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Congratulations to South Jersey on their new training facility! Read the article in the Delco Times here

Crozer Mills Enterprise Center has roller derby

By KATHLEEN E. CAREY
kcarey@delcotimes.com

Sisters Raechel and Melissa Morera, of the South Jersey Roller Girls, stand inside their 7,500-square-foot roller derby training facility featuring a full-service skate shop, six dressing rooms, a lounge and bar area and a 3,000-square-feet wooden floor at the Crozer Mills Enterprise Center at 601 Upland Ave.

UPLAND — Melissa Morera spent her childhood Saturday mornings watching Polish Ace Judy Sowinski and her sport of roller derby on television.

After building a team from three women to a 60-member team in three years, Morera and her sister, Raechel, are prepared to take their sport to the next level as they open a 7,500-square-foot training facility at the Crozer Mills Enterprise Center at 601 Upland Ave. this month.

“I’ve always admired this space,” Melissa Morera said. “So when it opened, I jumped on it.”

Morera, a Mullica Hill, N.J., resident, works as operating manager and co-owner of the insurance marketing business, Secure Benefits Group, which is also housed in the building.

But, how her team, the Old School Derby Association-sanctioned South Jersey Derby Girls, rolled their way into Delaware County started in 2007, when Morera and her sister placed a few inquiries on Craigslist and My Space.

“Anybody interested in roller derby?” was the post and the sisters would meet whoever showed up at a nearby park. It started as three women and has grown to more than 60 men and women, who are more than willing to face off against each other.

“It’s fun,” Melissa Morera said. “I love playing with the guys.”

The sisters even plan to have a special “Couples Counseling” exhibition game where the husbands, boyfriends and brothers will confront the wives, girlfriends and sisters for a winner-take-all bout.

Many people may not understand the concept of roller derby, but the sisters explained the allure.

“For the people who play it, it’s highly addictive,” Melissa Morera said. “It feels so good to get out there. You need a lot of endurance. It’s great exercise. It’s a great stress relief.”

Her sister added, “Most people skate one game …”

“And they’re hooked,” Melissa finished.

The Upland facility is on the second floor of the Enterprise Center and will feature a full-service skate shop, six dressing rooms, a lounge and bar area and a 3,000-square-foot wooden floor that will expand to 5,000 square feet once two walls are knocked down.

“I love it,” Raechel Morera said. “I’m excited about the space.”

Yet the two said most roller derby competitors are flexible when it comes to practice space and they would know.

Melissa Morera, 34, has been actively participating in roller derby since 2004 when she adopted the competitive name of “Mos Deathly, the Most Def-est Jammer on the Block,” in line with her favored position on the team.

Her 24-year-old sister started in January 2007 and is known as “Billy Rae Siren – Achy Breaky Your Face.”

The pivoter explained her fascination with the sport. “It’s very competitive,” she said. “My best block so far I put a girl on six months disability.”

But, they say, it’s also about fun.

“It’s like a big family,” Melissa Morera said. Some of whom, she added, don game personas.

“We have one player – Tutu Toxic,” Raechel Morera said, “she has different color tutus for each game.”

Raechel herself has been known for dramatics.

“She grunts every time she blocks somebody,” her sister offered. “Now, they can hear her coming.”

They said the facility would be open to all levels of participants with a rookie class starting Jan. 19.

“Some people just skate for fitness, some people are competitive, some skate for fun,” Melissa Morera said.

Her sister said those interested in the merrier version can get involved as a referee.

And, there’s other ways to support the sport, as well. Five feet from the track floor is the special spectator section called “Suicide Seating,” so named because of the tendency of participants to land on those positioned there.

The sisters have great expectations for the space from the eventual construction of a slanted, banked track to the evolution of the sport itself.

Last month, Melissa and Raechel Morera traveled to Mexico for a 17-day vacation.

“We sat in the hotel room and ‘Roller Jam’ was on T.V.,” the elder sister said.

As they watched this and the Mexican version, they compared it with American roller derby.

“They jump up and kick each other in the back,” Melissa Morera explained of the Latino skate. “In (our) league, we’re not allowed to clothesline.”

Raechel Morera has high hopes.

“I’d like to get back to that,” she said. “It will get more theatrical. It’s a serious sport at this point, but I like the gimmicks.”

Her sister also has her own roller derby aspirations.

“We’re really hoping that the public embraces what we’re doing,” Melissa Morera said. “It’s just a dream come true.”