Team Clendenan

Success might have been because of the team socks . . . but it’s more likely the team IN the socks!

Congratulations for knocking the socks off your opponents and going undefeated at Zone play downs.

See you at Regionals in Elmira on January 23-24, 2016 where we hope to see you sock-it-to-them too!

The Toronto Curling Association tournament is a prestigious stop on the Ontario Junior Curling Tour for any competitive team. Historically featuring 16 teams from all over Ontario, this year’s event was expanded to 20 (with even more on a waiting list) and there was also a new bracket formula which seeded teams into pools for round robin play and then re-seeded the top teams from each pool prior to the playoff rounds.

Despite winning three out of four games against their pool teams (Johnston – OSHAWA, Titkai – BAYVIEW, McGovern – FERGUS) Team Clendenan dropped to seventh place after pool eliminations because of a less than stellar shoot out score. They were further challenged by losing hammer and rock colour choice for every game in the playoffs (which was the bonus for the higher seeded team in each playoff game) and they would have to face the second place team (Thorne – OTTAWA) in the quarter finals who just happened to be the only team to beat them in pool play. It didn’t seem to matter though, because Team C appeared immune to their handicaps and they came together with a payback win against Thorne and a follow up confident semi-final win (against Snelgrove – UNIONVILLE). The final game (against Kiemele – NIAGARA FALLS) was a significant test of endurance and focus for both teams but knowing what was at stake, neither was willing to let the other have anything in the house to work with until the last couple of ends. Coming home tied without hammer put the pressure in the opposition’s corner to perform and in a reversal of fortune from the last time these two rivals met up, this time the good guys stole the winning point and clinched the Championship title.

All told, Team Clendenan played more than 14 hours of curling over a time period of a little more than two days and winning their very first banner probably gave them enough energy to go right back out and play some more. It was amazing to see the girls’ resilience with a new coach, new event rules and even a snow storm to create lots of material for the scrapbook but the confidence boost prior to Zone play downs in January should be just enough muscle to leverage their best of self for the final run of their season.

Fergus Zone play downs, here we come!

The cup is half full / half empty debate is the best way to describe the KW Bantam Girls OJCT event this past weekend. The disappointment of falling one point short of the championship title was clearly on the faces of Team Clendenan as they exited the ice for the last time. After going undefeated in their round robin pool against MOLENAAR, BERNARD, SCHMITT, BARTLETT and GRAY – some of which who are Provincial title contenders this year – it was hard to celebrate second place to KIEMELE in the finals because of one end that got away from them. Yet, after a debrief and a little perspective, the stats of the weekend told a very different story from the one-rock-takes-all scenario. A 5-1 win/loss record is hardly something to feel grumpy about and during those games Team Clendenan stole points in 23 ends and accumulated another 41 points with hammer, which they only had 44% of the time. You’d be hard pressed to find a curling opinion that sited those numbers as failure and there is also a theory that by avoiding peaking too early the girls may actually be increasing their chances of bringing their best game(s) at the year-end play offs instead. In fact, according to Dr. Cathy Collautt, “the most important difference between successful and unsuccessful people is that successful people never interpret failure as the last word on the subject”. Knowing Team Clendenan, the cup is about to be filled with determination and there is still a lot to say.

Cheers!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the curling house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a spouse.
The brooms were all hung in the change room with care,
In hopes that the icemaker soon would be there.

The purple girls were nestled at home in their beds,
While visions of “Eight Enders” danced in their heads.
And mamma in her Balance Plus’ and I in my Goldlines,
Were sampling several of the curling club house wines . . .

When out on the curling sheets there arose such a clatter,
So I sprang from the bar to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, in a flurry I flew,
And I turned on the “ice CAM” for an aerial view.

The glow from the ice frost must have clouded my eyes,
For what I saw next, all logic defies.
When what to my wondering, should knock off my socks,
But a smiling Kevin Martin, and eight shiny red rocks!

“Now IN-TURN! Now OUT-TURN! Now 12 FOOT and GUARD!
On TAKE-OUT! On TAP-BACK! Hurry, hurry HARD!
The house rings, they twinkled! The button, it beckoned!
I stood there in awe; must be dreaming I reckoned.

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
And I knew that all good things would come to an end.
But I heard him exclaim, as he vanished from sight,
“Good Curling to all, and to all a good-night!”

It would be unrealistic to hit a home run the first time you swing a baseball bat, but being told that you’ll potentially need thousands of swings before you’ll ever see the ball go over the fence doesn’t seem to have any impact on a true competitor’s willingness to pick up the bat and try anyway. In their minds, what do you have to lose? If you never step forward, you’ll always be in the same place so Team Clendenan excitedly grabbed their baseball analogy and their curling gear and headed to the Junior Regionals in Gravenhurst.

There were a lot of firsts in this adventure. It was the first time that all but one of the girls had ever been to the Gravenhurst host club, it was the first time any of them had been to the Regional level in the Junior age bracket, it was the first time they had played 10 ends in competition and it was the first time the competition used seeding instead of standard brackets to determine who played whom. It was not, however, the first time Team Clendenan had faced their first opponent – WALSH – and with a solid 10-4 win, the purple crew definitely made good on a big step forward. In game two, pace of play was matched until the sixth end but a crucial mistake allowed GREENWOOD to punish with a 3 pointer that snowballed into a 7-2 spread and ultimately a disappointing loss. The sudden death 3rd game against FULLERTON (double knock out format) was shaky but the girls kept the rocks in their favour for quite a while. Unfortunately the misses started to out count the made shots and the lead was eroded by the eighth end. Team Clendenan fought back and the teams were tied in the ninth but there wasn’t enough control to stop the opposition from inching ahead with hammer in the tenth for the 7-6 win.

Making it to Junior Provincials would have been a stretch but participation in each of the bonus events like this one are perfect opportunities to learn and prepare for the Provincial run in their own age category. It wasn’t Team Clendenan’s best weekend in as far as performance but the girls continue to prove that they will grab the bat and swing no matter what the odds. If you consider that “After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box” (Italian Proverb) the future victor will more likely be determined by tenacity than title. Fingers crossed that Purple will one day Reign!