Schuda introduced the world of Rollerchairball to the ancient Native American practice of “counting coup.” In the days when Native Americans roamed freely on this continent, some warriors would engage in this unique custom during battle. When a Native American would place a hand or a special stick to the body of an enemy, he would count one coup. The maneuver was essentially a slap in the face to the opponent. The more coup you counted, the greater your bravery and cunning were revered.

Asked about the notion of bringing the tradition to Rollerchairball, Schuda responded, “Counting coup is pretty much the biggest disgrace you could bring to the enemy. Essentially you’re saying, ‘I could have killed you, but I decided to ridicule you instead.’ You can easily see how that fits into Rollerchairball. It seems to me counting coup was destined to become an integral part of our game.”

Schuda obviously employs the hand version of counting coup, as all types of sticks are illegal on the court during play.

To amass one coup-counted, Schuda places her hands near the back of an offensive player’s chair, mere inches from downing the player, but holds off and instead sounds the coup via a guttural emission. The play remains in action, which many claim to be a blatant hole in the strategy of demeaning an opponent.

Andrew Wood remarked, “Sure, I feel like a sissy when someone counts a coup on me, but they could have downed me and they let me continue playing. I even scored a touchdown on a play where Schuda could have downed me. Where’s the smarts in that?”

Schuda will have none of it, however. “The spirit of counting coup has nothing to do with scoring touchdowns or stopping teams on defense,” she explained. “Even if someone scores on me, if I got a coup on him or her, then they are mine forever. And I’ll never let them forget that.”

The practice became widespread over the summer. It was not unusual to hear several players counting coup during a game or even a play. Kyle Stout even took the whole thing one step further.

“I find the most humiliating thing in the world to be when you have the ball and, instead of attempting to score, you try to down the defensive player. Once Debi introduced counting coup, it was only a matter of time until I married that practice with my own. Now when I have the ball, I try to down the guy or gal guarding me and I let everyone know when I could have done it, but didn’t. More than once I’ve sent Doug Tatz away with his tail between his legs because I reverse-counted-coup on him.”

Will the practice endure? Schuda believes so: “I think counting coup is here to stay. It takes the embarrassment level of RCB to new heights. And that’s always a good thing.”

Check back to www.rollerchairball.orgonline casino for more information on the interview. Perhaps we will have a sneak peek of the video after the interview is complete, but before it airs.

The Summer Series will feature several tournaments in various cities across Ohio and perhaps the rest of the country. The best teams in the world will no doubt converge upon each of these tourneys in hope of winning glory and cash. Check www.rollerchairball.org often for announcements about the 2009 Summer Series.

1st – United Rollerchairball Club – $1000
2nd – Buddy Savage – $250
3rd – IDK Sisterhood – $100
4th – Team USA – $80
5th – Team Amanda Bynes – $50
6th – Princeton English – $20

High School Division (U-19)

1st – Princeton English – $100
2nd – Mean Greene – $60
3rd – Kwok Kwok Noon – $40

Stagnation is the name of the game following the NLR’s July 15th ratings update. Maggie Cellar moved onto the homepage, knocking Kevin Shaw from the Top 15. Taylor Greene became the first woman and fourth player overall to crest over 1800 points on the ratings list. Players gained or ceded points, but few spots switched on the ladder.

