Team Clendenan

The High Performance Camp – formerly held in Guelph and now hosted by K.W. Granite – is an opportunity to work with Provincial level coaches for intensive curling training. Akin to the larger Trillium camp program, athletes are put through their paces in mechanics, fitness, strategy and many other areas of the sport and the reservation list far outweighs the availability.

Team Clendenan was fortunate enough to be in attendance at this year’s HPC, and in between 16 hours of tips, tricks and tweaking they went one step further than their compatriots by accepting a nomination to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. For those who are unaware, the “dare” to dunk one’s self in ice water was formed to raise awareness about the progressive neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and after being named by their technical coach, the girls joined in the charitable crusade. Second thoughts were understandable as the cooler of near freezing water was paraded to the curling club to test their commitment, but true good sports that they are, the girls gritted their teeth and followed through.

There are bound to be moments in the days ahead when perspective is all that stands between success and failure. In comparison to those who are suffering from ALS, Team Clendenan’s battles are clearly at a different place on the challenge meter but by standing together and keeping the big picture in mind they are one step closer to toppling their opponents and also being a part of a potential cure for ALS at the same time.

We’re proud of you girls!

I have to admit it. It’s hard to fathom why kids would actually like going to a curling club on Labour Day – or their chaperones for that matter. What sane person voluntarily spends time in cottage holiday traffic and choses to trade in the last hours of the summer sun to throw around grey rocks? For competitive curlers, it’s a no-brainer.

The actual definition of Labour Day is the “celebration of workers and their families”. In 1872 it was primarily the beginning of allowing people the chance to campaign for better working conditions or pay but as far as today’s kids are concerned, it’s merely the last day before being sent back to jail . . . er, rather, school. For Team Clendenan however, it’s a precious chance to hit the ice that would bring about more complaints if it didn’t happen than if it did.

Once the new T-shirt colour for the evening was decided, the girls set out to tackle Team Duivesteyn, a mixed group of senior bantam players. Almost propelled by a last blast of summer energy, the scoreboard posted a three pointer in our favour right away, followed by a restricted second posting of a single point for the opposition. Moving into the third end however, the skips began to battle it out with aggressive unflinching strategy. Sometimes we paid for it and other times it paid off ( like in the fourth end when we were able to draw for 4) but over all we stayed far enough ahead of the mistakes to be able to accept a handshake form the opposition with a final score of 7-5 for the good guys.

Whether smiling because of the win, or celebrating because of the team “work” and the families who cheered them along, EGMR (Emma Grace, Michaela and Rebecca) had a lot to feel good about when it came to sacrificing their vacation day and most of it had nothing to do with the scoreboard. It has to be a good sign when the players linger at the club long after the game has completed and you’ be hard pressed to find any evidence of anything but friendship. Some say that a new beginning can’t happen until and ending has occurred and with Labour Day officially closing the door on summer, whatever window opens as a result, the girls are ready to breathe it in.

Ready or not, here we come!

Bet you didn’t know that doorknobs could be curling training aids but it’s actually true. Most curlers know about the traditional cones that help with delivery mechanics but when their technical coach dug into her bag for a fancy knob to demonstrate proper release formation of the hand as well, the girls weren’t sure whether to be afraid or impressed. Together with detect and correct councelling, two hours was just enough time to scratch the surface with physical areas to work on but by having their team coach to simulatneously record statistics, the girls benefited from a lesson on how Xbar and standard deviation could give them a point of reference for improvement as well. Though just a glimpse into the potential of what lies ahead, it’s fair to say that Team Clendenan is definitely compiling a toolbox of items that will make them stronger as the days progress.

Can’t wait to see you become the best that you can be ladies!

Some of the best ways for a team to learn how to communicate and work together can be found in places that have little to do with the sport they are trying to perfect. It could be the mere change of scenery or the undervalued qualities of childhood play but team building and training seem to magically enhance each other when they have the chance to unfold in activities that deviate from the norm. Ordinarily the mere mention of strength training and fitness testing would make most athletes groan, but when it is presented as a water park day followed by a sleepover that has “ games” that just happen to have stats recorded for the fitness trainer . . . suddenly the attention span of the participants increase. More importantly, the team dynamic invariably increases as well, which is a good formula for challenging days ahead.

It was undeniable fun for Team Clendenan to don swimsuits and hit the beach for hours of muscle toning on inflatable water toys at Clevelands House – which would never be the case for weight training in a traditional gym no matter how hip the teen music was. Similarily speaking, the collective energy from fitness testing in Muskoka with team mates yelling encouragement to each other to do just one more rep when one more seemed impossible, yielded results that were impressive. The “play” part of the equation was probably the disgustingly unhealthy treats afterward but the entire event was a well rounded collection of fitness, frolic and friendship that will likely knock down the nay sayers and proove that it‘s actually possible to have fun while you work.

With school just days away and the team focus shifting to curling mechanics and the occasional school work (under protest) the creative training sessions may have to take a back seat for a while. If nothing else, the memories of being flung off of a water weenie should keep the girls giggling for quite some time which will serve them well as they shake the dust off of their competition shoes and get down to business.

Never loose your smiles girls, it will keep the enemy guessing!

Instead of whining about the summer that never was, Team Clendenan has set their sights on the curling season ahead which is happenening in part, due to the help of philanthropic sponsors such as Firstbrook, Cassie and Anderson.

Dropping in, unanounced, to be sure that FCA knows how much their support means is just one of the ways that Team Clendenan aims to set themselves apart from an average sports team. Win or loose, being a good athlete means being a good person first and being cognizant of their duty to recognize that no one succeeds alone, EGMR (Emma, Grace, Michaela and Rebecca) truly appreciate Firstbrook in particular, but also all all the members of their community who so generously give their time and their donations to bring them closer to their goals.

From the bottom of their curling shoes (and hearts) Team Clendenan says THANK YOU!