2013 Brier: Big, Bigger, Biggest And Monstrous

by Colin Hodgson

EDMONTON – What does it take to reach the pinnacle of curling? Doing 1,000 push-ups a day? Throwing 1,000 rocks a day? Drinking strawberry daquiris in Veradero, Cuba?

That’s been the question all along. Both of the first two options are wrong on their own, but when combined one just might have found the formula for Brier success. It seems to be a common denominator with many of the Edmonton Brier teams – Brad Gushue’s Newfoundland, Jean-Michel Menard’s Quebec, Manitoba’s Jeff Stoughton and Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs.

I recently tried to get an inside look at today’s high-performance training regimens by spending a week with Team Stoughton in Canada’s most sought-after winter vacation destination: Winnipeg, Manitoba. In February.

Why not, I thought? Jump on a plane and fly into The Freezer. What's the worst that could happen? What a poor decision that was. Little did I know that a week-long stay with second Reid Carruthers would involve days at classic curling club gems the Granite and Fort Rouge, tossing endless stones, followed by a quick turnaround of lunch, then a gruelling gym session at the MTS Iceplex. That, by the way, is the training centere of many Winnipeg Jets hockey players including Olli Jokinen and Alexander Burmistrov.

Located at the Iceplex is High Performance Trainer, Athletic Therapist and Certified Ass-Kicker Melissa Skibinski of Focus Fitness. There are many words to describe her while one is working out, but none are remotely acceptable to pass on to the curling world. I think Carruthers states it best when he says “Melissa is a drill sergeant, I think she takes pride in making me cry.”

On the plus side, Skibinski seems to be barking just the right amount of orders. Given Stoughton’s strong 7-1 record heading into tonight's battle against the beefy Northern Ontarians, it seems fitness has not been a concern.

“The guys basically have been working hard in the gym every day,” says Skibinski. “That’s not to say they haven’t been working hard on the ice, and they’ve definitely been committed and focussed on what they’ve needed to do in preparation for the Brier.”

When asked about what it’s like to boss around Jeff, Reid, Jon Mead and Mark Nichols, Skibinski was quick to point out that it is interesting at any given time.

“Jon has a very good sense of humour, they all do,” she said. “I’m always entertained, mid-workout, at the comments made towards me. Often times they shoot dirty looks, mutter something under their breath. Even so, they battle through and finish their workouts. They all work hard and they don’t leave anything on the table.”

The same couldn’t be said for me. My goal was to try not to vomit on the fresh turf – and that almost happened on no less than six separate occasions. A little tidbit of information: do NOT eat chicken noodle soup 15 minutes before a cross-fit workout with Nichols – he’s a personal trainer himself, for God’s sake. “Goblin Swings” (What the heck? – Ed.) with a kettle bell certainly get the intestines moving... and if not, there’s always the next workout: four kilometers of rowing.

Watching – and participating – in what elite curlers put into the game certainly exposes the levels of fitness these athletes are really at. Smoking cigars on the ice and dropping ashes in front of stones (so they grind to a halt) doesn’t quite cut it anymore... hence the removal of hogline ash trays from most (but not quite all) curling facilities.

Now for Team Jacobs. This cast of four guys from Jack the Giant Slayer is made up of big, bigger, biggest, and finally monstrous. But being huge doesn’t necessarily correlate into great curling shots. Hours upon hours of throwing stones – with teammates and without – as well as a fitness regimen have been the key to this squad’s strong season. I asked Jacobs what his team did in preparation for Edmonton.

“To be honest, I think the whole season has been preparation for the Brier,” Jacobs said. “It was our goal at the beginning of the year to make it back here, and do all the right things from ’spiel to ’spiel in order to be well prepared coming in. We’ve put in a lot of hours on the ice practicing and playing highly competitive games to be ready for this week, as well as a lot of time at the gym. After provincials we really didn’t do anything differently. We had several light practices. We didn’t want to throw too many stones and be worn out or sore coming in.”

Similar words on practice came from Newfoundland Brier rookie Brett Gallant. “Our icemaker, Tony Angel at Bally Haly, prepped the ice before every practice, four-plus feet of curl and 25 seconds hog to stop,” said Gallant. “Almost identical to Brier ice. We’ve been throwing on this type of ice all season.”

However, it’s apparent that hitting the gym is also a regular occurrence with these guys, too. I competed against these guys at a few junior events over the years and trust me, they weren’t half the size they are now. Just don’t tell them I told you that!

It’s quite obvious that curling is changing. With more and more youths competing here at the Brier and in other major championships all over the world, fitness has become a big staple in high-performance curling. Look for it to grow even more prominent in the next few years to come, among young turks and veterans alike – even Glenn Howard has embraced working with a trainer over the past few years.

For you young guns looking to make an impact on the sport, talent will only get you so far. Get fit, go throw, make the decision to be great and follow what’s in front of you – because it’s happening in curling, here and now.

And now – some Goblin Swings, but without the soup churning around in my stomach...

[The Curling News photos ® by Anil Mungal]