Swedes seek more instinct and improvisation

MOOSE JAW, SASK.—Team Sweden has built continuity, to put it mildly. Continuity is something most if not all great teams in any sport strive to reach. But how often do we really get to witness this?

Like most great music bands, the shelf life is often short-lived. Egos, contracts, outside interests often torpedo what could have been. Of course, there are exceptions but it’s rare.

Check out the long history of our sport. Not counting a small handful of fifth players (no disrespect to players like Scott Pfeifer, who was a fifth after his Ferbey Four days) these are the four-time plus winners. Before Edin and Co. it was Ernie, Garnet and Arnold Richarson with four titles. Glenn Howard and Randy Ferbey joined this club in the early 2000s. 

Now Niklas, at the tee line, has his seven—seven!—along with Oskar Eriksson (one year the fifth), while Christoffer Sundgren has six and Rasmus Wraana five.

What makes Niklas tick? I had a chance to ask him the Reader’s Digest answer to this question. Obviously, we just touched the surface. Insightful, nonetheless.

Edin says he gets mental game insights from multiple sources. From podcasts to TV analysts, books or articles from a multitude of sports. Sometimes he’ll just pick up a nugget from watching an athlete or how they explain their mindsets in various situations. He takes a holistic approach to his life and his sport.

He’ll watch or listen to health experts, nutrients, sports psychologists. He is also learning balance in the physical aspect of working out and the importance of pulling back or giving your body a break, and not overdoing it.

He acknowledged his leg drive isn’t as strong as it was 10 years ago. Maybe half as strong. But he seemed thankful, in a way, as he plays such a softer, smarter game than in the past.

We know he focusses on the mental game, and the theoretical.

Osmosis might be the key word here. He surrounds himself with masters in their disciplines to anyone making the effort in their sport or craft. I believe it’s similar to Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech he gave in France over 100 years ago:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

The second sentence of that speech is my favourite long sentence in literature. It seemed appropriate as Edin was talking about his influences. And appropriate for the Saskatchewan Roughrider province the team is currently competing in, as Roosevelt’s regiment in the Spanish-American war in Cuba was named the “Rough Riders”—they utilized a handful of Saskatchewan cowboys, who were hunters and horse experts.

Influences? Without hesitation, he mentioned his parents and sisters—from an even-keel family that was into sports.

But from curling itself? The player and man Edin most wanted to emulate was the late Thomas Ulsrud of Norway.

“(Ulsrud) saw the world was much bigger than curling,” Edin said. “He obviously loved the game but he had such a big life perspective and fun with it. 

“He was such a gentleman and approachable person. His demeanour impressed me so much.”

In last couple of years, Team Edin has been focusing on playing with more instinct or improvisation. The skip has been playing a fair amount of speed chess to get his mind going better in this direction. Part of the reason is the sport’s time clock, and the need to make important decisions in a short amount of time.

“It’s like anything in life,” Edin said. “When you can master the fundamentals or the basics and make them a part of yourself and the team, decisions are easier to make and go with the flow.

“We are four skips originally and have a tendency to overthink, so learning to play better with instinct can balance this out.”

In the big picture he emphasized the team’s focus is primarily two targets: playing well at world championships and the Olympics. He mentioned they tend to be slow starters in the beginning of seasons and even some championships, like this one in Moose Jaw. Part of this is due to coming off his many well-documented surgeries over many summers, to getting a feel for the atmosphere and the ice when an event starts.

Getting comfortable or getting in rhythm.

Edin might still be seeking his rhythm in Moose Jaw. He curled 100% in a win over Team USA to go to 5-2, but then lost an 8-5 matchup against Germany. However, they then recovered with a 10-2 thrashing of Bruce Mouat’s Scotland.

His team is 6-3, tied with Scotland and China—one game behind Switzerland (7-2) and two behind front-running Canada (8-1).

Motivation? Ever since he was a kid, he’s loved sports. Niklas said he often played five sports at a time. His parents obviously never held him back. He’s never lost that enthusiasm to perform at the highest level.

I never picked up that it was an ego thing. Emulating someone like Ulsrud gets the unhealthy ego in check. I think it’s safe to say—like many high-performance artists or athletes—it’s about problem-solving, and how invigorating that can be.

He plays a lot of pool, and he’s very good at it.

“I have many sources for my motivation and our on-going mental approach,” Edin said. “As an example, I like to study angles. I really enjoy watching pool and playing the game.

“I’ve learned an important distinction. I used to watch the runback ball on pool shots, lining up the ball making contact first before it hits the final target. But it’s slightly different than a curling rock. Now I am watching how the ball will affect the final target.

“So, I’m looking at final contact. I want to see how the final target reacts. It’s a small distinction but more reflects what can happen on the ice.”

As we wrapped up our discussion in the bowels of the Temple Gardens Centre, a Vincent van Gogh quote popped into my mind: “If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things.”

Motivation like this makes one feel alive. Niklas Edin communicates in a way that he and the team are as energized as ever. The challenge never really fades when your love for the game stays fresh.