What does youth curling look like in Scotland? In this episode, I have a conversation with Scott Dakers, from Livingston, Scotland, just outside of Edinburgh. We talk about his experience working with the Gogar Park Young Curlers at Curl Edinburgh, the competitive pathway, as well as how success in Beijing affected their junior program.
Some of the topics we discuss:
* An introduction to the junior curling program at Curl Edinburgh (2:59)
* Who coaches the kids on the ice? (8:48)
* How do new kids join their program? (13:27)
* Three fun drills ("Your Side," "Short Curling" & "Box") for kids (19:18)
* Advice for coaches who want to use video with kids (21:52)
* The "Performance Pathway" for competitive curlers (24:51)
* Young curlers play with many other curlers at different competitions (28:03)
* Importance of having coaches on the ice during youth competitions (31:31)
* Scott's "It's My Call" Drill where they visualize the shot they're making (32:47)
* Effect of Scottish success at the Beijing 2022 Olympics on Scott's junior program (35:53)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Curl Edinburgh Web site
https://www.edinburghcurling.co.uk/
Gogar Park Young Curlers FB Web site
https://www.facebook.com/Gogar-Park-Young-Curlers-163371907682343/
"Ice Diamond Award" citation for Jenny Barr ( 2022 Scottish Curling Awards)
https://www.scottishcurling.org/2022-scottish-curling-awards-make-your-vote-count/
Scottish Curling Skill Awards
https://www.scottishcurling.org/development/junior-curling/skill-awards/
"Drills & Coaching Aids" Resource Page (Scottish Curling Web site)
https://www.scottishcurling.org/resources/coaching-resources/drills-coaching-aids/
British Curling Performance Pathway
https://www.britishcurling.org.uk/about/performance-pathway/
Scott's E-mail Address: scottdakers@aol.com
Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling
Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at coachingkidscurling@gmail.com
The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)"
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/The_Wake_1790/JoshWoodward-TheWake-NoVox-10-GoldenSunrise
By Josh Woodward
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/