January Skater of the Month: enTRUdir

Editor's note: This is a new feature! We'd like to honor a Dire Skates member each month in order to show all the behind the scenes and on the track effort the players put in. As we have previously written about, derby takes a lot of effort and a lot of DIY and sometimes the unicorns are actually members of the team. Look for a new "Skater of the Month" early each month!

enTRUdir, aka Trudi, blocks for the Dire Skates. Trudi tried out for the Dire Skates in January 31, 2010 (which was only the third meeting/practice for the team in the first round of tryouts for the team ever) after watching Naptown play the night prior in a bout called "Scar Wars." She is now our fearless leader, the glue that holds us together

enTRUdir is the official convener for the team, meaning she coordinates meetings and votes and makes sure we all do our jobs. She is basically a goddess. (Have you tried wrangling 20+ women into doing something? Not easy.) She has also been a fabulous mentor to us new skaters, constantly talking with us on the track and off during practice to help us grow as skaters. Trudi is level-headed, and serves as a great mediator. She records videos to recap our meetings to make sure we all know what is happening (because notes...who reads things? Wait...). And she reminds us that we can't cuss or be vulgar around the junior skaters...as much as we hate that, we know she is right. You know what, Trudi does so much that I don't even know what else she contributes (coordinating, logos, merch decisions...she's involved in all of it). enTRUdir is an invaluable member of the team and for that, we love her.

In addition to this, she works full time and is the mother to junior skater PUKE Skywalker who, I must say, has some big shoes to fill.

Here is what our coach, The Golffather, had to say about enTRUdir:

"Trudi…..what can I say about Trudi….she is one of the most thoughtful hard working people for the team. A lot of what she does in the background and doesn’t get seen directly, but you definitely see it indirectly. She is a quiet leader and is always willing to get out of her of her comfort zone on the track. She is always willing to help others. She doesn’t look to be in the limelight, she doesn’t want it. I am glad that I can say that I coach her, but even more, I call her a friend."

And Emily KickNsuM added this:

"Trudi is one of the older members and on the team and I don’t mean age, I mean the length of time she has spent with the team. Trudi has always pushed the team to hold to higher values and be a positive influence in our community. Her values off the track are very much the same on the track. Though she might not be the fastest skater on the team or have the hardest hit, Trudi is a solid blocker for the Dire Skates. More importantly she uses team work, knowledge, and communication on the track to get even more accomplished than big hits. I have several special memories of Trudi--one of which includes that we both went to the first Dire Skates tryouts and tried out together. To sum up the memory, she has come a long way from a girl in blue jeans with brown clown rental skates on."

Thank you for all you do, enTRudir.

Derby love.