• Home
  • Hiii!

little anecdote

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Manatee Monday: Watch party!
Manatee Monday: It’s official! »

Roller derby strategy: Passing the star

September 12, 2013 by Frisky Sour

Star passes – they’re so hot right now! From what I’ve noticed, passing the star (aka panty passes, aka passing the cap) hasn’t been in vogue for the last few years, but there have been several star passes in high-profile play in the last few months. Bonnie Thunders passed the star to Mick Swagger at ECDX. Rat City used more than one in their game against Portland in August. WFTDA Division II Playoffs and the first round of Division I Playoffs have featured several.

Let’s chat about a few ways passing the star can help your team get more points than the other team. Help me out in the comments with any situations I’m missing, okay?

First of all, everyone, make sure your pass is legal. Keep it within the engagement zone, and don’t be picking up fallen jammer helmet covers unless you’re a jammer or a pivot.

And remember – get that thing on your head before you enter the pack on a scoring pass.

Jammer gets gassed (panty pass classic)

This seems like the most common scenario I’ve seen in the last seven years, and not one with strong strategic planning behind it. The jammer gets hit too many times, or just gets frustrated with being unable to get through even an initial pass, so she passes off the jamming duties to the pivot for some relief.

If your pivot is willing and able to take the star in this situation, it can work to your team’s favor. If your pivot has a bad jamming attitude, you’ll just have two frustrated teammates on the floor.

Jammers, if you are too tired to jam effectively, passing the star is a viable option. Don’t look at it as “giving up.” You’re needed to play defense as soon as you give up that helmet cover, so “I can’t move anymore” is not an favorable mental outlook.

Don’t pass the star with under 20 seconds or so left in the jam. Your pivot needs that much time to clear the pack and make it back around to force the call off or score points. When time is running down, just play your best defense possible. Get in a wall and don’t go for any big hits. If you’re too tired to jam, you’re probably prone to committing penalties.

Penalty box savior

Your jammer is inexperienced, tired, or frustrated, and she’s been hanging out in the penalty box, perhaps with multiple trips. She needs to get out of rotation, so your team puts out a strong jammer as the pivot.

The penalized jammer needs to be in on the plan for this to work. Hand signals for “Hey, take off your helmet cover and give it to me” might be figured out more quickly by your competition than your freaked-out jammer. Try to make it a calm, smooth transition. Never remove the helmet cover from the jammer’s head. That just ain’t legal (3.5.4).

Star pass fake out (!)

In the final jam of the London vs. Rose City game at playoffs, Kamikaze Kitten acted like she was handing off the star to her pivot, but took it back again and ran off. Those sneaky Brits!

It’s hard to see in this video, but you can at least see the pivot signal for the pass by tapping the top of her head.  They effectively confused the announcers, at least.

Start at 1:26:10 or so for the beginning of the final jam.

Was the fake out intentional? Did Kami just make it out on her own? Either way, the fake out is a plausible strategy. Naturally, it would be a strategy that your team works out ahead of time, not something you would try out at a black and white scrimmage for funsies without discussing it with your pivot.

“Get out of jail free”

The jammer is stuck behind a wall, and passes the helmet cover over, through, or around the wall to the pivot. It works off the jammer line for scrum starts, if you don’t need lead jammer status – maybe if there’s a 4-2 pack disadvantage?

It also works if lead jammer status has already been granted, or if your jammer already has all the points for a scoring pass and has been re-absorbed into the pack.

What else?

What other times does your team pass the star? When have you seen it be especially effective or ineffective?

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Derby | Tagged being awesome, derby girls, London Rollergirls, Roller derby, roller derby strategy, roller girls, shenanigans, star pass, WOJ | 3 Comments

3 Responses

  1. on September 12, 2013 at 12:37 pm hsteeves

    Some teams do this to get initial pass with no work. Try to score one before the other team gets lead.


    • on September 12, 2013 at 12:39 pm Frisky Sour

      If you do have a blocker advantage, then? You would need to be really confident in your defensive lineup to make it worthwhile.


  2. on November 3, 2013 at 10:10 am Fresh Meat Training and Tips Link Shovin' 3-11-13 » Fresh Meat Training and Tips

    […] Little Anecdote talks about the strategy behind passing the star – good if you’re still a bit all WTF about it! […]



Comments are closed.

  • Archives

    • January 2019 (1)
    • November 2018 (1)
    • October 2018 (1)
    • August 2018 (3)
    • September 2015 (3)
    • August 2015 (4)
    • July 2015 (6)
    • June 2015 (5)
    • May 2015 (5)
    • April 2015 (3)
    • March 2015 (2)
    • February 2015 (3)
    • December 2014 (2)
    • November 2014 (1)
    • October 2014 (5)
    • September 2014 (5)
    • August 2014 (4)
    • July 2014 (7)
    • June 2014 (4)
    • May 2014 (6)
    • April 2014 (6)
    • March 2014 (4)
    • February 2014 (5)
    • January 2014 (5)
    • December 2013 (8)
    • November 2013 (5)
    • October 2013 (5)
    • September 2013 (7)
    • August 2013 (9)
    • July 2013 (10)
    • June 2013 (11)
    • May 2013 (17)
    • April 2013 (15)
    • March 2013 (11)
    • February 2013 (6)
    • January 2013 (8)
    • December 2012 (5)
    • November 2012 (12)
    • October 2012 (25)
    • September 2012 (14)
    • August 2012 (20)
    • July 2012 (16)
    • June 2012 (7)
    • May 2012 (7)
    • April 2012 (7)
    • March 2012 (6)
    • February 2012 (7)
    • January 2012 (8)
    • December 2011 (17)
    • November 2011 (16)
    • October 2011 (17)
    • September 2011 (20)
    • August 2011 (23)
    • July 2011 (12)
  • Categories

    • Contests (15)
    • Derby (332)
    • Food (21)
    • Manatees (66)
    • My super fun activities (136)
    • Running (8)
    • Uncategorized (17)
  • Pages

    • Hiii!

Get a free blog at WordPress.com

Theme: MistyLook by WPThemes.