S1E8 - Teamwork, Leadership and Training Your Mind w/ Val Sweeting

Subscriber-only episode

This week in the Dojo, we're joined by Val Sweet - Scotties champion and member of Team Canada. 

We talk about her journey as a skip, the transition to becoming a Third for a team of leaders, and the importance of teambuilding in sport. As a 2-time Scotties silver medalist and now champion, Val also shares her insights into sports psychology and the impact of training your mind to better yourself as a leader both on and off the ice. 

Then, on the The Podium, Linden joins Seth and JP as we shift to some virtual sports and dive into our top 3 video games. 

The Biz Dojo - Podcast, Production & Professional Coaching
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

Transcript

Seth Anderson: 0:00

Welcome to episode eight of The Biz Dojo. This week we chatted with Val Sweeting Val's a two time Scottish finalist and current scotties champion as a third on Team Canada.

JP Gaston: 0:10

Yeah, we explored a few things with vowel we jumped into, you know, team Manitoba now Team Canada, and how that came together with four skips and for strong leaders, all really learning along the way and learning new roles for at least three of them. And, and we talked about sports psychology and the importance of sport psychology. I really liked how, and you know, Val linked sport psychology, not just to the nice portion of the game, and you know, seeing your own sports net, or TSN, or, or, or wherever most people see her play, but actually how it impacts different events at different times. Whether it's, you know, from game to game, within a game, definitely something I hadn't thought of, but something that she really dove into, as we, as we had the conversation,

Seth Anderson: 0:56

it struck me and, you know, just doing a little bit of research before we got into the pod, you know, how much goes into to, you know, becoming a professional curler, I mean, I mean, becoming a professional at anything, you know, takes it above all else, ah, a lot of time, a lot of commitment. And it was interesting to me, and at least, you know, and then just watching some of the videos, and and particularly of them winning the scotties this year, you know, you look for little little moments of leadership, you know, and you know, JP, we've talked about this a few times, but the thing that jumped out to me when I was watching the video was, you know, instead of jumping up and down and being super excited that she won, the first thing she did was went over and congratulated the other team. And I think, you know, it just, I had a sense going into the interview that she was going to be very humble, and you know, very much a lead by example, type leader just, just by watching that moment, it just it spoke to me, I don't know, profoundly, but it definitely captured my attention. Because when you get caught up in the moment, the emotions just sort of overtake you. And what you do in sort of that few seconds after something like that, I think says a lot about who you are as a leader and a person. So you know, not to make too much out of one moment. But you know, I did find throughout the interview that she's very much, or at least very much came across as a lead by example, professional knows how to handle their business, and can juggle the demands of not only being a professional curler, also having a day job, and a mom and all the other stuff that would be going on in their life. So I left very, very impressed with, you know, obviously her resume that she's put together over the last few years. But to be able to do that as required a certain type of leadership that it's pretty, pretty awesome.

JP Gaston: 2:37

Well, I think about all the times you see, you know, those emotional type videos shared on social media and whatnot of the person who in a moment of profound success, takes the time to go over and actually have a conversation or congratulate or, you know, talk to the person who they had just defeated. That speaks volumes about a person and I totally agree. I think throughout the conversation we we did kind of hit on those little nuggets where it's it's very obvious that she's the lead by example, type. And having been through that before to you I'm sure that that had played a part in it. But I think those are the sorts of moments that help keep you humble.

Seth Anderson: 3:17

Absolutely. So you know, without further ado, we'll get into it with Val and an old grandma. And every time I've ever been to your house and every time you guys swing down here a couple times a year, curling ends up on the TV so really hoping you enjoyed this conversation as well.

Voiceover: 3:35

We talked to Val Sweeting, professional curler and member of Team Canada. We talk about bonding and team dynamics, changing your role as a leader and the importance of training your mind. So welcome to episode eight of The Biz Dojo,

JP Gaston: 3:58

sceptic a crash course in Belle Sweeting over the last little while

Seth Anderson: 4:02

Oh, really, I watched more cooling in the last 30 minutes than I have in my entire life. So a couple of things I learned about Val over the last half hour you were the youngest skip to ever represent Alberta at the scotties. Yeah. And then this past year, you actually won the scotties as a third with Manitoba. And I know we're going to get into how you ended up on that team. I think JP talked about that a little bit when we were talking before the show. And you know, you want to Silver's a skip team Alberta in 2014 and 2015 for career Grand Slams, and you're currently on the number one ranked team based on the Canadian team ranking system for curling. So a pretty impressive resume, I would say, well, thank you diving into it, obviously, you know curling, you're also a mom, you have your day job, a lot going on, how do you how do you manage it all.

