Power Through the 4th Whistle Roller Derby Podcast

That's right. This week, I'm talking about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. What effect does this video game have on perfectionists? How about coping with expectations vs reality? How does this game help us with asking others for help? What does this game teach about forming and building relationships? What are YOU doing in your roller derby league that makes people want to move off your island? Wha...

Some of us want to be super duper serious in roller derby and achieve way hard. Some of us don't want to play this sport unless it's fun. How do we find the balance? I share the story of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal butting heads over their different personality types and experiences with different roller derby leagues and how we tackled this age old dilemma. 📷by Photobomber (Jess Whipple) Vi...

If roller derby goes away, are we still friends? Or is this all our relationship is built on?  This week's podcast starts off examining different types of relationships and their foundation. Then our main focus is the FIVE stages of organizational culture that determine what you can achieve together. How do you overcome trust issues, apathy, and sarcasm? How do you put aside egos and constant...

This week continues the multi-part series on Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and the Chicago Bulls. As I share the story of championships 2 thru 6, we see Michael Jordan's continued evolution as a leader when leadership by example is no longer enough, finding fuel to drive him in each battle, Phil Jackson's creative coaching and encouragement of a journey of self exploration for his players, the "en...

This week continues the multi-part series on Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and the Chicago Bulls. I explore Phil Jackson's leadership style and his 11 Principles of Mindful Leadership and Michael Jordan's evolution from a singularly focused superstar into a team player. The real mark of a star is how much better you can make your teammates.  Check out: Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson "The Last D...

What does it mean to be relentless? What would it be like to shed your fears, failures, and worries about the expectations of others? What would it be like not to hold back anymore and be true to yourself?  This week is part 1 of two episodes inspired by The Last Dance , the documentary that explores the career of Michael Jordan and the championship journey of the Chicago Bulls. Source Materi...

This episode, I spoke with Punchy O'Guts of 4EYES Coaching + Publications. Punchy is invested in using positivity, compassion, and forward-thinking to connect with, challenge, and inspire athletes. Punchy has published FIVE manuals for training those in roller derby as well as several articles in Five on Five Magazine .  This conversation focuses on a curriculum for safely returning to t...

We need to address racism in ourselves and in our teams and leagues. Don't juke around it. Break through the wall. It's a harder path and can be really uncomfortable at times, but we can come out stronger on the other side. Do the work. In this episode, I talk about the broader meaning of words we have heard for decades. We can't go further in our pursuit of Anti-Racism in roller derby and our liv...

This week I got to talk to Maurine Filip! Maurine Filip has played for Stockholm Roller Derby Allstars for many years and recently moved to Australia. Maurine has a master’s degree in Psychology and works mainly in sports psychology and organisational psychology. She’s helped individual skaters, teams, and leagues with many different challenges and in this episode, we dive into some of those, incl...

This week, we get to learn about the inspirational journey and competitive mindset of Erin Jackson. Erin Jackson is a jammer for Jacksonville Roller Derby AND Team USA Roller Derby. Erin grew up in inline speed skating with many national championships and was named Female Athlete of the Year for Roller Sports three times. Months after learning to ice skate, surprising everyone including herself, s...

This episode is NOT sponsored by Mota. “Don’t stop having conversations because it’s uncomfortable. I’ve been uncomfortable 32 years of my life. It’s ok for white people to be uncomfortable for the next couple years if it means that everyone is going to be equal and not judged because my skin is different... Social Media has given people this keyboard warrior mentality where they just say awful th...

To celebrate our very special 100th episode, I am giving an audio letter of gratitude to Bonnie D. Stroir. She inspired me on my path to becoming a better athlete, teammate, leader, and human being. I met Bonnie D. Stoir in 2013 about a month before she retired from roller derby after skating and coaching for over a decade. Bonnie D. Stroir was the first full time traveling roller derby coach and...

People love complaining. It seems harmless, it connects us as human beings when we can vent to each other or agree with each other on social media. Venting seems to make us feel better. It makes us feel less alone. But what does it really do? You might get a positive boost from that connection but what happens afterward?  We can improve our health and wellbeing, enhance our relationships, enc...

