Coaching Kids Curling

Send a text We produced roughly 40 episodes of this podcast from January to December 2021. In this episode, Coach Glenn shares his personal podcast highlights of the year. And, like many year-end reviews, it's a list - of 21 random facts! NOTE: I name check a LOT of previous episodes and guests in this week's episode. There's no easy way to post show notes for this, so I encourage y...

Send a text For more than 30 years, kids representing elementary schools from across Ontario have played in the annual elementary school curling championship. The 33rd edition of this event was originally scheduled to run in March of 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. In today's episode, I speak with the three co-chairs of the 2022 event - Kathy Waechter, Jen Elston & Mike...

Send a text Coaching kids can be serious business, but not all the time! No matter how serious it gets, there are always moments of fun. In fact, they can be some of the most memorable moments of your coaching career. In today's episode, I share funny coaching moments with two previous guests of the podcast: Mike Gregotski of High Park Club and Greg Wilson of Brantford Golf & Country Club...

Send a text 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 ow...

Send a text In the Summer of 2021, Coach Glenn and his 5-year-old son joined organized soccer for the first time. In this episode, he shares the story of his son's first-ever soccer practice and what all youth sports organizers can learn about their first contact with kids and parents! Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pi...

Send a text Tenielle Bachek is the Junior Program Coordinator at the Okotoks Curling Club, in Okotoks, Alberta, just south of Calgary. Their situation was unique, because they ran youth programs last season and are running them again this season. In this episode, we talk about her opening day in October, the preparations she made to get things ready for her program, and the advice she would give t...

Send a text THE "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!" SERIES: Episode #4 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 ow...

Send a text THE "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!" SERIES: Episode #3 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 ow...

Send a text September 30 is International Podcast Day. In this episode, Coach Glenn shares some of the curling podcasts he listens to and why he likes listening to them. A big shout-out to all the podcasters who are doing this for the love of it, 'cause most of us ain't making any money! :-) Links to the resources mentioned in this episode: International Podcast Day (Sep 30) Web site htt...

Send a text In 2021, the Government of Canada declared September 30 as "National Day For Truth And Reconciliation." According to the Govt. of Canada Web site: "The day honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities." In this episode, Coach Glenn explains why this day is important to him and shares some actions he is planning to ta...

Send a text THE "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!" SERIES: Episode #2 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 ow...

Send a text NEW SERIES! PRESENTING "CURLING AS A KID & BEYOND!": Episode #1 This is the first episode in 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. I'll also be asking these curlers about their experience coaching youth. And, in some cases, I'll ask them about what it's lik...

Send a text In the Summer of 2021, Bayview Golf & Country Club (located just north of Toronto) voted to close its curling program. It was the latest club in the Greater Toronto Area to end its curling program, part of a trend in the last 10-15 years of golf clubs deciding to close their curling sections. In this episode, I speak with Bayview curling member, former Bayview Curling Manager and c...

Send a text In July 2021, Curling Canada announced that they were injecting $200,000 toward the creation of new grassroots programs for youth. In this episode, Helen Radford, Curling Canada's Youth Curling Manager, joins me to discuss the goals of this initiative as well as offering advice for potential applicants. Some of the topics we discuss include: * Why the emphasis on two-year plans (2...

Send a text When we teach kids how to deliver a rock, are we making the process easy for our kids to learn (and easy for our coaches to teach)?  In this week's episode, Coach Glenn explains how simplicity and consistency can make your teaching methods more effective and efficient. Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickeri...

Send a text Are we putting in the effort to learn about the kids we coach? Can we step into their shoes and see our sport through their eyes? In this week's episode, Coach Glenn challenges youth coaches to learn the "language" of their athletes. Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He ha...

Send a text When parents find out that Coach Glenn is a dad, they ask the same question: "So... When is your son joining Little Rocks?" In this week's episode, Coach Glenn explains why the answer is harder than it sounds. Then he brings on a special guest to help him answer the question! Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who...

Send a text Do we think about what our young curlers eat, even if it's what we feed them for snack after practice? In this episode, I speak with Melissa Kazan, a registered dietitian (RD) and sport nutritionist in Richmond Hill, ON. We have a wide-ranging conversation that includes why we shouldn't label foods as "healthy" and "unhealthy," what we should feed our kids...

Send a text This is a two-part series! John Benton is a longtime American competitive curler, administrator and coach. He also owns a company called "Cold Granite Curling" that provides training for individuals and teams. His approach to the delivery is called the "Release Point Method" (RPM). In Part 2, we continue our discussion of the three "planes," the value of k...

Send a text This is a two-part series! John Benton is a longtime American competitive curler, administrator and coach. He also owns a company called "Cold Granite Curling" that provides training for individuals and teams. His approach to the delivery is called the "Release Point Method" (RPM). In Part 1, we introduce RPM, talk about the three "planes," and discover wh...

Send a text Brandon Shintani is a high school sophomore from New Jersey, U.S.A., who created his own Web site and podcast called "Mind-Design Sports." What sets his content apart from other sports psychology resources is the fact that it's produced by teens for teens and kids. In this episode, we talk about why he became interested in sports psychology, different resources that he r...

Send a text Brittany Tran is a competitive curler from Alberta who recently participated in the 2021 Scotties and Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship in the Calgary "bubble." An Asian-Canadian, she decided last year to step up and help with Curling Canada's and Curling Alberta's Diversity and Inclusivity initiatives, including CC's new D&I digital resource guide.  In t...

Send a text Above the Arctic Circle, the town of Inuvik, N.W.T., is home to a curling centre with a thriving junior program. In this episode, I speak with Nick Saturnino, president of the Inuvik Curling Center, about its multiple youth programs, giving responsibility to young people, and creating new competitive opportunities for youth in his territory. Some of the topics we discuss include: * A s...

Send a text Stephanie Thompson is a registered kinesiologist and owner of Empowered Performance in Markham, ON. In January 2021, she was one of five recipients of a Gender Equity Award grant from Curling Canada. Her plan was to create a "virtual group fitness program for young girls, focusing on reducing curling-related injuries." In this episode, we update her grant idea, talk about the...

Send a text As a youth coach and/or organizer, you've probably heard of Safe Sport, the "Rule of Two" and Rowan's Law. What do we need to know as we prepare our programs for the re-opening of curling clubs? In this episode, Jennifer Ferris, Manager of Programs & Operations for the Ontario Curling Council, joins me with updates to these three essential issues for youth curli...