In person, Lowery is kind and respectful. But once on the track, it’s a different story. That’s where Sista Shovechild comes to life.
Sista Shovechild – often called just “Shove” by her teammates – won Best Defensive Blocker for the Violent Lambs’ 2012 season and Most Optimistic. Those are titles that she has earned through vigilant dedication to CRG. She admits that her attitude is her biggest strength, saying, “You have to find humor and fun because life beats you down enough anyway.”
During timeouts at the Cincinnati Gardens, Shove is often seen dancing and keeping the crowd entertained. She said it’s another way for her to stay pumped up during long breaks in game play.
When asked about her life outside of roller derby, Shove responds: “I build my life around roller derby. I take Tuesdays and Thursdays off of work for practice.” Outside of CRG, she’s a chef, with an Associate’s Degree in Business Management and Hospitality Arts. She notes that many of the members of CRG have hectic schedules outside of skating that include children and multiple jobs.
Her daughter Tyler, 18, has attended some of her games, but she admits, laughing, that Tyler gets nervous when seeing her mom take hits. The 18-year-old is also busy attending the School for Creative and Performing Arts and holding down a job, so attending every game just isn’t possible.
Shove had been skating since around 7th grade, when she was taught by a boyfriend at the local roller rink. She got hooked on derby after seeing a woman wearing a roller derby shirt at an open skating session. Shortly after, she became a self-proclaimed “derby stalker,” sending emails and multiple messages to CRG.
She tried out and made the team in March of 2010, joining CRG at the same time as Railroad and Hot Slice. Coach Marty had told her that while a lot of people approach him wanting to join the team, he knew right away that she was going to end up being a member. Her first game was in March of 2011, in Evansville, IN, where she won MVP for the game. Since then, she’s been a solid presence on the Violent Lambs roster.
The name Sista Shovechild was given to Lowery by her coaches and team. Because her real name is Phoenix, she wanted to play off of that, but “Coach Quad told me I needed something brassy,” she recalled with a smile. “Whatever ‘brassy’ means.” So Shovechild was born. “Sista” was later added by friend and teammate, Buckhead Betty, giving Shove a punchy title that she lives up to on the track.
Shove has played as both a blocker and jammer, and while she says that she still has a few areas that she’d like to improve on in her game, she’s excited for the upcoming season with CRG.
“We have a solid roster this year,” she said. “I’m missing [recently retired] Polly [Rocket]; she was our secret weapon. But we have Juwana Hurt, Cherry [Choke] and [Sailor] Scary. Many of our rookies from last year, like Ruthless Chris and Big Ugly, are doing great too. I’ve also never seen anyone in as good of shape as Bombtrack is.” Shove adds that having Sadistic Sadie back to the team has lit a fire under them, and that it’s “like Christmas Day every day.”
Despite the fact that her derby wife, Barracuda, recently relocated to Hawaii, Shove continues to stay in touch through exchanging gifts and phone calls. She said jokingly that she even added Hawaii into her job search. The love that Shove has for her teammates is evident when she speaks about CRG.
For the fresh meat, and those interested in CRG, Shove has a few words of advice: “Don’t give yourself a time limit or date that you want to be rostered by. That adds too much pressure. Learn the rules and work on your strength and endurance. Stand your ground. Be willing to take criticism and correction,” she paused for a minute before adding with a smile, “We’ll beat you up, but don’t let us walk all over you.”
-Karli Wood
Photo credit: Earl Sod