Val Sweeting: 4:54

It's definitely taken some trial and error. And that's kind of a was work in progress, but it takes a good support team, my parents, my family, my boyfriend, his family, you kind of need a team behind the scenes to allow me to go and travel and then also really understanding employer to get that time off. And, and then just life balance, like you said, between everything when I'm here on is training or face training. Now there's there's a lot that goes into it, but found a way to make it worked so far.

Seth Anderson: 5:37

Obviously curling would be a big passion of yours to invest this amount of time into it. And when did you sort of know that this was a path you wanted to pursue? And you know that getting it onto the competitive curling scene and going as far as you have, when did you kind of know that this is the direction you were headed?

Unknown: 5:54

I can't really pinpoint one specific time where I thought, oh, okay, I want to do this competitively. curling, a really big in Merrifield, Saskatchewan, where I'm originally from. And so I was involved with it at a young age and my parents played as well. So I was at the rank and eager to get started. And then I just kind of stuck with it, my family moved to vegreville, Alberta when I was about 13, and my parents were driving me into Edmonton in order to curl because that's where my team was, and kept plugging away, kept curling and won the first uate team provincial title when I was 16, and went to Nationals. And that was really cool seeing all the you know, the different players in their provincial jackets, but kind of at that point where, you know, it just kept motivating me to keep going and keep going, and you watch it on TV, and you want to play on TV one day, and I just kind of kept at it and started working at it more and more. And here I am today,

Seth Anderson: 7:00

we mentioned off the top there you were the youngest skip to ever represent Alberta. What does that mean to you to not only you know, have your own team, but to be the leader at such a young age? and have those expectations all kind of coming together? How did you how did you handle that? And what did it mean to you to be in that position,

Unknown: 7:17

or it meant a lot growing up? It's a dream that you want to play at the scotties one day, and we were we were so young, my team at that point. And that's my kind of a different mindset. We were just getting into ladies, I'd only been skipping for a year or two, you know, we didn't know how far we would go with that provincial, and we're just kind of there get one game at a time. And okay, we're still playing. Then we made it into playoffs. And you know, we were the huge underdogs that week. And just even being out there with, you know, all the other top names in Alberta was really cool. And, you know, kept plugging away out there. And then even when we won, we were all pretty surprised. Barley does this surprises everybody else. But yeah, then we went to Sioux Sainte Marie to the scotties. And it was just to play on that stage was a dream come true. And it was, it was very fortunate for it to happen at such a young age,

JP Gaston: 8:19

what made you want to be a skip, I can imagine that you curled at various positions over the years. And eventually, something led you to say, you know what I'm going to, I'm going to run it, I'm going to become the leader of this thing.

Unknown: 8:30

Back then, I was playing with some other ladies. And we were all kind of close in age, and four of us got together. And that was just kind of the natural position we talked about. And yeah, I thought it was exciting to be in that role at something that I didn't do in juniors. And yeah, it was it was new for me. But I think given the four people together that just kind of how it happened. Then the following year, we won the northern championship, that's when we won in 2010. So really, 2009 I think was my first year skipping and we were really close in the northern playoffs. I remember think we lost all three finals to the provincial but yeah, we were really close. And I I enjoyed the role and it was something new and just kind of stuck with it after that

Seth Anderson: 9:29

in, in watching, I was watching just a couple of interviews back in sort of that 20 1415 timeframe, I think or 2016. And you and your team, were talking about how important sort of being friends off the outside of the curling rink and you guys still have a lot of fun and even when things get challenging, you guys, you know really formed a good bond and work together, which led to a lot of success. So you guys were able to have any, you know, obviously that's an important part of what that team did. And any thoughts or insight is To how that all came together.

