By day, Schreiber works at Planned Parenthood. But she moonlights as “Raptor” — short for “Velocityraptor” — a player for the Scare Force One and D.C. All-Star teams of the D.C. Rollergirls league for two years. Her next match is Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Dulles SportsPlex. Why “Raptor”?
At the time, I worked [as a pre-school teacher]. I was thinking about what my name should be. It was a big deal, you know, it goes on the back of your jersey, you have to live up to it. So I asked the kids. One of them was like, ‘My teddy bear.’ Somebody else: ‘How about Mama?’ Then one of them said, ‘A dinosaur!’ I wanted something that was fierce and speedy. ‘Velocityraptor’ was perfect.
What position do you prefer?
A blocker is the one moving the other team out of the way, and the jammer is the one scoring points. You have five from each team on the track at one time. The jammer gets a point for every person on the opposite team she passes legally. If I’m the jammer, my team is trying to block the other team and open up holes for me, and the other team is doing the same thing at the same time for their girl. [I am] usually a blocker, but I’ll jam if they make me.
What does is it mean to be an ‘Allstar’? We’re playing leagues all over the country, sometimes all over the world. Based on those results, we get listed in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association ranks.
What makes a good derby player? Competition and dedication. Every single person on the league is one of the strongest, most opinionated women you’ve ever met. Those that you see skating to work in the morning or out to dinner or Saturday morning at 8 o’clock in Anacostia are going to do well.
— Rachel Baye
