Team Clendenan

Coming to terms with a death in the family is tough enough, but what would you do if the unexpected heartache arrived two days before heading into one of the five most important curling events of the year? For Team Clendenan, it was a painful reality that tested their fortitude and their love of the game and with the somewhat risky decision made to soldier ahead, the lumps in throats were briefly put aside for the task at hand.

The Elmira OJCT weekend is a multi-day bantam playoff and is a relatively new addition to the circuit which is growing in popularity. Landing in a pool with the home club team (Molenaar) two other rivals (Reimer and Kimele) plus a fourth competitor by the name of Snelgrove meant that Team Clendenan was in for some great curling and remembering that games are played one rock at a time would prove to be key. There were times when the girls were in survival mode and just trying to put one foot in front of the other and there were other glorious moments of brilliance that created enough momentum to chip away at their competitors and move them towards the finals. All of the games were close; often being decided by the last stone but when the dust settled the good guys finally exhaled with a 5-0 record, an event title was not only deserved but it was a reminder of what teams can accomplish when they face tough stuff as a bonded unit.

It’s been said that “Just because the stars can’t be seen during the day doesn’t mean they aren’t there” and it is possible that the dearly departed (self-professed #1 fan) sent a little luck from above when it was really needed. Whether you believe in angels or not, you never really know what you are capable of until you are tested, and without a doubt, Team Clendenan undeniably made everyone proud!

This “W” is for you Gran!

The official term for a one day curling event is Bonspiel but with only two games to determine an overall winner amongst 16 teams, a more apropos label is “Stealspiel”. In order to be successful, you must not only win both of your games, but also accumulate as many ends in the process and ideally a LOT of points on the scoreboard as well. Consequently, the fancy ranking system that combines wins, ends and points dictates a curling strategy that is contrary to standard competitive play. In an almost unsportsmanlike nature; less experienced teams are arguably at a marked disadvantage and for competitive teams the necessary mental switch is borderline counterintuitive practice ice time. The upside is that players are generally treated to a fabulous meal as part of their entry and for the teenagers at the Donalda spiel, the prize table of massive Toblerone chocolate bars and Itunes gift cards was likely more attractive than a trophy anyway – especially when everyone was entitled to a parting gift – so the purple girls happily slipped into the fun.

Beginning with a win against a home club mixed team (Sayers) which settled Team Clendenan into a second place overall ranking and then finishing out the day with a game against a school girl team (Titkai) who had a first place ranking, the good guys racked up a lethal combination of 8 points with hammer, 13 stolen points and secured an impressive position on the leader board by winning and stealing nine out of 12 ends that counted as well. There was no question that the hard finish with the stones allowed for tucking rocks skillfully and with draw weight very much in control, the smiles were primarily in the purple corner. To be completely fair there were also some strategy hiccups that could very well have turned things around were it not for a gift miss or two by the opponents to allow the girls to get things back on track. It was probably no consolation to the victims of the Purple Bandits who kept posting points against them but the coach debriefs after the games would have had some constructive items on the scratch pad and the counterintuitive bonspiel learning theory was a very real elephant in the room. In the end, the girls placed first in their draw and remained untouched on the leader board after the late draw as well so after collection their choice at the prize table, the day was rounded out with unexpected bragging rights and recognition on the club trophy to boot.

A big thank you goes out to the Donalda club, organizers and support staff for such a fantastic event. The food was amazing and the memories from the experience won’t soon be forgotten!

Whether it is the facility, the stones, the masterful icemakers or a combination of all three, Glendale Curling club is rumored to be the closest to arena curling ice that a player may find in a club facility. The advantage of this arrangement is that teams are treated to a phenomenal amount of curl with hard finishes that lend themselves to tucking rocks just about anywhere you want them to. The challenge, however, is that careful attention is needed to determine where to put the broom for the intended result and the throwers are held to a minimal range of variation in their releases in order to benefit from what the ice conditions have to offer.

When Team Clendenan faced their first opponent (McMenemy – Coldwater) it wasn’t long before the arena type game play developed a pattern of rocks over-curling and disbelief seemed to compound the punishment quickly and mercilessly including a four-pointer in the third end in the opposition’s favour. There were moments of resilience that followed but the elusive spark that usually travels with the purple girls was further muffled by absent communication and strategy that could have been better and a loss of 9-5 resulted.

Mark Twain said that “Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned” and after a good lunch and a short practice (during a game spot that was changed to a bye at the last minute) Team Clendenan did their best to identify and acknowledge what went so wrong in their first game. True to Twain’s thoughts, an “unlearning” of mistakes was just what was needed to regain their groove and in the next three games against the home club team (Nunes) and two other rivals (Walsh and Reimer) the good guys only allowed points scored against them in five ends out of twenty four. The team communication was so strong in fact, that it not only led to a sweep against Nunes but it also facilitated a rebound from being down 5-0 in the sixth end against Walsh. Shocking the gallery with back to back twenty foot angle runbacks through a port that needed team sweeping/line calling/ throwing perfection to pull off added to a string of steals that followed turned the game on its head into a spectacular come-from-behind win. Even in the final game against Reimer, the exchange of shots (all-be-it a much simpler game) was a testament to the fact that “arena ice” can be your friend if you are paying attention and are able to adjust and work together. Somewhat afraid of having rocks in play, both teams avoided guards until the sixth end and the race was on to see who could get the best curing stone real estate to secure the win. Fortunate to be up 4-2 in the eighth, the statistical odds in our court did not disappoint and the game and the event were both credited to the purple coats as a reward.