Unknown: 10:02

Yeah, I definitely think that's really important on a team, especially in curling, when it's such a small team, you know, on the men's side, you hear it, sometimes we treat it as a business. And I think that women are a little bit different, I do think those relationships are important, and you want to have that social side as well. So like you said, when things aren't going well, that you have something to fall back on. And if it's just curl, curl curl, then you don't always have that kind of personal connection. And you may be I don't know what that person's going through, or what's going on in their life, or, you know, just stuff like that. And even for me, it's a lot different now, because I'm the Oda province player, my teammates aren't, you know, here. And so, as much of kinda like the training and the travel amount of travel is the same, it's different, in that team dynamic sense, where I'm not traveling with them, or I'm not in the car with them. And, you know, just having those other kind of just normal life conversations, we don't always get those in. So we kind of have to do that on top of everything else as well, so that we can develop that team dynamic. And in the game, it's, it's definitely really important. And any team that I've played on, that's been an important dynamic as well. And you spent a ton

JP Gaston: 11:31

of time on the road, right, like, I know that, you know, for some of our listeners, they may know, the, the Val Sweeting that's on TSN, or sports net, you know, every every few weekends over the course of the curling season, but there's tons of other games that happen in and smaller and medium sized rinks and arenas all over all over the world, really. And I know that, you know, a lot of the focus is in Canada, but but but all over the world. So I can only imagine that that sort of relationship is really important, because you are spending that kind of whole weekend together. It's not It's not like a you know, a baseball game where you you show up and play and then you go your separate ways.

Unknown: 12:06

Yeah, for sure. There's lots of times, you know, spent in the hotel rooming together sometimes, and not ideal situations, or is travel and, you know, there can always be hiccups along the way and dealing with that adversity as well. And yeah, you're you can be in close quarters for a long period of time. So definitely important that, you know, you all get along and like each other,

Seth Anderson: 12:33

what do you enjoy most about being involved in curling at this point, I think, you know, all of us, you know, we get to be in our 30s and we have kids and we all have our passions, you know, JP, you know, with his music and sports and I was involved with with hockey for a number of years. And, you know, at some point that pendulum kind of swings and you've got work, you've got kids, you've got all this stuff that's sort of stacking up and sometimes passions go by the wayside. Obviously, you know, here, you're very good at curling, and on TSN and all that kind of stuff. But what what do you still enjoy about it like what what gets you excited about heading to the curling rink, or maybe being in some of those less than desirable locations or travel arrangements.

Unknown: 13:13

For me, it's just kind of the environment itself, I'm really fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to a lot of cool countries, been to Japan, it was one of my favorites. And Scotland was also Switzerland, we were way up in northern Russia do Dinka and not ideal travel. But they put on one heck of an event and we just felt like rock stars and playing in an arena with the crowd and everything that's really special and also the kind of relationships that I've formed along the way and the people that I've met whether that's you know, teammates, competitors fans, you know, and just it's kind of just the environment that has come along with all of the competition that's what keeps me going and that's when I think back not really the the wins and losses so much that stands out are like the life experiences and and all that other stuff.

Seth Anderson: 14:18

So when you you know moved over to to Manitoba, like you mentioned to the out of province player now and you move from being the skip to the third. Did you have to adjust your game to accommodate that I as I understand it, you know the team now you're a team of four skips so kind of everybody's kind of got to find their role. Did you have to adjust your game quite a bit and to find your place or or was it actually pretty natural once you guys kind of got together and made your plan? Well,

Unknown: 14:45

the team came together really well. It was pretty natural. For me individually. It did feel like a big adjustment, even though it was like 2009 until 2018 You know, like 910 years or so that I was skipping, it was still at an elite level for a number of years, it was different going, you know, on the physical side of the game, I was sweeping more, and throwing a lot more shots, I have to throw every shot. Basically, I remember when Kerry first asked me to peel the corner guard, I was like, Oh, my gosh, I haven't thrown the shot. And it's something that, you know, you don't really think of. And so yeah, there's the different shots, and just kind of a different kind of pressure, you know, if the front end sets up a really good end, you want to keep that going for carry. And then if it's not working, so well, you want to kind of turn the end around. But the good thing is, if all that doesn't happen, Carrie can bail. So that's definitely one of the positives. But yeah, I'd say, you know, the physical side and, and for me, not being able to practice with the team was tough, too, because I'm trying to get better at all these things that a third does. And we didn't have the opportunity to practice. So it took some time and, and a lot, we played a lot of games in the beginning. And we were trying to establish ourselves in the flam. So we had to get all the games and as it went on, and we grew together, and we did get time to train together also carry learning, like, I'm also left handed, so that's different as well. So it looks a lot different than the other girls and my rocks react differently sometimes. So, you know, it's definitely been a learning curve. But yeah, the team's just been working really hard together. And then it's been a good journey. So far,

