MOUNT PEARL, N.L. — From the time she was a kid, the most athletic thing Catherine O’Keefe had done was stand in a net and try not to get hurt while others booted soccer balls at her.
“I sucked at everything else, so they put me in the net and wouldn’t let me out,” she said, laughing. “That’s all I could do.”
But a year and a half ago, she found out that was far from the truth.
These days, the 43-year-old is zooming around local gyms and arenas on roller skates taking down whoever gets in her way.
O’Keefe is a roller derby player who was recently drafted to one of the teams in the 709 Roller Derby League. Known by her nickname “Alley Cat,” this once-plus-sized couch potato can whip up some impressive speeds, manoeuvre her way past opponents and drive them to their knees with one shove of a shoulder.
“I really love it,” said O’Keefe, who had tried roller skating as a teen, but was shaky.
The sport has helped her change her life.
Not only has it sparked her to lose 50 pounds — not to mention a list of medications for blood pressure and heartburn — it’s helped her gain a strength and passion for fitness and hard work she never thought possible.
“If someone told me I’d be doing anything sports-like, especially something like this, I would laugh." — Catherine O'Keefe
Watching her practice at Mount Pearl Intermediate School Wednesday night, there’s no mistaking that look of determination and enthusiasm as she laces up her roller skates, slips on her knee and elbow pads and pops in her mouthpiece.
O’Keefe looks like a warrior, with a courage that’s surprised even herself.
“If someone told me I’d be doing anything sports-like, especially something like this, I would laugh,” said O’Keefe, who grew up in Trinity and lives in Mount Pearl. “If you could only talk to some of my high school classmates, they’d be blown away.”
She had always wanted to try roller derby and got the push she needed when her doctor suggested she lose weight.
O’Keefe started by volunteering with the league, working concession and ticket tables, and then registered for the Fresh Meat (beginners) program, in which she learned the required skills.
“When I first watched, I’d see somebody fall and I’d say, ‘Uh, I don’t know about that.’ I’m pretty safety-oriented, so it was really out of character to gravitate towards something like this,” she said, noting players are taught how to prevent serious injuries.
An unrelated leg injury prevented her from finishing the program, but in late 2017, when she got medical clearance, she was back at it.
At the time, she was at her highest weight and found practices gruelling.
“Being overweight, you forget how it feels to feel good. You don’t realize until you get off your butt.” — O'Keefe
“It was hard,” she said. “We’d skate a lap, I’d have to pull over because my cardiovascular health was not conditioned at all. That was really frustrating at the beginning, but I realized I had to work extra hard to be strong to play roller derby.”
O’Keefe started going to the gym regularly, which not only helped her drop pounds, but helped her become a stronger, more agile player.
“I feel well now,” she said. “Being overweight, you forget how it feels to feel good. You don’t realize until you get off your butt.”
Now, her focus is on getting stronger and improving her skills as a player to prepare for her first competition.
Her participation has taught her to push through the tough times and to keep working hard.
“You’re going to fall. You talk to yourself and do it again. And you’ll probably fall again. But guess what? You do it again. You have to do it over and over,” she said.
“And that goes for whatever sport to play, whatever musical instrument you pick up — you’re never going to get it on the first try.
“I knew I could do it and I’m so glad I never gave up.”
Twitter: @TelyRosie
