This Kid Was Born on Skates

“This kid was born on skates” the announcer, G.I. Bro, called out on Saturday night as San Diego Roller Derby's coach, B Stang, skated in his debut bout in San Diego. The reality is, he was on skates before he could even walk. While at the rink with his dad, they would put skates on his feet to use as anchors so he couldn’t crawl too far away. As you can witness just by watching, this young man, 23 years old, is simply brilliant on his skates.

With his background in hockey, artistic skating, jam skating, and roller derby, his experiences make him more than qualified to be the coach of our league. B Stang has been around roller derby since the San Diego Derby Dolls knocked on the door of Skateworld back in 2005. Gary Stang, owner of Skateworld, and B Stang helped coach the Dolls when they used the rink as their primary facility for practices and bouts. When the Dolls finished their 2008 season at the rink, Gary and B Stang started their own league, San Diego Roller Derby, and the Starlettes were formed.

San Diego Roller Derby’s 2010 season finished strong with a Starlettes record of 10-4 and the newest women’s team, Rockettes 2-2. With the growth of San Diego Roller Derby, it was just a natural step to begin a men’s team, 619ers, and a junior’s team, Cadettes.

On Saturday night, B Stang jokingly stated that he might be the first person to have 3 wins in one night.Now, while that might not be completely accurate, it is still pretty rad. He made his San Diego Roller Derby debut as a skater in the mixed coed bout, coached the Starlettes, and coached the Cadettes, who made their debut outing during half-time of the main bout. With the win in the mixed bout as a skater (who gave a stellar performance from the jammer line), a Cadettes victory at half (we didn’t keep score because they are all winners J), and an outstanding performance from the Starlettes, Coach B Stang did in fact win all three.

As a member of this league, I have to personally thank this young man and his father for opening their hearts and their rink for our league. Also, Harry Beck and John Hall, they all have done so much to support San Diego Roller Derby, and we wouldn’t be here without them. We love our coaches!!!!