JP Gaston: 16:52

was it like being on a team with, you know, presumably, four really strong, like, you've all had success, all four of you have had success. And now you have success together. But what's it like being on a team where you've got sort of the strength of leadership from all of UT, do you find that it's, you know, easier, is it more difficult,

Unknown: 17:08

or it's a great team to be a part of everyone is so committed to their roles. And I think that's kind of the key to any team, you know, it's not just having four people who want to win, you know, they have to be willing to put in the work that it takes and respect to their roles. And they're always changing. And sometimes one person has to pick up in a different area, or it can be quite dynamic and quite moving. But I think that we just have that open communication so that we can learn and we can know, and we can get better, you know, excited to keep working hard and keep growing and, and even though we won nationals last year, and we're number one right now, we haven't had meant to the season so far, but we just want to keep working hard. And and that is always the goal. Just keep moving forward,

Seth Anderson: 18:05

what was going through your mind when you guys did when the scotties there, like I noticed, just in watching the video, everybody was sort of starting to celebrate. And the first thing they you did is he went over and congratulated the other team, which, you know, I think it speaks a lot to probably having been in that position and just your general leadership style of how you approach things, but what what was going through your mind, and then the moments after that, that rock sort of crossed the center there and you guys won. Right after,

Unknown: 18:34

I was really excited. But I did just out of respect for the other team. I did want to shake their hands, and then kind of celebrate after we I have a lot of respect for the other team. And also they had lost the final the year before. And I knew what it felt like to lose two finals in a row. So just kind of that feeling as a whole. That's what I wanted to do. And then after that, I think it was just a mess. That's the ugly cry going. And yeah, I remember hugging Shannon and then we wanted to go to the family. But we had to go to the other end and fives ended up just picking up the berms and walking down the sheet. Someone was like, why did you pick up the broom? They said I don't know. It felt like they needed to be put away. But yeah, it's definitely a lots of emotions. It was that was a pretty emotional day. In general, just being back in that final and we were in the same rank where I had lost in the final in 2015. So there was just a lot of familiar newness to it. And a very, very emotional day. sounds scary. But you know once we got going and the crowd got into it and they kind of settled in and and it was a lot better and then still it was over. It was emotional again.

Seth Anderson: 20:03

Was that it like after that? Pretty much COVID lockdown, almost right away, like within a couple of weeks, so sort of left on a high Labrador. Did you guys get to play at all after that?

Unknown: 20:13

No, we we were in Prince George for the World Championship. That's where the women's worlds was supposed to be. So we had went there. And we were one day away, I think, from starting, and everything shut down, and

Seth Anderson: 20:28

we got sent home. That must have been an interesting, you know, couple of days, you know, you think you're going to be playing in a big world tournament to drive at home sort of bit of an empty feeling or what's gone? What's going through your mind on that drive back back to Edmonton? Oh,

Unknown: 20:43

yeah, it was, it was pretty devastating. You know, you wait forever for that to come. And you think that that moment is there, and you're there, literally, you get sent home. So at that point, it was a little bit while it wasn't new, we obviously knew what was going on. But that's when things shut down. And it just got really bad. And we were having breakfast at the hotel that morning. And that's when the NHL announced that they were not continuing. So we knew that it wasn't looking good. But we thought since we were there. And you know, the ice was in all the teams had already traveled, we thought that it would still happen. But, you know, obviously, everyone's safety and health is most important. So we understood that decision. And when we got home, that's when pools were closing. And, and we kind of just helped us understand, you know, the magnitude of everything. All of the events, after that were canceled as well. And then even going into this season, we did have one scheduled in Oak talks a couple weeks ago, we were there. We were on the ice, we were playing our first game. And we got notified that more restrictions were coming into place and sporting events were being restricted in areas. So we stopped playing and went home.

Seth Anderson: 22:14

I can't imagine that you you figured that happened twice in the gap there. How did you stay sharp? Like how do you how do you how do you keep up the obviously cannot really have a backyard curling rink, per se. So how do you how do you stay? Keep your skills sharp over the last six to nine months?

Unknown: 22:29

Yeah, there's definitely a longer offseason than we were used to. But we just kept doing what we could do. We have a new coach Heather net, when she came on board. We were having lots of team calls and staying in touch with each other and getting to know her who's brought up a lot of good creative things for us and really helped us stay positive and and keep pushing us forward. And yeah, we just focus on off base training. Some of us have gyms set up at home. So we were lucky to be able to do that. And this basically do what we can read some sports psych books. And even though we couldn't be on the ice, we we just tried to be as creative as we could so that we're ready, whenever things do open up, and we can play again.