01 . Stout, Kyle – 2243.08
02 . Tatz, Douglas – 1891.52
03 . Lock, Brandon – 1873.84
04 . Greene, Taylor – 1807.96
05 . Wood, Andrew – 1777.03
06 . Stout, Brianna – 1724.90
07 . Olsavsky, Jon – 1711.13
08 . Kelly, Daniel – 1671.98
09 . Doyle, George – 1666.81
10 . Eckert, Craig – 1666.33
11 . Tatz, Becky – 1665.79
12 . Wilt, Jonny – 1663.97
13 . Cellar, Maggie – 1659.68
14 . Ford, Michael – 1659.03
15 . Brewer, JR – 1659.03
16 . Shaw, Kevin – 1652.02
17 . Hughes, Cole – 1646.46
18 . Schuda, Debi – 1639.46
19 . Scherer, Brandon – 1629.96
20 . Rutter, Gavin – 1627.35
21 . Eckert, Mackenzie – 1627.02
22 . Eckert, Greg – 1625.08
23 . Gasman, PJ – 1624.14
24 . Rosmarin, Michelle – 1623.79
25 . Stone, Laura – 1621.10
26 . Turner, Jason – 1619.69
27 . McMannis, Jason – 1619.69
28 . Ødegaard, Anja – 1619.31
29 . Gasman, Paul – 1616.14
30 . Jamison, Melissa – 1615.14
31 . Barone, Mike – 1614.14
32 . Vincent, Brian – 1612.39
33 . Tatz, Steven – 1610.01
34 . Marin, Andrew – 1609.36
35 . Eckert, Margie – 1608.30
36 . Brown, Zach – 1608.00
37 . Doyle, Claudia – 1606.77
38 . Vinny Sanfillipo – 1606.43
39 . Griffin, Heather – 1606.25
40 . Doyle, Maria – 1606.06
41 . Shoemaker, Broderick – 1605.07
42 . David – 1605.07
43 . Long, Jason – 1602.20
44 . Paxia, Becky – 1601.14
45 . Hirsel, Laura – 1601.01
46 . Chipotle, Caitlyn – 1599.86
47 . Eckert, Mary – 1598.61
48 . Zang, Doug – 1598.47
49 . Doyle, Katie – 1598.04
50 . Hirsel, Suzanne – 1597.78
51 . Barr, Julie – 1594.37
52 . Rutkowski, Ben – 1594.24
53 . Liston, Molly – 1594.02
54 . Madler, Graham – 1593.60
55 . Kettler, Alec – 1593.60
56 . Zang, Walt – 1592.99
57 . Leo – 1592.99
58 . Rosmarin, Nathan – 1592.94
59 . Schtiven – 1592.00
60 . Amanda – 1592.00
61 . Matthew – 1591.35
62 . Stewart, Mark – 1589.30
63 . Gallaher, Katie – 1589.24
64 . Rutter, Lark – 1588.96
65 . Rosmarin, David – 1588.83
66 . Kiggens, Kathryn – 1588.48
67 . Alshy, Michael – 1585.97
68 . McClure, Scott – 1584.19
69 . Potenza, Sara – 1584.04
70 . Hartley, Alycia – 1582.78
71 . Compton, Anné – 1580.98
72 . Bush, Ellen – 1576.81
73 . Anna – 1571.59
74 . Walker, Mark – 1571.48

The delay in updates of the NLR’s ratings list might have caused consternation for players eager to sniff their point totals, but it certainly created a lot of action on the ladder. The biggest story is the rise of Jon Olsavsky, who moved from 17th to the front page and Top 10, where he settled at number seven. Olsavsky has been on a tear for the past month, steadily moving into the upper echelon of the league.

Top-rated Kyle Stout became the first player to cross the 2200-point threshold, as he continued solid results since the last update. Second-rated Doug Tatz is mere points from becoming the second player to hit 1900 points, but league legend and third-rated Brandon Lock has closed the gap on Tatz, moving to within 25 points of the youngster. Fourth-rated Taylor Greene adds to the list of those nearly eclipsing plateaus, as she is within two points of hitting 1800 points. Should see eclipse the barrier, she would be just the fourth player to do so.

Founding Father Brandon Scherer logged his first matches in a year since the last update and produced some positive gains, moving from 24th to 20th. Inside the Top 15, Craig Eckert moved up, while Becky Tatz slid outside the Top 10. Maggie Cellar fell off the main page despite improved skill. Notable players who have resided in the Top 15 for years find their positions threatened by several players. Johny Wilt, Kevin Shaw, JR Brewer, and Michael Ford could all miss the marquee as Cellar, Scherer, and Debi Schuda posture at the homepage. Cole Hughes has already dropped off.

