formulate the ground work back in the 1940s (guestimate).


We don't quite have the same equivalent in roller derby, but we do have other teams learning at an alarming rate. It's important to watch as much derby as you can, and to break down other plays so that you can learn from them.

The psychology of losing, or You're down but not out

Losing isn't a goal that we all set out to accomplish. It's hardwired into our nature to win -- survival, last person standing, kill or be killed.


But the laws of nature, even though they govern a large part of our psychological and physiological makeup, aren't the "be all, end all" on the roller derby track.


We all want to win. But in any given sport, there can only be one winner.


That "Highlander"-like thought process has to stand at the forefront when you play any game. 


Whether you were beat by 1 point or 200 points, it's important to congratulate the other person/team with sincerity and professionalism, as you would expect the same from your opponent.


I hate excuses. I hate them on the track, and I hate them after the game.


If a player is making excuses on the track or bench, it creates negative energy, and negative energy -- just as positive energy is -- is infectious. One player behaving poorly will spoil the whole bench if someone doesn't control the situation efficiently and quickly. Let the negative energy go and it will consume you're whole team. It's much easier to control  one bad attitude than 14 bad attitudes.


"Nip it in the bud," as Barney Fife would say.


The problem with negative attitudes is that they're incredibly easy to give into. Staying positive takes work and when an opponent is constantly taking swings at your players it's harder to manage. The negative energy also casts a dense fog over the entire game, making it incredibly difficult to focus on the game at hand, which is what you and your players should be focusing on.


I've instituted a "quiet bench" philosophy, in which in our lineup the only five players "up to bat" -- or set to go into the next jam --  are the players who are talking are talking to each other. No one else should be chit-chatting, complaining or making any other verbal comment. None. They should be focusing on the game at hand. The five players "up to bat" should be communicating with each other on how they should play their position and what they need to do to improve the team's in-game standing.


A quiet bench goes above and beyond great measure to controlling bad attitudes. A player who willingly violates the "quiet bench" philosophy is in danger of voluntarily giving up her spot on the roster. No exceptions. Does it suck to lose a player willingly? Yes, but if you allow them to stay bench side you are essentially condoning their behavior. You will have to manage the attitudes of your bench less and focus on the game more.


The quiet bench extends all the way through game time, up until the end of the last jam. This becomes very difficult if it's a close game, but important if you are to set an example. 


We were at a game in which we were already winning and the announcers encouraged everyone to stand up and get loud for the last jam of the game. As my girls started standing and cheering I asked them to sit down and be quiet. "But they told us to stand up?" one of my players said/asked. "Who's your coach and what does your coach want you to do?" I replied. They politely took their seat and waited anxiously for the end of the jam. Was it a cold response? Yes, but necessary. The quiet bench should be an institution from the time the game starts until it officially ends, win or lose.


(If you are a coach who does not wear the A for the designated captain of your team, seat your captains as close to you as physically possible so that you can talk to them without having to yell across the bench. Yelling even if it's important isn't the best way to communicate as people's personal defenses immediately go up. Plus, you don't want to give away too much information to the other team. Bring your captains closer to you, and use your inside voice.)


After a jam, the heat can come pouring in -- as players complain about calls or a missed hit, etc. Control the issues at hand as quickly as possible and move on. If a player has to vent, let her vent, give her verbal and visual confirmation that you understand and move on. Sometimes all a person needs is an outlet to vent, otherwise it gets bottled up. But you can't get carried away and listen to five girls coming off the track all wanting to vent or you will never be able to focus on the next jam, so make it an exception for only a short few.


After the game is over, it's easy to start making excuses for a loss. Instead of negative reinforcement I try to cultivate positive, critical thinking. Instead of the things we did wrong, or what the other team did illegally, or missed calls -- I try to focus on the things we need to work on, how we can improve and what we can do to control future outcomes a little better.


It's incredibly hard to play a game when there are various events in which you have no control, i.e. bad calls, missed calls, what the other team does. As a coach/captain/player you have to focus on the things you can control and minimize the things you can't control. Things you can control in a game: Game clock (via timeouts, official reviews, injury stoppage), Intentional fourth minors (so you don't inadvertently jam a player with three minors), getting the right pack lineup at the right time, etc.


(As a rule I try not to use our official review on made calls or missed calls. A made call will stand nine times out of tend. A referee makes a call based on what he or she sees and it's pretty hard to argue the logic. Besides the referee may have seen something you didn't -- and you've successfully wasted a review. Likewise a missed call is hard to argue for because if three referees are watching the play and they all miss a call -- you aren't going to get the call made after the fact. Only ask for a official review on a made or missed call if you are absolutely, positively you can get the outcome changed and it drastically affects the game.)


There are plenty of things that one can control in a derby game, and maybe one day I'll actually make a list. But it's important to factor in as much as you do have control over, so that you get most advantages when playing a derby bout.


Are you a player that gets called on elbows a lot? There's not much you can do during a game, but at practice you can certainly work on giving hits without following through with the elbow. After a game, you can certainly ask a ref who called you on an elbow what he/she saw. Don't argue. Zebras often are the best source of information when it comes to changing our mental and physical gameplan for future games. They will usually tell you that you "followed through" or that you "swung your elbow" warranting the call.


As a coach, I try to take notes if I see something happen that I know we can fix. In the first intermission this can be crucial. Jot down two or three things at the most -- more than that and you will confuse everyone. I will usually give my few pieces of advice and then let every player know where they stand with minors and majors. And then we set up the first line for the second half.


(I try to take notes for the second half to address at the next practice if possible, but if the game is incredibly tight, it can be more difficult to remember to write things down.)


I'm hoping with a few improvements I can continue to hone how I coach in crucial games. I know that by managing my bench and focusing on the positive, we, as a team, have a better chance to improve on prepare for the next game even if we lost the last game.