Seth Anderson: 23:24

Is there anything for a casual observer of curling and, you know, speaking to the skill side of things that you would say maybe gets underestimated or not understood, you know, in terms of the difficulty that that's involved in curling, whether that be you know, the mindfulness required or the physical agility that you need? Is there a couple of things that you know, you, you'd offer up that the casual observer may not notice, just you know, flicking the scotties on once a year on?

Unknown: 23:55

Yeah, it's a very strategic game, there can be a lot of kind of cat and mouse back and forth, you're not quite sure what the other team is going to do. There's so many variables out there that make it really challenging ice conditions. I know a lot of people have asked was the ice the same everywhere you go, and, and it's not and sometimes, even the sheet you're playing on itself is different in different areas of the ice. So there's lots of little things. And even for us off ice training, it's really hard to mimic some of the movements especially sweeping, you know, there's a lot people your hair, you know, I got in great shape, but those first couple weeks of the season are still really tough because you just can't mimic that and use those muscles a lot. All of them anyway in the gym. And then I've had some people notice they're pretty sore after their first time curling too. So think even with sliding and stuff. You just kind of find the muscles even maybe knowing you had it Be a little bit harder on the body than it then it looks. But yeah, I think the strategy and all the other variables are probably not as noticeable.

JP Gaston: 25:11

You talked a little bit about, you know, for the last six to nine months, going through some sports psychology books and and, you know, working with coaches and sports psychologists and whatnot, how much has that changed your game? I'm sure that wasn't something you know you were doing with mom and dad at the rink and merryfield. So how how much is that had an impact on your game over

Unknown: 25:31

the years? Yeah, sports psych is a really big part of the game, I first really dipped into it, it would have been 2013 2014 was kind of our big breakthrough season, we had worked with a sports psych and he was really good for team dynamics and personal performance. And you always want to be ready and have that good performance performance on demand. You know, we talked about those just really developing those kind of skills and, and kind of staying more even keel through all the ups and downs that can happen out there, on and off the ice, and the mental side is huge. And curling is a long game, a game is like two to three hours. So that's quite a long time to maintain that focus, you know, when there's distractions, or all these variables that you can't control, it's tough out there. But I think sports psych is here, and it can definitely help manage all those different things.

JP Gaston: 26:33

And I imagine helps over the weekend, or over the length of an event, right? Like, I know that that one event is not the only one and you've got to be able to, you know, bounce back from a loss or a you know, a close when that should have been a blowout those sorts of things. And how much does it? Does it help as you're going from kind of an A, B, down to C sort of situation? Is it? Is it more helpful as you're battling those those types of situations? Or is it just as helpful keeping you focused, when you're having great games,

Unknown: 27:04

I would say it's really beneficial for those long events, because you near the end, you get tired and probably sore. And you know, to maintain that that mental focus is huge, because that's where the playoffs are, too. So, you know, you got to be up for that and be ready. And as you are more tired, it gets a little bit harder. And then yeah, like you said, bounce back, sometimes our events are back to back. So you could have a poor event and not make playoffs and have to go to the next one. Or you could have a good event and lose the final or something, have a bad game you were you have to be able to let that go and, and move forward now on to the next event and not kind of carries that with you like learn from it. Absolutely. But you that bounce back I think is really important. And even back to back games and an event is big, you know, we at the scotties last year, we gave up seven to seven out of eight possible points and and then we did it and we had to go back on the ice and play the home team Saskatchewan that night. And so we knew that we had to park that and let it go because the crowd was going to be on Saskatchewan sighs like as awesome as they were for both of us, you know, they're going to cheer for the home team. And we knew we just had to let that go. And we ended up winning that game against gachon and bounced back but we knew that that wouldn't be easy. So I think without that mental toughness we could have let that seven Ender affect us and carry it into the next game and, and then just it would have kind of kind of snowballed from there really,

JP Gaston: 28:55

every time I have seen you curl which is probably every time you curl, but every single time whether it's on TV or or just you know, seeing you at an event. Everyone comments that you are by far the calmest person on the ice. I feel like on the inside you may not be I know we talked a little bit about needing to control it. But are there other Is there anything in particular that you do to try and control yourself? And you know, as a skip, you've made a ton of huge shots over your career. Same with now as a third on Team Canada. Is there anything that you do in particular to be able to hold yourself back in those moments where your insides are screaming bloody murder?

