Sturgis Curling Club Update - 12/7/09

Today was our second official day of curling. This week, all of the 12 current members of the club were present. A few of us arrived early, myself being one of them. I was able to watch some curling on TV. It was great to see the professionals curl, because you notice all the improvements you can make in an attempt to be as good as they are. It was also great to watch some curling because you pick of some of the terms that curlers use while playing the sport, such as a guard stone or a double.

Because Tory, Fabio, and I were early, we were allowed to get a head start on curling. We put on the shoe covers and headed out to the sheets. As a quick review of what we learned last time, an instructor showed us the throwing motion again, and then we all repeated her. After getting readjusted and comfortable to the motion, we were allowed to throw for the first time. Nobody wanted to try throwing first, so I volunteered and gave it a try. It wasn't a bad throw, but it was difficult to maintain my form and keep my balance, especially after letting go of the rock. I needed more power in my thrust and needed to work on my aim, as the stone was curling off of the intended path.

I received some pointers from the instructors on how to improve my form and augment my power, such as pushing off harder from the blocks and following through with my hand in the direction of the throw after I had released the rock. I did a few more practice throws, and by that time the rest of the Sturgis Curling Club had arrived. Upon their arrival, we moved on to sweeping. The action of sweeping was easy enough to learn, but it was hard to know when to start and stop sweeping, how close to go to the stone, etc. Let's just say that sweeping was not my forte. I worked hard on it but wasn't very successful.

In all, this day of curling was very productive. I realized that I have some strengths in throwing the stone. I have a lot to work on, such as aim and power, but one of our instructors recognized my emerging skills and said I was a natural curler. Learning how to sweep was a great new skill to develop and it certainly required a lot of effort. However, it is obvious that sweeping is one of my weaknesses, so hopefully by next meeting I will be able to improve.