THE "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!" SERIES: Episode #4
This episode is part of a series where I interview current and former competitive curlers to find out how they grew to love the sport of curling as a young person. In addition, I'll ask some of them what it's like to coach young people. And, in other cases, I'll ask them what it's like having their own children in the sport.
Jenna Burchesky is a two-time U.S. Junior National Champion and will be competing in the U.S. Mixed Doubles Olympic Trials this month with her partner, Ben Richardson. In this episode, we talk about her early days in the sport, an early bonspiel that left a lasting impression, her current competitive situation, and the creation of the "Curler Outreach Program." [NOTE: This interview was recorded in August 2021.]
Some of the topics we discuss include:
* The Scottish carpet at Broomstones CC outside Boston (2:17)
* Why she returned to curling at age 10 after a failed first attempt at the sport (3:36)
* Making a friend in curling (5:00)
* What made the Cape Cod Junior Summer Bonspiel memorable (8:39)
* Why she likes working with kids and her experience coaching at youth curling camp (12:20)
* A story about giving useful feedback as a curling coach (14:58)
* The creation of the "Curler Outreach Program" and its roots as a junior recruiting program (19:40)
* How to attract more kids to your youth curling program (28:05)
* Meeting a future teammate at her first Junior nationals (30:07)
* Her current competitive situation (32:16)
* THE BIG QUESTION: How do we get kids to fall in love with the sport of curling and stay with it for the long-term? (34:49)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Broomstones CC Web site:
https://www.broomstones.com/
Grand National Curling Club (GNCC) Web site:
https://www.gncc.org/
US Junior Curling Association Web site:
https://www.usjuniorcurlingassociation.org/
* Youth curling camp organizers
Curler Outreach Program Web site:
https://curleroutreach.org/
* Video section includes "Building and Maintaining Junior Curling Programs: A Panel Discussion" Webinar recording (Aug 1/21)
Jenna Burchesky Social Media
Instagram: @jenna_burchesky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenna.burchesky
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/