Unknown: 29:39

Well, I'm glad it appears that way. I think of myself as a pretty calm person in general. But yeah, that there's moments out there where I may look calm and I like you said it's not like that on the inside. But that, you know, preferably doesn't happen very often. But nice. To the kind of how I am, in general, and with the training that I've done just helps me manage those moments. And, you know, there are times where it's difficult to manage, and it does come out. But you know that I've learned that that's not productive for anyone, not, not for me, not for my team, and for anybody watching either. So, not perfect all the time. But yeah, I've worked hard to manage that. And, you know, one thing I'm still working on is not being so hard on myself, you know, it's, it's a game, it's an athlete, like there's, you can't be perfect at it. And so just try not to be so hard on myself and letting myself off the hook sometimes. And I think that will help with the overall kind of calmness as well.

Seth Anderson: 30:53

I think you've made some great points about just in the last little bit here around letting things go staying focused on to the next game, you know, to get to the being at the top of your class, in the sport that you're in, you know, you need to do all of those things and more, any advice for up and coming athletes who are maybe, you know, making, looking to make the jump and whatever sport they're in, and in terms of mindset, and leadership, any advice you'd offer them, as they go through their journey to get to that next level? Yeah, my

Unknown: 31:27

advice would be that that part of you know, whatever you're aspiring to do work on the mental side of it. And, and you don't have to do it alone. There's a ton of resources out there, whether it's a book or a video, or working with a professional. You're definitely not alone out there. And I think that if you develop that side of the game, you can see results in in every other area versus just practicing that specific skill. Yes, that's important. But if you have the right mindset, it could enhance what you already know, or what you already can do. So it's definitely a huge part of the game. And just don't be afraid to explore it is yeah, it can trickle down into everyday life, too. It's really exciting to kind of push yourself and and see how much you can grow. Do you have any books that you've read recently, or any speakers that have sort of inspired you to kind of get to the next level, I

Seth Anderson: 32:32

know for myself, last winter, I guess, around this time last year, I was reading the David Goggins book can't hurt me. And I don't know, I started amping up my workouts a little bit, just in some of the things he was saying, like, you know, the human body. Like when you think you're tired, or you think that you've given all that you can give, you've usually given about 40% of what you're capable of. So when I was at the gym, every time I was getting tired, I'm like, you've only done about 40% of what you could do. And it kind of helped me, you know, find that next gear, anything specific or any, any resources that you've been using of late to help you out?

Unknown: 33:09

Yeah, actually, I read a really good book lately. It's called the champions mind by Jim aphromoo. Sorry, if I didn't say that correctly. But yeah, the champions mind. Oh, great. Athletes think train and thrive? I think. Yeah, one of my favorites. so far. It's got a lot of good points. And I'm not a big book reader. But yeah, this one was, was really good, kept going. It was like, put it down, which is not normal for me. Seth is now writing that down. He's going to that's going to be his next book on his list of books. Yeah.

Seth Anderson: 33:47

I do have a list of books. You know that already. So

JP Gaston: 33:50

you have a list of everything, not just books.

Seth Anderson: 33:53

I recently went to Costco and I bought for notepads. And I'm just filling them with random lists of things. So this is on one of those.

Unknown: 34:03

I feel like we're similar because I just had a bunch of lists going and I wrote them down. I put them together and organize them in a notebook. Now all my lists are in one place.

JP Gaston: 34:15

You have a list of lists. Yeah.

Seth Anderson: 34:18

Actually like that. linen. My son says me all the time, like, Oh, that's so satisfying. And when I heard that a list of lists, that's very satisfying feeling I just

Unknown: 34:28

felt satisfied. I sticky notes everywhere. And I was like, I gotta organize my list.

Seth Anderson: 34:35

I did was nice. I actually drew a list today that resembled a, an Excel spreadsheet in a notebook. So yeah, the lines are a little and they weren't perfect, but you know, I was happy with how it turned out. So

JP Gaston: 34:54

I bought a bunch of notebooks, didn't buy a room.

Seth Anderson: 35:01

What's next Valley?