Releasing this special episode with Double H a day early! In this episode, we discuss the future of roller derby and the big questions that are always being asked. Should roller derby be an Olympic sport? Will roller derby become a professional sport? Will there be a future where I tell someone I play roller derby and they DON'T ask if I elbow people? What's with the pay gap for women's sports and...

Inspired by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I have created the derby athlete hierarchy of needs, outlining all the levels of the pyramid you need to to satisfy starting at basic skating skills and finishing with HIVE MIND. I'll be responding to listener mail of a discouraged skater and offering tips on how we can bond together during tough times and support each other. Come to our FB page at 6pm EDT...

Where do I even begin? Bonnie Thunders has accomplished sooo much in this sport! Teams and players change their strategy and playing style to defend against her jamming. Bonnie makes others into better players by bringing it every day. Bonnie started playing roller derby in 2006 with Gotham Girls Roller Derby, later transferred to her current team, Rose City Rollers, and played with Team USA in th...

Do you feel like you don't quite "fit in" with your team or league? Do you struggle as a leader influencing your teammates? Do you find yourself in conflict more than collaboration? This week, I'm sharing lessons I learned from Dale Carnegie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" written in 1936 that have helped me grow as a teammate and leader in roller derby. 📷by Ciara Janae Photogra...

I researched the history of the sport of roller derby from 1935 to 1999. From Leo Seltzer and Transcontinental Roller Derby to RollerGames of the 1980s... What a strange journey our sport has had! The endurance races, the staged fighting, the Alligator pit, RollerGames the video game...there is SO MUCH to unpack here. See the FULL VIDEO on our Youtube channel at this link: https://youtu.be/Slp3jr9...

“It’s so easy to fall in love with roller derby when you’re part of something bigger than yourself that pushes you.”   We have a special guest this week -- Loren Mutch!! After starting out in junior derby, Loren Mutch became a jammer for the Rose City Rollers in Portland, Oregon. She played in the gold medal game at WFTDA Championships the last six years in a row! Mutch was named MVP of...

This episode is about the journey of growth, learning, and rising to challenges as an athlete and human being. I share some framing devices for when you are confronted with setbacks and turning them into challenges. Plus a bit of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", Stoic Philosophy from Seneca, and....video game mindset. 📷by Kit Ruff - ShutHerUp Photography Visit Steaks Wear at steakswea...

There's no better way to grow our wonderful sport than by getting other people emotionally invested. How do you do that? With stories. Let's celebrate the history of roller derby by sharing stories of major accomplishments, rivalries, and fierce competition. This is the story of the highest scoring jam in roller derby that is NOT on the greatest of all time list...but it should be. Because it feat...

We have a special guest this week! Mr. Testosterone is a jammer for Vancouver Murder in MRDA and a beacon of positivity. Topics we discuss in this episode include being a "Do-er", failure being the key to success, the jammer ego, and the importance of having fun playing derby and not taking ourselves too seriously. Find Mr. Testosterone on Instagram @mrtestosteroneltw8 and on Youtube at I'm the Ja...

This week, we are joined by Bork Bork Bork of Windy City Rollers. Windy City had large turnover in 2015 and made organizational and cultural changes to rebuild their league over the next FIVE YEARS. (Yes, it takes a LONG time to rebuild!) Bork shares how it was done and the important areas of focus in the process as well as ways to stay better organized as a league.  Plus that BIG question --...

Why do I talk about Harry Potter in this episode?!??! You'll have to listen to find out. ;-) Continuing from our last episode of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, this episode focuses on asking for help. Why do we struggle with this in general? Is it a badge of honor to do it all on our own? Is admitting we aren't perfect or have it all figured out so bad? Let's talk about how asking f...

"Here we stand Worlds apart Hearts broken in two, two, two Sleepless nights Losing ground I'm reaching for you, you, you" World in crisis? No matter! Power Through the 4th Whistle will press on.  This week, I discuss strategies you can use to coach yourself through problem solving and how you react to situations. We are facing heightened levels of emotions in the face of being separated from...