We all hear that watching derby is the single best way (off-skates) to get better at playing it. And derby is hecka fun to watch, right? But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you mostly don’t do it.
Why?
High level derby can be hard to watch if you’re not used to it. Plus watching derby and analyzing derby are two different things.
- How do you know what to pay attention to?
- How do you think about what’s happening on the track and apply it to what you might do on the track?
- It’s all moving so fast. HAAALLPP!
Here’s my contribution. The next installment in my “You Should be Analyzing More Derby” series.
The 2016 Madison Playoffs bout is:
Tampa v Arch Rival at 2016 WFTDA D1 Playoffs
The questions (and comments) below are to help you hone in on specific parts of the game and get you thinking like a derby analyst. These questions are by no means ALL OF THE THINGS that you could glean from this bout, but it’s a good place to start. You can download them in PDF version HERE.
The First Half
Jam #1 –> Arch Rival gets lead and you can see their jammer slowing down a bit. It looks like she’s a firm believer in “eating the baby”. I wonder if we’ll see that in later jams…the announcers agree with me.
Jam #2 –> I’ve seen this jam start in a few of the games now, starting in the middle of the blocker box and rolling back at 5 seconds. What do you think the strategy is there?
Jam #6 –> Still early in the game, but Arch Rival probably needs a timeout. Their penalty trouble is steadily increasing and (because?) their blockers are trying to focus on too many things at once.
Jam #8 –> Arch Rival executes a beautiful wrap-around screen on Tampa to get their jammer through untouched. I’d love to see the next step be sprinting to the front away from the opposing jammer (potentially lock down on defense and give your jammer a chance to score more points).
Jam #10 –> Tampa plays offense with their pivot. Yes! Why does that matter?
Jam #10 –> Terrifying whirlpool defense from Arch Rival in the back.
Jam #10 –> Tampa attempts to bridge back on a quick jammer knocked to the inside and gets burned.
Jam #11 –> Tampa appears to not be able to make a decision about whether to lock down on defense or play O for their jammer, which means they aren’t doing either very well.
Jam #11 –> Right at the end of this jam you can see Arch Rival make an attempt to keep the pivot away from the jammer to foil the star pass. <3
TIMEOUT –> Tampa. Trying to put a halt to Arch Rival’s momentum and get themselves back together.
Jam #13 –> Dropped star! Could have been a great opportunity for Tampa to play like it was a power jam.
Jam #16 –> Perfect positioning and sweep from Tampa in the corner. The defense set up that apex jump beautifully.
Jam #17 –> Still love this bridge back style (a la BAD) from Arch Rival where the majority of your wall is the back of the bridge instead of the front.
Jam #19 –> Arch Rival puts out one of their more successful & veteran jammers here. They seem to make this move frequently to try and kill Tampa’s momentum. (Especially since Tampa is down a blocker.)
Jam #20 –> Look at this 2-wall blocking from Arch Rival!!! (Not a big fan of the long drawback with a short wall, though.)
END OF HALF –> What will each team talk about in the locker room to stay in control of this game?
HALFTIME SCORE = Tampa 94 Arch Rival 79
The Second Half
Jam #1 –> Late call of by the Arch Rival jammer gives away 4 points to Tampa making the whole jam a wash. In related news, when your jammer is through the pack and you aren’t actively blocking the opposing jammer, getting to the front is a good strategy.
Jam #3 –> Impressed by Arch Rival’s ability to get the jammer out of the pack quickly despite being HUGELY outnumbered.
Jam #5 –> The awareness of the Tampa jammer to not pick up a second track cut. You can see her thinking about it…then going.
Jam #8 –> This start from Arch Rival is great. They set up in two 2-walls with the Tampa brace in between them. It works perfectly!
Jam #9–> Arch Rival manages to play a little offense as they surge through the pack on defense and get their jammer out. It’s really beautifully executed and comes done entirely to great timing.
Jam #12 –> As the tripods converge, Tampa’s brace pushes her way into the middle of Arch Rival’s brace. It works to make Arch Rival play defense against their own jammer and breaks up there wall for a bit of O.
Jam #13 –> Tampa blockers get to the front. YES!
Jam #16 –> Incredible move by Arch Rival’s jammer to get the whole pack to the inside to allow her blockers to inadvertently screen the out.
Jam #19 –> Arch Rival calls the power jam early to freeze Tampa’s jammer in the box. Wise decision given the score and time on the clock, but it’s a very short freeze.
Jam #20 –> Arch Rival’s blockers are starting to play tight and conservative with their jammer in the lead. You can see them avoiding big drawbacks in favor of staying together. (I always love this strategy, tho.)
TIMEOUT –> Tampa. Agree. Not surprised to see them come out with this jammer in the next jam. She’s been effective at shaking up Arch Rival when Tampa needs to.
Jam #22 –> Also not surprised to see Arch Rival go with their lead scorer here.
Jam #22 –> This is the best possible scenario for Arch Rival: they have lead, the opposing jammer is stuck, they’ve scored a few points, and the clock is ticking… (Even if the Tampa jammer had gotten out, Arch Rival likely would have gone the full two minutes with lead.)
Jam #23 –> Again, best possible scenario for Arch Rival. Worst possible scenario for Tampa.
FINAL SCORE = Tampa 131 Arch Rival 149
Want more?
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