Unknown: 35:02

I obviously COVID has kind of have a say in what's next specifically on the, the curling rink. But you know, looking ahead, what do you what do you kind of see coming up for you once you can get back on the rink? Well, fortunately, even though we eggs and events can't happen right now in Alberta, I can still practice. So I'm pretty lucky that I can, I'm still on the ice. We do have an event scheduled for next weekend, Red Deer did get the okay from Alberta Health Services to have the event. But again, you know, it could change at a moment's notice. So we're prepared for that. But the girls in Manitoba, they actually can't go practice right now. So I know they're itching to get out there. So we're we're planning on playing in Red Deer next weekend. And then there's a mixed doubles event after that. So hopefully those are a go. But we'll see a lot of off ice training and wait and see what what transpires. We're gonna see what happens in the new year. Well,

JP Gaston: 36:13

I mean, until then, at the very least, until then, you're still Team Canada, you've still got still got the flag. Which is, I think, something to be to be super proud of, especially in a very weird year, like we've got, and hopefully it's something you can, can continue to carry.

Unknown: 36:31

Yeah, it's it's definitely been different here as Team Canada. Normally, there's, you know, some perks along with with that, but, you know, everyone's still healthy and, and we're doing what we can, and we'll be ready whenever we we can go back, whatever event that might be.

Seth Anderson: 36:54

Thanks a lot for making the time to chat with us today. Val is great having you on. Yeah, thanks for having me. It was a lot of fun. Thanks. Have a good night. This week on the podium in honor of my son Linden, because he happened to step in the room right when we finished

JP Gaston: 37:20

to get on around sets.

Seth Anderson: 37:24

We will be doing the top three video games. What's up, dude? Come on. You want to come on to do the podium? Come over bed. Okay, so we're gonna do top three video games up in the seat. And this is the Mike

JP Gaston: 37:40

heyland. And how's it going? Hello. So I understand you've got some top three video games to talk about? What are your What are your top video games?

Unknown: 37:49

My number three favorite is Mario Maker two, because you get to make your own levels in Mario and like play them and like, then post them online stuff. Number two need to speed I like need to speed because it's a racing game. I like racing games. And also, um, it's just super fun. And then number one is fortnight. And I like fortnight because you battle to the death and then try to get the victory Royale

JP Gaston: 38:28

I so Need for Speed. The very first Need for Speed that ever came out has always been one of my favorite games for years and years and years, and I love Mario. Mario anything is great. And I've seen some of the levels people make online and they're crazy. Some of them are really crazy. You make do you make insane levels? No. Or do you make them so that you can actually play them?

Seth Anderson: 38:53

So I can actually play them? The job? Alright, I guess we're doing top free video games. Okay,

JP Gaston: 38:59

I also have a theme for mine. You'll be happy to know I wrote out a list and I have a theme.

Seth Anderson: 39:04

Does freestyle count as a game? Yes.

JP Gaston: 39:07

I was actually one of the ones I was thinking about was ski free. The old windows. Oh, that's a good.

Seth Anderson: 39:12

That's a good. That's a good figured out. So JP, what are your top three? Well,

JP Gaston: 39:18

I am going to go with a little bit of alliteration. There are a ton of video games that I could choose from the many. And I was a I was a Sega Genesis original Nintendo kid. Those are my Those were my systems growing up. So number three, I think is a classic. And it's one that I can still play today. And I think that's why I choose it and I could play it for hours is Tetris. I mean it still shows up on everyone's phones. It's still like it's everywhere. Tetris is Tetris is solid.

Seth Anderson: 39:55

That's that's a good Russian game.

JP Gaston: 39:56

Yes. I've never I've never been so into, you know, classical music as God. Number two is Sega Genesis version at least of toejam. And Earl. Hmm, yeah, it was, it was such a fun game. And you could it was really the first sort of half split screen, half not game. So when you were on this when you were in the same area together, it wasn't split screen. But as soon as you walked far enough away, you'd each get your own little screen to work on the first time that ever really happened. And it was just such a interesting, unique concept and so much fun to play. And then number one is probably the hardest video game I've ever played. And I don't know if anyone's ever finished it, but the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sticking with our theme for Nintendo,

Seth Anderson: 40:48

such a such, it's so

JP Gaston: 40:51

good. It's so hard. Like, I don't I don't even know I used to spend hours at my buddy's house. we would we would go over there after school and play this game and and I don't know if we ever passed like the second level like it was just

Seth Anderson: 41:04

a replay of that game. That is a great, great game. At least in my mind. It is it might not actually be but in my

JP Gaston: 41:10

No, it's still a great game. You can actually there's a bunch of places you can play it online now. It is so much fun to solid,

Seth Anderson: 41:17

solid.

