The First Time

I think more than a few of my clubmates are shocked that tonight is the first time I’m actually playing in a league final.

I’m not.

The Next Cycle

Another Winter Olympics is in the books.  The 2018 Winter Olympics won’t just be remembered for the US’s first-ever gold medal in curling, nor will it be remembered for being the first time that Canada failed to podium in either the men’s or women’s competition… but for the fact that curling was the only sport that was played every single day of the games.

Not that anyone particularly wants my thoughts on what might be coming in 2022 in Beijing, but… a couple of predictions, and then thoughts on what Israel needs to do to possibly make an appearance in that edition as part of the Roaring Game.

Ups and Downs

Curling’s full of them, those ups and downs.

I’ll be the first to admit that there’s always a give-and-take with my curling.  My men’s league team did horribly – we finished 1-9, which left us in last place – and my double’s team is in the consolation game (albeit, not by much).  It’s a good reminder that the game giveth and the game taketh away, and that it is a team sport – no single person generally wins or loses a game, much less a whole season.

New Firsts…

This year’s been different for me – I’ve curled multiple nights in years past, but now I’m up to three leagues a week, one of which is our club’s competitive league.  Each league has its own culture and feel, and it’s taken me some time to get accustomed to the less social aspect of the competitive league.

And yet, we’re doing really well in it.  My team on Wednesdays – lovingly known as Team Injured Reserve – did well enough in the first third of the season that we earned a promotion from the lower tier to the upper tier of the league, which means stiffer competition for a few weeks.

Practice Makes…

“If you’re not swimming upwards, you’re slowly sinking,” they say at my office, when we’re talking about annual evaluations.  And it’s true in any field, including sports.

For the first few years that I was curling, I was very content to just come out for my once a week, or pick up a second game here or there and consider it ‘enough’ to be improving myself.  I’ve learned my lesson since and worked in some practice, expanded how often I play, but… I think this is the first season that I’ve really taken it to heart and taken advantage of some of my unique situation.

Bonspielin’ & Priorities

One of the axioms of life is that you have to make time for the things that are important to you.  To me, that’s the delicate balancing act between family, curling and work (in descending importance), and every so often each has to give way to the others.

So two weeks ago was my last scheduled bonspiel for the time being, our annual trek to Embassy Row at the Potomac Curling Club.

Boiling a Frog

Week two was easier.

Week two is where we’re getting into the heart of my season now, at least on the rec level.  I still have both leagues on Monday nights, but this week, I’m also starting something new with playing in the competitive league at my home club for the first time… except that, in the interest of what we call ‘shalom bayit’ (household peace), I’ve agreed to skip any Wednesday night where it conflicts with theater tickets that my wife and I have.

(As I say around the club, I don’t believe in “happy wife, happy life”, but the truth is that when I do things intentionally to make her miserable…)

Sheet D For Doubles

Clearly, I’m a glutton for punishment.

First… doubles and men’s league started this week.  By the nature of the signups, I have back-to-back games most nights – Doubles teams have four byes scattered through the schedule, and men’s league teams have one each.  In this case, both of my games went to extras (well, okay, double skips rocks in the case of my men’s league game), and in both cases, we lost…

(And to explain how it works – as I mentioned recently, we’re running both men’s league and doubles on the same night.  Men’s league only has eleven teams signed up and we have a four-sheet facility, so it’s easy enough to schedule three sheets for men’s and one sheet for doubles.  The humor comes in when, as the title implies, doubles is kept over on sheet D by the wall, where it’s easier for the players to prep for the second game if they’re ready to play earlier than the men’s late draw.)

Which means that yes, I’m paying for it this morning with being extra sore.  It was bad enough really that my arms were dead by the end of the eighth end of the second game, which hurt my sweeping efficiency big-time… and it’ll be more interesting after next week, when I’m playing two nights a week – I’m also on a team in my club’s competitive league, which has the potential for me playing three games a week.

On the other hand, this is also really good for me in terms of developing my game.  I’m playing very different roles between the leagues – I’m a vice in men’s league, one of two players in doubles, and lead in the competitive league – so there’s a lot of variety to the shots I’m having to throw and the way I approach the games.  Now, whether I keep this up through the spring is anyone’s guess….

The Catch-up

So what has everyone missed, while I’ve been quiet during 2016-2017?

Not a whole-lotta.

Summer Adventures

So I’ve been really, really remiss in writing over the last season.  This year, I’m endeavoring to do a better job of it… especially since my season’s started early.

That’s right – 2017-2018’s already kicked off for me, with a bonspiel in, of all places… Arizona.