For those who were not present to watch the ups and downs of the journey, it is hard to describe the Yin and Yang of “arena like” curling surfaces that challenge those who are unfamiliar with fast swingy ice but also has the potential for shots that are YouTube worthy. With a combination of both the weight of painful lessons and the flipside of the strength from lessons learned, the weekend did not disappoint for excitement and the gallery is sure to be back for more good curling at the earliest opportunity.

Hurry!

“Obstacles, of course, are developmentally necessary: they teach kids strategy, patience, critical thinking, resilience and resourcefulness.”
Naomi Wolf

Summing up the event win at the inaugural OJCT Galt Country Slam is hard to do in an abbreviated blog that needs to cover two full days of curling, but one undeniable common thread was patience.

There were 5 games played on the way to the championship title which included a round robin pool of three games, pool playoffs and then finals. Of these five games, 60% of the matchups found the good guys struggling for the first half of the game and in the championship round the comeback was torturously delayed until the final end. Despite how hard it was on the gallery to survive their nerves during the process, the marvelous part was that Team Clendenan demonstrated a remarkable ability to remain calm and to support each other through slow and steady resilience that ultimately toppled four out of five opponents. Incidentally, the singular weekend loss was by one point in their first game and though the girls needed three points to tie, they were within a fraction of doing so and the Bobcaygeon (Humphries) team narrowly escaped.

When a team is faced with physical performance shortfalls, the demands of the mental side of curling are exponential. In fact the difference between the head game making or breaking you pretty much boils down to attitude. Many a team has let a win slip through their fingers when attitude is eroded, or as was the case for Team Clendenan, rebounded towards a win because of a positive attitude. For example, trailing on the scoreboard can be disheartening as a game approaches the half way mark, or with a slightly different outlook it can be similar to cyclists that draft to save energy – after all, cliché’s such as “it’s never over until it’s over” must have come from somewhere. Realistically though, it takes a special kind of team to be able to shoulder mistakes on the fly and the purple crew deserves kudos for turning to each other when the chips were down, particularly in the semi’s (vs Auld) and in the finals (vs Bernard) where control sat uncomfortably with the opposition. The patience to see each curing end as a new opportunity and to stay focused on their plan even when things were going wrong almost undetectably allowed Team Clendenan to convert obstacles into stepping stones for success. It goes without saying that the girls are far stronger for the struggle than they would have been without it and the lessons learned will ideally come in handy for future events as well.

Keep fighting the fight girls. You never know what you are capable of until you are nudged out of your comfort zone.

In curling, it’s widely accepted that in order to improve you need to tackle opponents who are above you. The theory is that you don’t learn anything by winning games against teams who have lesser skills and the sooner you can get some perspective about what is higher up the ladder, the more likely you are to work hard to stretch to reach the next rung. Interestingly enough, sometimes the outcome of an uneven match up has more to do with attitude than it does with brawn and (win or lose) ideally you come away from the experience with something that makes you stronger. Even if it’s as simple as being able to say “I did it”.

A junior spiel is for competitors who are aged 17-20 which easily describes opponents that are above Team Clendenan. Nay-sayers felt that leading a lamb to slaughter would be neither productive nor prudent but with nothing to lose and experience to gain, the purple girls entered the Brampton cash spiel for a taste of the junior world anyway. Much to everyone’s surprise, solidly wearing the underdog label was anything but a hindrance and digging deep to keep up with the competition allowed Team Clendenan to achieve a collection of milestones over the weekend.

Just being in their first Junior event as a team was worthy of notation – for it is a rare group that would be willing to face players that were up to seven years older than they were – but the results at the event were far more impressive. Beginning with a bucket list win in their first game and then finding themselves in a three way tie for second place in their pool, no one imagined that they would actually advance to the playoffs with the best shoot out score and the girls could hardly contain themselves. It didn’t even matter that their opponent in the quarter finals would be the skip (Greenwood) who went to nationals the year prior. As far as they were concerned their plan was to walk off the ice either with their heads held high or their heads held higher. And then the bonus happened . . . they won that game too.

Though the girls had nothing left in their tank for the semi-final game against another top Ontario team (Brandwood), what they had accomplished up to that point was remarkable. Similar to the childhood tune The Itsy Bitsy Spider, there were moments when the girls were climbing the spout and moments when they were washed out by the rain but all in all it was arguably a valuable experience that showed them what they are capable of. They not only did it, they did it with sparkle, and no matter what lies ahead they are definitely better equipped to face it.

Can’t wait to see you on the next rung girls!