THE "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!" SERIES: Episode #5
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.
Sabrina Ribau is a member of the Portuguese National Mixed Curling Team who grew up in Oakville, ON, Canada. In this episode, we talk about how her father's introduction to the sport led to her and her siblings joining their local junior curling program. We talk about her experience coaching kids and some advice and tips for fellow youth coaches. Finally, we talk about how we can keep kids in the sport of curling for the long-term. [NOTE: This interview was recorded in July 2021.]
Some of the topics we discuss include:
* How a curling open house her dad attended led to Sabrina joining Oakville CC's Little Rocks program (3:19)
* Which athletes (curling or otherwise) did she look up to as a kid? (8:25)
* What made her decide to get "serious" about curling? (12:11)
* How instructing kids and adults helped with Sabrina's personal development (14:55)
* What is the rewarding part of coaching kids for her? (19:30)
* What was the most fun part of curling for her? (22:32)
* Advice for creating engaging lessons plans and practices for kids (23:32)
* How would she describe her coaching style? (28:10)
* Team Portugal update (32:22)
* 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? (34:11)
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Oakville (ON) Curling Club Web site:
https://oakvillecurlingclub.com/
"Oakville family set to sweep up for Portugal at world mixed curling championships" article on insauga.com Web site (March 2, 2021) by Gene Pereira
https://www.insauga.com/oakville-family-set-to-sweep-up-for-portugal-at-world-mixed-curling-championships/
"Drills To Die For" article by Bill Tschirhart
https://ontariocurlingcouncil.com/blog/wp-content/APITG/APITG_37_drills_to_die_for.pdf
* Arguably one of the most downloaded articles in the sport. It is a list of drills that are standard for many competitive and youth programs. If you've ever heard of "Crazy 8s," "Line Dancing" or "Pop Goes The Weasel," then you're familiar with some of the drills in this article.
CKC Episode #41: "How I Met My Wife: A Valentine's Day Story" (Feb 14/21)
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1048435/7853596
Sabrina Ribau Social Media
Twitter: @SabrinaRibau
Instagram: @mindfulkinesiology
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/