An Olympic gold medallist and two time world champion was in Bridgewater to help the next generation of high performance curlers.
Russ Howard with the Academy of Curling spent Saturday at the Bridgewater Curling Club teaching curling techniques to roughly two dozen youth along with Mary-Anne Arsenault and Grant Odishaw.
The young curlers are eligible to compete for a spot in the next Canada Winter Games.
Howard says the day-long clinic was a chance to give back and offer tips.
“Not necessarily the perfect curling delivery or the perfect way to sweep, just some of the little tricks we’ve learned over the years to maybe win that extra game.Maybe change your release so you don’t dump your in-turn or read the ice a little differently or a session on strategy.”
The clinic provided feedback on on-ice setup, angling, judging ice conditions, sliding and aiming at the target.
Great to see Olympic and World Champion curler Russ Howard in #Bridgewater teaching Canada Games eligible youth pic.twitter.com/pda8D1ZVy8
— CKBW Radio (@ckbwradio) January 22, 2017
Howard says says it’s a rewarding experience.
“This is my passion, I finally realized it over the years. I used to be a golf professional, I used to teach lessons and I think I realized along the way I have a lot more to offer in curling than I do in golf, you know I’m not Jack Nicklaus.”
Despite winning two world championships, two Canadian championships and Olympic gold, Howard says the highlight of his career is being named a member of the Order of Canada in 2016.
