'Derby girl' headed to Iraq
Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Dala McNew is a lieutenant in two contexts.
She's Lt. Slamher of the No Coast Derby Girls' Mad Maxines (Lincoln's roller derby team). And she's a lieutenant for the U.S. Army Reserves.
Sometimes, it gets confusing. When someone says, "Hey, lieutenant," are they addressing her derby girl pseudonym or the real rank she
s worked her way up to over 10 years of service?
Soon, though, lieutenant will mean only one thing for McNew.
A recent contest between the Mad Maxines and the Arch Rival Rollergirls of St. Louis was one of McNew's last games before she ships out to Iraq, where she will lead her own command.
Her normal assignments are in base operations, she said.
"I knew it was coming," she said of her upcoming tour in Iraq (this is her second tour; on her first she served in Germany). "You don't want to go, but you feel like you need to. I feel like I haven't done my turn yet, you know?"
McNew and her alter ego derby girl Lt. Slamher are extremely patriotic. Before most home games, Slamher rounds the track and hands out American flags to the crowd.
She's going to miss it: the crowd, the competition, the camaraderie with her teammates. She's a relative veteran of No Coast, after all, having played for the team three years.
"I'm even thinking about taking my skates with me to Iraq," she said. "But I don't know if there'd be too many places to skate over there."
McNew hopes to reconnect with the team when she comes back to Lincoln a year or so from now. But it's going to be hard to stay in derby girl shape.
McNew's getting ready to turn 40. She's one of the oldest members on the No Coast team and plays one of the most fast-paced team positions: the jammer.
"I'm anticipating trying to get back into it," she said. "But I don't know if I'll be able to. I'm getting up there. That's why these next couple of bouts are a big deal to me."
Even though her team lost, McNew's postgame interaction with her fans certainly made it a bout to remember.
About 20 Lt. Slamher fans swarmed around McNew in the middle of the Pershing Center track. And it was probably the quietest place in the whole arena. Because no one was talking, including McNew.
Everyone was signing.
Because she's an interpreter for the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, McNew's tight with the local deaf community. And the Lincoln Deaf Club came to see her play this weekend, this being one of her final home games.
"Dala is fabulous, and it's going to be really tough to see her go," said Peggy Williams, a mental health specialist for the commission who came out with the club. "She's such a caring person, and she's really connected very strongly with a lot of the members."
Like deaf club member Linda Schiffbauer.
"I've always wanted to watch her skate," said Schiffbauer (as Williams translated). "It was really great and exciting to see her skate and to be able to see how she works and talks to the deaf."
And Schiffbauer and all the rest of Lt. Slamher's fans hope to see McNew come back safe and sound and ready to get back on the track.
She's Lt. Slamher of the No Coast Derby Girls' Mad Maxines (Lincoln's roller derby team). And she's a lieutenant for the U.S. Army Reserves.
Sometimes, it gets confusing. When someone says, "Hey, lieutenant," are they addressing her derby girl pseudonym or the real rank she
s worked her way up to over 10 years of service?
Soon, though, lieutenant will mean only one thing for McNew.
A recent contest between the Mad Maxines and the Arch Rival Rollergirls of St. Louis was one of McNew's last games before she ships out to Iraq, where she will lead her own command.
Her normal assignments are in base operations, she said.
"I knew it was coming," she said of her upcoming tour in Iraq (this is her second tour; on her first she served in Germany). "You don't want to go, but you feel like you need to. I feel like I haven't done my turn yet, you know?"
McNew and her alter ego derby girl Lt. Slamher are extremely patriotic. Before most home games, Slamher rounds the track and hands out American flags to the crowd.
She's going to miss it: the crowd, the competition, the camaraderie with her teammates. She's a relative veteran of No Coast, after all, having played for the team three years.
"I'm even thinking about taking my skates with me to Iraq," she said. "But I don't know if there'd be too many places to skate over there."
McNew hopes to reconnect with the team when she comes back to Lincoln a year or so from now. But it's going to be hard to stay in derby girl shape.
McNew's getting ready to turn 40. She's one of the oldest members on the No Coast team and plays one of the most fast-paced team positions: the jammer.
"I'm anticipating trying to get back into it," she said. "But I don't know if I'll be able to. I'm getting up there. That's why these next couple of bouts are a big deal to me."
Even though her team lost, McNew's postgame interaction with her fans certainly made it a bout to remember.
About 20 Lt. Slamher fans swarmed around McNew in the middle of the Pershing Center track. And it was probably the quietest place in the whole arena. Because no one was talking, including McNew.
Everyone was signing.
Because she's an interpreter for the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, McNew's tight with the local deaf community. And the Lincoln Deaf Club came to see her play this weekend, this being one of her final home games.
"Dala is fabulous, and it's going to be really tough to see her go," said Peggy Williams, a mental health specialist for the commission who came out with the club. "She's such a caring person, and she's really connected very strongly with a lot of the members."
Like deaf club member Linda Schiffbauer.
"I've always wanted to watch her skate," said Schiffbauer (as Williams translated). "It was really great and exciting to see her skate and to be able to see how she works and talks to the deaf."
And Schiffbauer and all the rest of Lt. Slamher's fans hope to see McNew come back safe and sound and ready to get back on the track.
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