Curling Match 2 (Beginners League)
The difference between the Men’s and Beginners’ leagues is like night and day. On the one hand, this is to be expected - Beginners’ is an instructional league. But even that aside, it keeps a much slower pace and more lighthearted feel from the relaxed chatting on the ice to the lack of broomstacking after the match.
Last night marked both X’s and Mary’s return to the ice. Mike had to travel and will actually not get to play for another week or so. I’m not sure how Mary did, but X was really throwing well. She could use some work on the sweeping, but she’s also small and doesn’t exactly have the weight to really dig a brush head into the ice.
X threw second and I ended up as vice, which is fine with me. I was not throwing well at all, but I was trying to concentrate on the “body drop” part of the delivery and also positioning my broom, which I think needs to be held more out to the side.
We lead for the first few ends, but a few screwups put us behind by the end of the match.
One thing that I think is missing from this league is coaching or expert assistance. The teams are lead by 4 and 5-year veterans, but they readily acknowledge that there is still a LOT to learn. Ideally, there ought to be one or two “experts” on each sheet to help guide the newbies. Despite the captains being quite knowledgeable, there is only so much assistance they can offer from over 100′ away. If there was a coach who was not actually playing in the match, that person could offer assistance/advice on delivery and sweeping techniques as well as teaching etiquette like “don’t kneel on the ice.” As an example, following Mike R’s lead on Monday, we stood near the tee-line as our thrower prepared. This gives you more time to pace the rock and more time to sweep if it’s too light. Most of the newbies want to stand near the hogline since you can’t sweep until it crosses it anyway. The captain is too far away and too busy calling shots and guiding the thrower to correct this, and as an utter noob, no one will follow my example. Years of acting experience has also rigorously trained me in the notion of not directing other actors, so I won’t push others to follow me without being in a position where others are expected to do so. If there was a coach or expert present, they could provide this guidance.
Another example is sweeping. I know full-well that the sweepers autonomously decide to sweep based on the weight of the throw unless the skip makes a call either way based on the path. But, knowing that I’m SUPPOSED to sweep a weak throw doesn’t mean I have yet developed the ability to SPOT a weak throw. A few times our captain reminded us that if the stone is light, we should sweep unless told otherwise and I replied “We didn’t sweep because we thought the stone was going fast enough.” An expert to help you evaluate this would be useful.
Speaking of sweeping, I decided to try sweeping “properly.” the way one naturally holds a broom may not be the best way. By holding the upper hand under the broom with the end of the shaft under your shoulder and the lower hand about halfway down, you get quite a bit of stability. You can essentially lean your full weight on the broom instead of just pushing with your forearms. I does seem to work well.
Mixed League starts Saturday. I expect that to be the middle ground between the serious men and the bumbling beginners!