Rolling with the Punches

Loren Mutch finds comfort and success in the aggressive sport of roller derby.

Courtney Brown

A roller derby game consists of one jammer and four blockers for each team. The first jammer that gets past the blockers is called the lead jammer and is able to call time on the match, also referred to as the jam. In a 2019 game, Loren Mutch burst through a pack of blockers, earning the lead jammer title, while her opponent struggled to fight off the blockers. It was the first jam of the second half of the game and her team had a narrow lead against St. Louis’ team, Arch Rival. Mutch lapped the track and just before colliding with the pack, pivoted to the outside edge, narrowly missing them and making it through another lap, scoring eight points. Coming back around, she leapt over the inside edge, landing perfectly, again passing the pack and earning another two points right before ending the jam. The jam was left at 10-0, and the game 74-52, securing the lead for the rest of the game.

Mutch, a four-time finalist and two-time winner of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) championship and the 2014 MVP, used to be a terrible skater. She was always the worst skater at kids birthday parties and never excelled in any other sport. At 14 years old, her sister’s friend started a roller derby league, the Kitsap Derby Brats. She gave it a try. Despite starting off com- pletely unable to skate, she quickly fell in love with the sport and her passion took over. After a few years, and a lot of hard work, she made it through the learning curve and became the best player on the team.

Mutch says, “I fell in love with the community and the competitiveness, and I just never stopped playing.”

In 2011, Mutch moved from her hometown of Port Orchard, Washington, to Portland, Oregon to earn a degree in sports management at Warner Pacific University. It was there that she first saw the Rose City Rollers, an internationally recognized team based in Portland. She was inspired watching them earn a championship title. A year later, Mutch tried out for the team. She was awarded the spot and quickly decided this was what she was meant to do with her life, finding her dream job.

An initial lack of skill in skating was not the only challenge Mutch faced growing up. As a teen she developed polyps, non-cancerous growths, on her vocal cords. They inhibited her ability to speak and be heard. Mutch says, “it was really hard for me to talk and project, like it sounded like I had laryngitis. I sounded like I was whispering.”

Roller derby proves a chaotic and cacophonous sport, and communication between team members is important. Unable to speak, much less be heard by anyone, created unusual challenges that needed creative solutions. Mutch came up with non-verbal cues to communicate until her final surgery to remove the polyps in 2016. In total, she had four surgeries on her vocal cords throughout her teens and 20s to fix her voice.

Through the surgeries, Mutch got support from her teammates, and that community has become one of the most important things in her life. It was the thing that initially drew her to derby and has remained her favorite aspect of the sport. Nobody cared that she had a hard time speaking.

“There are some of the best people in the world in that community,” says Mutch, “a place where people can find a place where they belong. It’s a place where people feel empowered, where you find community, you find support.”

Mutch’s team, the Rose City Rollers, is her absolute favorite part of the sport. She loves cheering them on and has a continuous stream of praise for them. Mutch feels they are connected through their shared experience of going through wins and loses. She says the support they all provide each other is essential to keep going even when things get tough.

“I have to go a hundred because my teammates are gonna go a hundred. And then vice versa,” Mutch said. Even on days when she’s feeling unmotivated or tired, her teammates keep her going.

Mutch also loves the competition, which fuels her desire to be the best. To do so means staying healthy, no simple task considering the risk of injury is high. Mitigating the risk and facing the fear every game takes a lot of mental energy and training. “I don’t wanna get hurt, but that is part of the game,” says Mutch. “It’s bound to happen.”

Mutch’s passion for roller derby has only grown throughout the years. Even after experiencing major challenges, she persevered, becoming the amazing player she is today. She’s looking forward to competing with her teammates, and then going home to celebrate each win with her wife and dog.