I had no idea what derby was when I started. I started playing derby to support a friend and because I am always up for something new. Little did I know I would end up loving it!! Learning something new as an adult is pretty empowering. I learned that's ok to be bad at something (oh and fall on you butt repeatedly and look ridiculous as a grown person learning how to skate!). If you keep at it, you get better (especially with all the support of your teammates and coach), and that's empowerment. I've never played a sport before, so I also learned a lot about teamwork and commitment. And, I learned that above athleticism, what derby does best is build a sense of community, create shared values and mutual support among women from all walks of life. As an outsider (I moved to Denton for school), being part of NTRD has also helped me become engaged with the Denton community as a whole. In short, I'm so happy to be part of this community and have the opportunity to skate with an amazing group of people, get the crap beat out of me, and become a stronger, better person through it all.