A Pane in the Glass Podcast

This episode is for parents and coaches of junior age athletes! It's the first episode of two, examining the role coaches and parents play in the development of athletes at this stage of their development. In this episode I update an article from my blog site ( truenorthbill.blogspot.com ) of the same title and I include an article written by an ER physician who does not mince any words for p...

Calling all Wheel Chair curlers! This episode is for you. Chris Daw , Paralympic  Gold Medalist in the first W/C Paralympics in 2006 takes us on his incredible 21 year quest for an Olympic and Paralympic medal. Why did it take so long and when it finally happened, how did it happen? Well, that's what this 38th episode in "A Pane In The Glass Podcast" is about. It's a fascinatin...

This episode is a chat with Paul Webster from Curling Canada's National Training Centre located in The Glencoe Club in Calgary, AB. We talk about the evolution of the National Training Centre as well as Paul's experience as Curling Canada's Olympic Team Leader (including  some stories that go along with that most unique position). The episode ends with some valuable advice Paul shar...

The noted golf writer, Rick Reilly has penned a wonderful story-filled book about his passion, golf. It's filled with stories and observations on this both wonderful and frustrating game that many of us play in curling's off season. Some of  play it very well, while others do so, well, just because, as the title of Reilly's book suggests, " So Help Me Golf ". This episode...

So, you think you'd like to coach curling internationally! If that's your motivation, this episode is for you and even if that's not your goal in life, you'll find the journey my friend Dan Rafael has taken as he has coached in several different countries, all with positive  impact, most interesting, enlightening and I hope, entertaining. Interspersed with Dan's comments a...

This episode is a  chat with a woman who's been there, done that and has the T-shirt! That woman is Fiona Grace Simpson from Portugal by way of Scotland and Italy. She has wise words to share about topics on "the warm side of the glass"! It’s your turn! Send me your thoughts by texting here!

This episode is the third in the "Mental Health For Athletes" series.  In this episode you're going to hear a number of audio files including one in which parents who have lost their scholastic athlete son or daughter to mental illness talk about that most traumatic of experiences! I hope those of you who listen to this episode will encourage parents of young athletes to tune in at...

In this second episode on "Mental Health For Athletes", we turn our attention to the coach. My guest for this episode is Sean Turriff. Sean is the new Resource Coach for Canada's U21 Championship. In passing the torch to Sean at the event in Stratford, ON this past season, he. conducted a professional development session on this topic. It inspired me to ask Sean to join me in an epi...

This episode of "A Pane In The Glass Podcast" begins a three part series of episodes on the issue of " Mental Health For Athletes ".  In this episode, two athletes, a professional speaker & author plus a representative of CURLING CANADA  explore through first hand experience, what it's like to deal with "performance anxiety" and other aspects of mental health...

In this episode of "A Pane In The Glass Podcast" I catch up with Lisa Weagle and Scott Pfeifer, two world class  front end curlers and now coaches with Canada's national mixed doubles teams.   In addition to the interview with Lisa & Scott, I announce the next three episodes, all dealing with "Mental Health For Athletes". I will have more to say about those episodes in...

This is the second episode primarily about lawn bowling but with definite implications for any team from any sport that wishes to be the best it can be but first you learn how to play the game before you learn to compete and ultimately, win!  Using a pairs team from the Grand Cove Lawn Bowling Club, you will hear the steps, and missteps Wayne & Andy took along their journey.  As you listen, yo...

This episode is for lawn bowlers AND curlers but primarily for those who share the summer sport of lawn bowling with me. There are no two sports as closely related as lawn bowling and curling.  As you'll hear me say in the episode, I spend. the winter suggesting to curlers who do not have a primary summer activity, they seek out the nearest lawn bowl club and likewise, during the summer I mak...

In this early morning, special episode of "A Pane In The Glass Podcast", I say "Thank You" to Gerry Peckham and Danny Lamoureux who have both announced their succession plan.  Of course, I share some stories about each of these extraordinary gentlemen! It’s your turn! Send me your thoughts by texting here!

In this episode, I highlight some publications that I have found helpful in my coaching and instructing career. Many of us look for good books to read while enjoying those hazy, lazy days of summer. These I have found to be among the best! It’s your turn! Send me your thoughts by texting here!

It's episode #25! To mark the occasion, my grandsons, Lucas & Jacob (you'll remember them from episode #1 back in February) thought listeners to "A Pane In The Glass Podcast" might like to know how an episode makes it onto podcast platforms. That's what episode #25 does. With Jacob acting as host, Lucas will ask the questions he feels you might have to learn the steps...

In this episode, I compile a Top Ten List for teams wishing to move their competitive yardsticks down the field. How might my list compare with yours? After listening, please send your list to me at coachbill@hay.net! It’s your turn! Send me your thoughts by texting here!

For those of you who are regular listeners (& thank you for that ) you're probably wondering why there would be an episode about timeouts in curling when an episode was just published ("On Ice Coaching") which is all about an initiative to allow for much more interaction between coach and team than just once or twice per game. This episode is about the nature of a timeout when a...

Your eyes are not deceiving you. You read the title of this episode correctly. We're talking about not only putting the curling coaches on or near the ice surface, we're suggesting that the coaches move from end to end to position themselves at the playing end of the sheet AND have opportunities to interact with the team during the playing of an end . How radical is that? Well, it may so...

My guest for this episode is Helen Radford of Halifax, NS. Helen is the "Manager of Youth Development and NextGen" for Curling Canada. Helen describes a variety of programmes aimed at, well, as you can tell by her title, the future curlers in Canada. After listening to Helen describe those programmes, I urge you to invite anyone within your sphere of influence to hear this episode as wel...

You have an assignment before listening to this episode. Go to Youtube and search for " PBS Quiet Eye " and " Brainy Putting ".  Both videos feature Alan Alda of MASH fame. When you've done that, and in the process been entertained and educated, then hit play on your device to learn what a "performance cocktail" is and why all elite athletes  never leave home wit...

In this episode, Renee Sonnenberg of Curling Canada pulls back the curtain on what has become one of the hotest of hot button topics for sport in general and of course, for curling in particular, analytics! The competitive curling team that wants to climb to the top of the mountain in its competitive environment ignores analytics at its own peril. Don't you be one of them! It’s your turn! Sen...

In this episode, Coach Faith Van Ryssel and her son Aaron, skip of Team MB2 talk about what they anticipate in this national event and then discuss what actually happened. Was the expectation the same as the result? Well, you'll have to listen to this episode to find out what they learned! If you find yourself playing at this level for the first time, perhaps what they say can help you! It’s...

It's soap box time! I promised myself I would not use this medium to editorialize but this topic just seemed to me to warrant an expression of my thoughts on teams that decide to break up and go their separate ways. I certainly don't mean to disparage the teams, the many teams, that have made that decision! There are excellent reasons for doing so, but if your team is considering that mo...

In this episode, Curling Canada's Women's Team Leader, Elaine Dagg-Jackson, details what happens when a team becomes Team Canada at the Curling Trials  through to the site of the Winter Olympics. Elaine has done that seven times! But there's more than Olympics in this episode to inspire coaches and athletes to train to be the best version of themselves! It’s your turn! Send me your...

This episode is with Dr. John Dunn, that ruggedly handsome Scot you see sitting behind the scoreboard when Team Kevin Koe is playing. John has been with Kevin and the various iterations of his team for the last fourteen years and, as you might guess, he and Kevin have learned much from one another. If you want to find out what those lessons were, and how you can apply them to your competitive envi...