The road to Torino began a long, long time ago...
After watching my mom and dad curl competitively for several years, I finally began curling myself when I was about 13 years old, in Bemidji's Sunday Night Jr. program. It was there that I learned the basics of form: how to throw the rock without two feet and two hands, how to slide the entire length of the sheet, how to glide backwards on one foot, chewing a piece of straw from my shooting broom all while discussing what the next shot should be (without running into the sideboards, of course!).
When I reached the bumptious age of 17 I decided I would give the State Junior Championships a try. At that time there was, however, what would be described as a "shortage" of juniors in our club. I remember my Dad guiding some of the other lads through the basics so that we would actually be able to even field a full team.
Following that initial taste of competitive curling, I played in my first National event in 1987, at the age of 18. After winning an event in a spiel in Bemidji, we decided to enter the State Olympic Qualifier. Following a loss in the A qualifier to a somewhat unknown Baird rink (a team that coach Bob was then a part of), our very cool skipper got one to stop on the side of the button to qualify us for the National Olympic Playdowns in St Paul. Having not been one of the favorites in the event, and actually advancing to the Nationals was a bit of an inspiration as well as a springboard for my competitive career.
Then in 1993, at the age of 24, I was asked to play vice skip for the well seasoned rink of Scott Baird, Mark Haluptzok, and Tim Johnson. This was where I really started to mature and began to grasp what it took to compete successfully at the National as well as International level. Curling, at this point, not only gave me a great sense of accomplishment as a competitor (winning two Nationals back to back), but also gave me a great education, in that it took me to parts of the world I never knew for sure that I would even see. I will always be appreciative of Curling and of my team mates for allowing me the opportunity to experience those things at such a young age.
Because of Scotts year off in 1998, I was given the chance to take another big step, where I began to skip yet another newly constructed team. This team now consisted of three young players and one veteran member. Because this was a very developmental period for three of our players, Mark Haluptzok's presence as vice skip was invaluable to our growth and success, both as a team and for individual players alike.
Following a much needed rest in 2002, we once again formed a new team in 2003, of which I was now the "veteran" member. As each year unfolded I continued to work to refine my skills and my understanding of the whole game of curling. And each year I realized, to an even greater extent than the year before, that there is ever so much more involved in being successful than just making a few shots (which is sometimes tough enough in it's own right).
As our team continually looks for small things to be altered, which will make the next step down the road toward Torino be an even more successful one, we will undoubtedly find several more hills and valleys still ahead of us. But, I have confidence in knowing that by calling on all of our past experiences as well as continuing to look forward with genuine open mindedness and a bit of tenacity, that this journey will surely take our team to where we have only yet dreamed of going...
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