I love this lady.
Not just because she is a fancy-pants jammer, quick-as-a-shot and nimble as a happy bunny, but because she is a genuinely good person who is an awesome friend and works that bunny-tail off for all things derby.
I don’t know anyone who’s met Slay West and not been impressed with her attitude, her spirit and her work ethic. On the track she is able to find minuscule holes to burst through, throwing off your timing and your power as a blocker. Her cuts are crisp and she is able to maintain forward motion even when she is hit by opposing blockers. As a defensive player, her positional blocking is deceptively strong. She is not very tall, but she knows how to use every inch of her legs.
Off the track, she is an exceptionally dedicated team mate and coach to CNY. She is in the mix of the roller derby community online and in person so that she can absorb new knowledge, skills and strategy to pass along to her team mates. She is a perfect model for what every derby girl should strive to be: hard-working, tenacious, humble and strong of heart, body and mind. The girl is always smiling; I honestly feel like every derby girl should know her (Sandrine Rangeon to Daddy's Little Ghoul), just to absorb some of her sunshine.
As a teammate, Slay is awesome. I really admire her tenacity and positivity. She has been skating since 2008, joining the league a couple of months after I did. She is known to yell out 'this is mental toughness' during endurance drills and I love it! Just being on the track with her makes you want to work harder, dig deeper. Slay went the entire season pretty much without a single no-pass as a jammer, which speaks to her determination and tenacity. She might not be lead every single time but she will eventually get through the pack. She has a ton of heart and doesn't give up. Slay used to be a pivot and blocker more, but this season she's also become a regular rotation All-Stars jammer. She really is a triple threat, and she is regularly recognized for her skills - Slay has been MVP approximately TEN THOUSAND TIMES. I may be exaggerating, but not by much.
She's incredibly knowledgeable and devotes hours to reading about derby, watching bout footage, learning about strategy. Her skating moves are awesome because she works hard: she tries and fails and practices and eventually masters some pretty fancy advanced skills. Her spin moves are legendary. Hale Yeah is convinced she's Chuck Norris. She does a sideways crossover step start, rather than a duck walk or toe stop run off the jammer line. Her hockey stops are pretty fancy.
Overall I think she's just a really fantastic athlete, having such a solid sports background and experience working with all different kinds of coaches and teammates makes her very well-rounded and a huge asset to our league as a skater and a coach. - Farmers Slaughter, Central New York Roller Derby
Thank you to Dave Wood Photography and Tyler Shaw Derby Photography for their photos used in this article.
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