JP Gaston: 41:18

The arcade version was good too. Don't get me wrong, like the original, you know, Papa quarter. Cleanup version was awesome. But it wasn't. It wasn't as hard as the Nintendo on that note.

Seth Anderson: 41:29

Did you like or have you watched Wreckit? Ralph? I guess Jacqueline's pretty young. That's a great, I love that movie.

JP Gaston: 41:35

I don't I don't need to give too much kids. I love them all. WreckIt Ralph,

Seth Anderson: 41:42

I think is my favorite kids movie that's come out. It's right up there. Like in the era of my kids being alive. That's

JP Gaston: 41:52

it. That's it. In the area of having an excuse to watch them.

Seth Anderson: 41:58

Okay, my top three heavily debated. List over the last five minutes. I have a very small list on this. I could this this. This could be multiple lists. Hands down? Yep. Yeah, I could write a batch which maybe we should talk videogames.

JP Gaston: 42:16

That'll be our first book, this leadership podcast, very first book that they've co written. Just a list

Seth Anderson: 42:22

of kind of like the old Simmons book of basketball, just book of video games. I feel like someone's probably already done that. But

JP Gaston: 42:31

I feel like there's multiple people who have done that, and, you know, magazines and stuff that regularly.

Seth Anderson: 42:38

Anyway, my number three and I don't know that. Like, I don't know what the qualification criteria is. I don't have a scoring matrix. So. But we got a Nintendo Switch right at the beginning of COVID. And we downloaded all the old games that were on there. And I played a lot of Doctor Mario. And I remember my mom playing that a lot when I was younger, and it was kind of timely because like you're killing viruses, and it was COVID. And so you know, I was just pretending that's it's, it's a little bit Tetris. Yeah, I probably could have talked myself into putting candy crush on there, but I Dr. Mario, that's that's my pick. Number two, I'm gonna go with Crash Bandicoot. ps1 game. That's the first game that I ever beat. The entire thing I was super proud of myself. I had a friend back then. I think his name was like Joey. He lent me the game or something. Anyway, I beat it. And I just remember there's a level where you'd like ride a tiger in here, like on the Great Wall of China, and you have to like jump in. Yeah, that's still on my brain. 20 some years later. And my number one and I could probably do an entire list on sports games. But I think the most iconic one to me is NHL 98 I don't know why. Peter Forsberg was on the cover. I think I had it for computer and for PlayStation like

JP Gaston: 44:10

I don't know for some reason. It was your first multi platform. Yeah, multi

Seth Anderson: 44:14

platform game. I don't know if it was the first PGM GP a gem via GM mode version.

JP Gaston: 44:22

All these years you thought it was big? Yeah. You were so excited. I'm such a gem.

Seth Anderson: 44:28

Whatever year the first big one is which I don't know. That that was I was I was all in on that. But I rarely actually played the game. However in NHL 98 I remember a thing I did because my dad was a leafs fan is I created the entire 1967 Maple Leaf team and played an entire season all att games and the playoffs with that team. So it's like Dave Kion and Bob bond and just a bunch of random guys but I went to took the time to create every single player for the rock. Did

JP Gaston: 45:03

you create them at their current age or at their age when they were?

Seth Anderson: 45:06

I don't know what I did. But I actually I had this book, it was an NHL encyclopedia, I think is what it was. It was like this thick. And I had like all the rosters of every team ever. And I went back there and I like found that team and I made them anyway, that's the kind of kid I was.

JP Gaston: 45:26

You were making lists even back then. Creating little, little hockey teams. I really hoping that you put in there like actual birth dates, and you'd probably thought you were honoring them for your dad. But meanwhile there Oh, and 82 because we're all why is this team so bad? There's such superstar.

Seth Anderson: 45:50

Awesome. Well, that is our top three video games. Really great episode, I think. This week, next week. We've got Rebecca Finley from Finley associates, as well as next gen men. She's the chair of the board there and really looking forward to sharing that conversation with everybody next week.

JP Gaston: 46:09

And if you haven't had a chance yet, in preparation for that checkout next gen man, I think you'll you'll you'll be very interested in the work that they're doing to help shift some conversations. Often

Seth Anderson: 46:20

every week, everybody Yeah.