Who are we?

Who are we? Each of us on Team Potter grew up competing in a sport that many people are just now beginning to hear about: curling. It's a sport of strategy, strength, skill and camaraderie. In the fall and winter months we spend much of our time practicing and competing in bonspiels both in the USA and internationally; and in the off-season, we train and prepare ourselves for the competitive season. We are currently training for the 2014 Olympic Trials. Follow this blog to check in on our competitive season.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Curling Clinic

Yesterday, Jamie and I teamed up with our two former Olympic team mates to do a little curling clinic for some new curlers—from beginner to 1-year curlers. It was a learning experience for us all in that we had never done a small group instruction before and it was fun to be able to share what we have learned with other curlers interested in the sport. We started out with some instruction and drills and then ended with a 3-end game pitting the 1-year team against the newbie team while we coached. The team with prior experience definitely had the upper hand and it showed in the score, but it was great fun. Plus we got to curl on the championship ice made for us in St. Paul because of the recent World Senior & Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, where, if you had the chance to watch some of the games, you saw some excellent world-class curling.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Looking towards 2011-2012

Team Potter is excited to be returning to the ice for the 2011/2012 season.

Where have we been?






The team took a season break in 2009/2010. The following year, Jamie and I formed a team with a couple of ladies entering the womens curling scene while Laura and Jackie were on maternity leave. Our new one year lineup competed at the 2011 USA Curling National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota where we came out in the top 4 of the round-robin, beat the defending champions in the 3-4 page playoff and ultimately finished 3rd. It was a great season! Jamie and my decision to compete was last-minute and I'm glad we went for it. I don't know if I've ever put more concentration in to such a short period of practice time prior to the U.S. Nationals playoffs, but I learned a lot about how far quality practice can get you and how important it is to have the right kind of chemistry and communication with your teammates both on and off the ice.

For this next season, it's the four of us again but we're changing it up a bit. Laura will be playing as alternate and so we're bringing in Steph Sambor to play front-end. Welcome to Team Potter Steph!

Plans are beginning to take shape for next year's practice and bonspiel schedule. We are looking to step it up a notch and have quite a few games under our belts by the time nationals rolls around. We'll be sure to post our schedule on our blog as we finalize it.