Meet Our Coaches

Coach Sinner has been playing roller derby since 2010. She started in Texas Rollergirls’ rec-league without ever having seen a game. After one practice she was hooked. She was drafted to the TXRG Hell Marys home team. During her four years with Texas Rollergirls Sinner also played for B-Team and the Texecutioners. Sinner went on to play with Team Free Radicals, a team that she still plays on to this day. Sinner was also honored to be drafted to Rockin’ City’s Greatest Hits team and is aiming to join that team at WFTDA regional playoffs in 2026. Sinner is proud to have coached the Rockin City juniors since 2019. 

Heather Whilden, a Canadian-born Texan, has devoted the past ten years of her free time to serving as a junior roller derby coach and referee in Round Rock. According to Whilden, roller derby is an exceptional sport that requires a great deal of courage that returns self-confidence and camaraderie in exchange.

“This is the first organized sport I have been part of, and it has been an exciting and supportive journey. We welcome anyone who wants to give roller derby a try, and most of the kids I coach end up skating with us for several years,” Heather shares. Her two children have also been members of the team for many years, turning it into a family affair and an additional means of connecting outside of their busy school and work schedules.

Aside from coaching, Whilden also serves as a skating official and can often be found at practices and games of other local teams. “I love rules and quickly analyzing situations to apply my knowledge and make calls,” she states. “Keeping up with the juniors on the track brings me joy after a long week.” 

“Roller derby is unique and brings so many different people together, the great equalizer is being on skates.” Heather spends most weekends coaching kids, between Quad Squad for beginners and the national charter team, she has instilled teamwork, resilience, body-positivity, leadership, as well as self-reliance in this intense and very physical game.

Whilden represents the juniors in Austin Roller Derby, a collaboration across the city’s roller derby leagues to raise awareness and build a permanent home for the sport.

Coach S-Pain has been playing roller derby since 2015. She started in a tiny league in Kerrville, Texas but wanted to play more and higher level so she moved to Austin to try out for Texas Rollergirls and made it to a home team and their B team for their travel team. She also plays MRDA with Austin anarchy and has been coaching and playing with them since 2018. Now she’s incredibly thankful to share the track with Rockin’ City Greatest Hits alongside Coach Sinner and other amazing and talented skaters that have helped her get to where she currently is. Coach S-Pain has a great love for the sport and loves watching film and analyzing strategy. With her skills, she’s confident she can help RCJRD achieve all their goals. She’s very grateful to have the opportunity to help these absolutely fantastic kids.

Coach $O$ brings a unique perspective to Rockin’ City, rooted in over a decade of athletic coaching experience. While many find their way to the track on skates, $O$ entered the roller derby scene in 2017 as a “derby parent” when his daughter began her journey in the sport. Since then, he has translated his knowledge of athletic development and team dynamics into the world of junior derby.

$O$’s coaching journey began in 2013 when he stepped up as a parent volunteer to coach a volleyball team of 1st and 2nd graders at Meridian World School through the City of Round Rock. What began as a volunteer role quickly evolved into a long-term commitment to youth athletics; he has continued to support the volleyball program at Meridian from 2016 to the present as an assistant coach for the JV teams. 

In 2021, $O$ brought that expertise to Rockin’ City Junior Roller Derby, where he implements the “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” philosophy. He believes in mastering the fine details of movement at a controlled pace before introducing speed, ensuring athletes build a foundation of fluid, efficient habits.

On the track, Coach $O$ advocates for high-efficiency gameplay. His goal for Rockin’ City is to help skaters control their opponents using the minimum amount of physical effort, paired with ongoing breathwork to master the mental side of the game. After watching the league’s impressive evolution over the last several years, $O$ is excited to continue fostering its growth and helping the next generation of skaters achieve peak performance.