The decision in 2017 to expand allowable bench staff from 2 to 4 has provided lots of great opportunities to envision greater support for roller derby teams. That adjustment period has been tough though, with many programs struggling to grow beyond the old 2 person system.
I love the experimentation a larger bench provides for and I’ve gotten lots of questions over the different roles and set ups that I’ve been a part of these last couple of years. Instead of answering those questions individually, including some that came after the Cups Run Tips piece, I figured a public resource post would be worthwhile.
Where to Begin
The struggle for most leagues isn’t role definition, it is recruitment and retention. The lifespan of a derby coach can be short and lots of leagues do not have pipeline structures that allow coaches to develop similar to the pathway of a skater.
If you want your league to be derby coach rich, you need to look at your structure and identify ways you can improve it. Do your fresh/challenge/expo teams offer low commitment/low intensity spaces for people to learn how to coach? Do your home team or B/C/D programs offer this? Many leagues under value coaching and simply roll experienced or injured skaters into these roles on game day. That, in my opinion, is a very short term solution and you won’t ever become a coach rich league by shutting off opportunities in that way.
Similarly, some programs really struggle with gate keeping. If one person is really limiting the ability to train and mentor Coaches by limiting opportunities for others, that’s a big red flag.
A change in structure also isn’t going to net results over night. No matter how hard everyone wants to be coached by the absolute best derby coaches, it takes time. Seeing leagues plateau and post for coaches every single year is painful because many people don’t get the shot at Year 2 or 3. With so many leagues behind in creating a positive structure for coaching, the inability to produce immediate results just restarts the cycle until ultimately an awareness grows that even many skilled (former) skaters are not immediately great coaches either. Regardless of your team’s immediate goals, becoming a good coach takes time. Have patience and give passionate people an opportunity.
Strength Based Approach
If you are able to recruit, the easiest way to build out a bench with inexperienced people is to focus on their particular strengths and train them first specifically for that role — the same way you would approach an inexperienced skater coming onto your team. Trying to teach people to be EVERYTHING to start is unlikely to net positive results, but getting people to focus on their strengths is.
What does this look like in practice? Does your league have anyone with a history of physical training, physiotherapy, sport rehab or personal fitness? Bring them on and work with them to develop and lead off skates and have them on your bench as a trainer on game day. The ability to work with the team off skates will build trust, the organization will help them learn how to practice plan and their role on the bench allows them to focus on their strength while also experiencing what being on a derby bench on game day is like.
Does your league have anyone with an interest in sports and knowledge of spreadsheets? Bring them on to run your in-game stats. Being able to identify skaters and chart success/struggles will help them learn about the team and it is a great entry role for people to later bench manage.
Does your league have an experienced official who would like to move to a Coaching role? Bring them on to wear the “A” in game and be an officials facing Coach on the bench to probe/ask questions, run reviews and explain penalties to skaters so they can adjust their gameplay quicker and play cleaner.
Three examples above are the three people I share the bench with at Tri-City. In every example a Head Coach role would have been turned down, but a role tailored to their strengths and with the opportunity to grow (Jen is now B Head Coach, Alex moved from Stats to Bench Manager, TJ is gonna win so many review this year) has provided a space for people to have success and learn.
Recruiting people to strengths also really cuts down on overlap and control/power issues — everyone knows their lane and is happy in it.
If you don’t have these skills in league, look outwardly for them. TJ, our officials facing “A” was recruited after Orangeville Roller Derby disbanded.
If there were other roles I felt we needed to fill, I would build a job description and post online with the same goal of creating an environment where that person can play to strengths, learn and have the opportunity for a larger role.
Ultimately, filling out a bench also means knowing exactly what you are looking for. “Good coaching” is the goal, not the job description. Break down the needs you have for your program and start looking for people who already have those strengths. I promise you they exist!
Examples of Bench Roles
Captains — Captains don’t take up a spot among the 4, but they should still get a mention. The trend is towards larger Captaincy groups — usually 3–5 among combined 30 A/B’s. A “C” role, like a Head Coach role, can end up being all encompassing. The more Captains can focus on relaying leadership through gameplay, the less the Captaincy will negatively effect their individual play and the more positive effects you will see with your team. Lighten the load and look to build out support roles to reduce burn out.
Officials Facing “A” — Popularized in 2019 by Philly (Judge Knott) and Montreal (Patricide), both of these programs moved from a traditional “A” Head Coach to an experienced Officials facing “A.” This allowed Head Coach duties to either be split on the bench, or simply allowed the Head Coach to go through the game with more bandwidth for skaters. Lots of leagues may not think they have strong Coaches just waiting for them out there, but rolling an experienced official onto your bench is an option more teams need to think about. On a personal level, I have learned more from being on a bench with TJ this year than anyone else ever.
Physical Trainer — My first experience with the Physical Trainer role was the legendary Papa Wow with Buffalo’s Lake Effect Furies. Papa originally had to stay off bench back in the 2 bench days, but was rolled onto bench when that number expanded. Papa had final say over return to play and his function on game day was bench support and then focusing on any in game injuries/gear issues. This is a great role for people with experience as physical trainers, physiotherapists, etc. In an expanded role this can grow to off skates training, prehab planning and also will have a positive influence on on skates training. Papa went on to wear the “A” with the Subzero Sirens before his derby retirement (miss you bud!). Jen with Thunder now has the “A” for Tri-City Thunder Bees.