Elsewhere, Heather Griffin debuted at number 39. Mark Stewart, long languishing in last place, moved from the basement all the way to 62nd, on the strength of big wins in the last few weeks.

01 . Stout, Kyle – 2217.81
02 . Tatz, Douglas – 1898.60
03 . Lock, Brandon – 1873.84
04 . Greene, Taylor – 1798.35
05 . Wood, Andrew – 1777.03
06 . Stout, Brianna – 1727.22
07 . Olsavsky, Jon – 1701.24
08 . Kelly, Daniel – 1671.98
09 . Doyle, George – 1666.81
10 . Eckert, Craig – 1666.33
11 . Tatz, Becky – 1665.79
12 . Wilt, Jonny – 1663.97
13 . Ford, Michael – 1659.03
14 . Brewer, JR – 1659.03
15 . Shaw, Kevin – 1652.02
16 . Cellar, Maggie – 1649.11
17 . Hughes, Cole – 1646.46
18 . Schuda, Debi – 1639.46
19 . Eckert, Mackenzie – 1631.93
20 . Scherer, Brandon – 1629.96
21 . Rutter, Gavin – 1627.35
22 . Eckert, Greg – 1625.08
23 . Gasman, PJ – 1624.14
24 . Rosmarin, Michelle – 1623.79
25 . Stone, Laura – 1621.10
26 . Turner, Jason – 1619.69
27 . McMannis, Jason – 1619.69
28 . Ødegaard, Anja – 1619.31
29 . Gasman, Paul – 1616.14
30 . Jamison, Melissa – 1615.14
31 . Barone, Mike – 1614.14
32 . Vincent, Brian – 1612.39
33 . Tatz, Steven – 1610.01
34 . Marin, Andrew – 1609.36
35 . Eckert, Margie – 1608.30
36 . Brown, Zach – 1608.00
37 . Doyle, Claudia – 1606.77
38 . Vinny/Vinnie – 1606.43
39 . Griffin, Heather – 1606.25
40 . Doyle, Maria – 1606.06
41 . Shoemaker, Broderick – 1605.07
42 . David – 1605.07
43 . Long, Jason – 1602.20
44 . Paxia, Becky – 1601.14
45 . Chipotle, Caitlyn – 1599.86
46 . Eckert, Mary – 1598.61
47 . Zang, Doug – 1598.47
48 . Doyle, Katie – 1598.04
49 . Hirsel, Suzanne – 1597.78
50 . Hirsel, Laura – 1596.10
51 . Barr, Julie – 1594.37
52 . Ben – 1594.24
53 . Liston, Molly – 1594.02
54 . Madler, Graham – 1593.60
55 . Kettler, Alec – 1593.60
56 . Zang, Walt – 1592.99
57 . Leo – 1592.99
58 . Rosmarin, Nathan – 1592.94
59 . Schtiven – 1592.00
60 . Amanda – 1592.00
61 . Matthew – 1591.35
62 . Stewart, Mark – 1589.30
63 . Katie – 1589.24
64 . Rutter, Lark – 1588.96
65 . Rosmarin, David – 1588.83
66 . Kiggens, Kathryn – 1588.48
67 . Alshy, Michael – 1585.97
68 . McClure, Scott – 1584.19
69 . Potenza, Sara – 1584.04
70 . Hartley, Alycia – 1582.78
71 . Compton, Anné – 1580.98
72 . Bush, Ellen – 1576.81
73 . Anna – 1571.59
74 . Walker, Mark – 1571.48

First Official: Kyle Stout
Second Official: n/a
Scorekeeper: Andrew Wood
Camera Operator: Doug Tatz
Commentary: n/a

First Official: Brianna Stout
Second Official: Mark Stewart
Scorekeeper: Taylor Greene
Camera Operator: Maggie Cellar
Commentary: Richard Roundtree