Head Coach/Coach — Typically the “A,” this role can be all encompassing. I’ve worked to pass more of this role off on game day with Thunder, but will be wearing the “A” with the Furies this year only without anyone having that Head Coach designation. I am an invested Head Coach, which means I develop the full season travel training program and lead it. Some programs still have Captains run training, but ideally I’d love to see derby move towards a bit more faith and trust in Coaches. For me, I try and assess my weaknesses and then find people who can fill those gaps with strengths and/or just free up more time for me to focus on other areas.
For programs bringing on an “A” without much experience and few opportunities to learn, watch a lot of footage and still try and facilitate scenarios with your team where you might use an official review (overtime jam, late in a close game, overturn or grant an expulsion, etc). Also make sure to read Skew Blogs “Top Tips for Effective Communication for An Official Review”
You can also rely on the larger coaching network. I sent a lot of DM’s back in the day and regularly keep up with other Coaches. Coaching derby can be very lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. Rule 56 is also a great resource for this stuff.
Bench Manager — Bench Manager and “A” Head Coach were the original two roles on the bench. Most people know this role and unfortunately it’s the one most likely to have someone thrown into it at the last minute. A successful bench manager knows the game plan, knows the skaters (comes to practice!), and can identify match ups and maximize your roster in order to have success on the track. This needs to be more of a bench facing role. As match up derby becomes more prevalent, this role becomes more vital. The increase in bench penalties this year among the top 10 teams speaks to how hard this role is becoming. Always field your skaters!
Mood Minder/Support — I will never forget the look on my skaters from Orangeville when we broke down the Mood Minder role. They couldn’t believe it was an actual role, lol. If your team has a lot of water signs it may be helpful to have someone designated on the bench to just talk through feelings, check in with folks and make sure people remove themselves when needed. With only 4 spots on the bench this year some of this will be spread for Thunder between myself and Jen. Folks without a trainer/officials facing A, you may want to consider this role. Experienced skaters/folks with good communication skill and good emotional intelligence do very well in this role and a good mood minder can really help keep your team even keel.
Jammer Coach — I’ve only briefly been able to have a dedicated jammer coach in our program, folks keep come out of retirement, but this is a big strength for some teams. The focus is jammer specific and in game adjustments/jammer training at practice. It’s a great role to have if you have someone with skill (typically a MRDA jammer) and a space on the bench.
Examples of Support Roles
Half Track — Half tracks can be a life saver, especially games with whistle bleed, a loud venue or any kind of obstacle between the bench and the far straightaway. Most folks are aware of the function of a half track, they’ve been used forever and were more of a glorified 3rd back in the days of only 2 on bench. 4 bench + 1 half track is becoming standard, but remember if you have 4 on bench that half track cannot come to the bench! Loud and clear voice, ability to follow the direction of the bench and good knowledge of the team/game is key. Can be a supportive person rolled in to get their feet wet, or an alt skater.
In-Game Stats — I moved this to the support section but some teams still prefer to keep a stats role on the bench. Unless that person is interpreting stats or you just have the space, I would move this role off bench. Have your spreadsheet available offline/use data if necessary. Anyone with a phone/tablet/laptop can get those stats and it will free up a spot on the bench for the roles above. The main template I still use in-game is the Rainy City template made by THE Michael Watson.
I have seen more complex templates, but the above will handle most in game adjustments. I would love an update to include total points % beside +/- tho!
Penalty Spotter — If your team wants to make adjustments to their game play it can be very helpful to know where the mass of penalties are being called from on the track. On game day this role typically falls to an alt skater with good rules knowledge. Note the penalty (via signal), the ref it originated with (if possible) and their position. Check this against the paperwork at half.
Line Feedback — Another role that typically goes to alt skaters, watch their specific line and provide feedback at half. Are you noticing any particular start formations that are having success, any that are struggling? Where on the track are we getting beat? This role can also be taken up by an alt jammer with the same purpose. Their focus is more limited than a Coach’s and they know their line/rotation, so it may net some useful feedback.
Team Manager — Thunder brought on a Team Manager in 2019 to help us organize our travel, work on our policies and intraleague communication and also beef up our sponsorship. This took some of the traditional Captains/Coaches work out of our hands and has saved our program money while also increasing revenue. Every league has someone with these skills, or even someone outside the league who may really be excited about the opportunity to help organize a season for a competitive women’s sport. Highly recommend.
Remote Coach — Remote coaching is the hardest role of them all. Distance from a team can make it really hard to assess, however, if you can make it work a fresh set of eyes and a new way of thinking can be a real game changer. Lots of skaters and Coaches offer footage review and remote coaching (usually for a fee) and there are already very established off skates trainers doing great derby specific off skates training remotely. If you are REALLY struggling to fill a role internally, looking externally might be worthwhile.
Bench Resources
I already plugged Michael’s in game template
Another great resource that can be used on the bench is the heat map Michael released through Derby on Toast. The Seattle broadcast had some great shots of Jason (Shazam) using this in game with Buffalo’s Lake Effect Furies. It’s a great tool to have in the tool box.
Outside of that, you should be hitting Nate up well in advance of your game at stats@wftda.com to get your opponents most recent statbooks to build a scouting report. Adjust your game plan at half and make full use of the NSO paperwork that is available to you by request!
THE FUTURE
There are so many reasons for derby to be creative with its vision for bench and support roles. I would LOVE a Development Coach that focused on in practice development of newer/transfer skaters to help ease their transition. Jammer Coaches have existed for some time, but why ignore specific Blocking Line Coaches? Derby should be taking notes from collegiate level sports when it comes to envisioning building out a bench and coaching staff. As long as there are passionate people willing to dedicate their time and effort, we should be trying to build a role for them.
I meant this to be brief but this is obviously something I am passionate about. If you read this and still have questions or ever just want to rap about it you can always reach out. Especially if you are a newer Coach!
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