Wow it has been a while. Too long. But finally we are back to the ice, with a pickup curling tonight. It will be the full team as well, even with Max able to coach us. Our efforts to join the fall and winter leagues were rebuffed by money and time issues, especially with most of the team swimming in the Winter. But no more of the moping, its time to focus on tonight. It has been 6 long months since we've thrown stones, but I'm sure our curling legs will come back to us quickly. Phil still has the curling shoes, gloves, socks, and broom which must have been rotting in his closet from disuse.
We never did go on a Summer bonspiel, it would have proven too costly and logistically it did not work out. At the end of last season, we lost in heartbreaking fashion in the semifinals, just outplayed by a more experienced team. In the last round when we might have been playing in the final, we played wacky curling which was just as fulfilling and fun.
So that's all, I'll have a full recap of tonight's events later on, but for now. Happy Curling!
Connor
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Update
Hey again! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, school is getting pretty hectic. But I do have very good news with this update. We have played two matches since then, we won one and lost one. The first match was against rivals Slippery Ninjas who we were tied with going into the match. We all played very well and were able to come out with a clutch victory by three points. Our final match of the season last week was a very important one. We were sitting tied for first place in our division, where the top two teams advance. There were also two teams just below us nipping at our heels to take our place. We faced off with Cobra Kai, a team in the other division. While we played the best match of our season, we just didn't have enough to get past the high-flying Cobra Kai. We lost 7-3 in a game that was closer than the scoreline indicated. So, we were very anxious about our playoff fate, we knew that our differential would be worse than either of the teams below us had they won their game. So I kept a close eye on the website for any news about the future. Then, late at night last night, I checked again to find that the website had updated the league scores and standings. We lost 7-3, Slippery Ninjas lost... and Team Young lost! We still get a chance at the playoffs! We will make the most of this lucky break we received, coming in as the two seed from our division. Tomorrow night we face Pinky and the Brains, the winner of the other division, and a one-loss team.(We supplied them with that single loss) It no doubt will be tough, but I believe in our chances of victory.
On another note, Phil finally got the package in the mail that he was so anticipating. His new curling shoes, broom, socks, and broom head cover. They look beautiful and professional and will surely help him improve his game now that he uses the best there is.
On yet another note, we are still on the search for a summer bonspiel and we think we have settled on the Blazin' Brooms of Blaine bonspiel in Blaine, Minnesota.
-Connor
On another note, Phil finally got the package in the mail that he was so anticipating. His new curling shoes, broom, socks, and broom head cover. They look beautiful and professional and will surely help him improve his game now that he uses the best there is.
On yet another note, we are still on the search for a summer bonspiel and we think we have settled on the Blazin' Brooms of Blaine bonspiel in Blaine, Minnesota.
-Connor
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Victorious
So this past Wednesday, we were all hyped up about the game. They were the number one team in their division, with a record of 3-0, and we were number two in ours, with a record of 2-1. It was the biggest game of our season so far, and we couldn't wait. We had been doing pretty well in the previous games, steadily improving with each time we played. Jonathan was still by far the best, but Connor and I had continued to decrease the amount of ends until we began throwing in the house. We were cautiously optimistic about this match, understanding that they had the better record.
We left practice and headed to the gas station to pick up some drinks. We were a little behind schedule, and hurried over to Subway right next to the ice center. After getting our sandwiches and a few cookies for the team, we ate pretty fast. Max, our coach and photographer, had followed us up there as well. We went into the ice center, grabbed our brooms and sliders and got on the ice. As a team, they definitely looked good and had an air of talent and experience. Maria decided we'd have the same lineup as last time, Connor, Me, Jonathan, and Maria. Connor, being our lead, flipped the coin; they called heads, and heads it was. I'm not quite sure if they were just cocky, but they chose the color of the stone as opposed to taking the hammer.
The first end we scored one point, both of our defenses were quite good and the entire game would be a low-scoring game. In the second end, we didn't go for points, just made sure they only scored one so we could repossess the hammer. In the third end, Connor led off with a great shot, nearly perfectly lying on the button. His next shot was commendable as well, lying in the eight foot ring to the left of the button.
Maria had told me to throw a guard to protect the two-stone lead we had. I threw just a bit too hard and it landed right in the house, not a bad mistake at all. On my next throw, I threw much lighter hoping to get a blocker this time. Maria thought it was going fast enough so she told the sweepers to hold off. The stone landed inches from being past the hog-line, but close just wasn't good enough and that stone was out. By the completion of the end, we had scored a point.
We followed that up with another point in the fourth end. This end was also the second time Jonathan hit Connor's stone out, this one was, however, outside of the house and quite wide to the left. In the fifth end, the main highlight of this end was also the most controversial point. It was the very last stone of the end, and they had the hammer and we were lying one. Their stone came in at a takeout weight and knocked out our stone. This would have made them be lying two, but one of the sweepers, Jason, had burned the stone. He immediately pulled the stone out, thinking that that move would disqualify the stone. Maria was the most experienced between our teams, and she replied that the stone wouldn't count because of the burn. After she had walked away for a second, I overheard the player who burned the stone saying he didn't think that was the right call because if anything the burn would have slowed the stone, decreasing its ability to take out our stone, but he didn't make any further complaints on the matter. I talked to Maria afterwards, and she said that if the stone had come to rest in a scoring position, she would have let it stay. But it hadn't so it didn't matter. So now, we were only up by one, a very small lead for us. In the sixth end, there were lots of take-out weight stones from the other team that missed our stones by mere inches. We had the hammer, but their skip was really good. He threw his last shot to knock out our stone and put his closer than all our stones. He hit our stone out, but it didn't hit well enough
to be closer than our other shot rock. That put us up by two to take the win. If they had made their final shot and taken one in the last end, we would have had to throw a tie-breaker shot, probably by either Maria or Jonathan. But we had secured our win, a very close match indeed. This was their first loss, and put their record the same as ours. We are now in a three-way tie for first. The two matches we have coming up are going to be just as nerve-wracking, as we play the other two teams in our tie for number one. We're really excited for the two upcoming matches and consequential two-week tournament.
Good Curling
-Phil
We left practice and headed to the gas station to pick up some drinks. We were a little behind schedule, and hurried over to Subway right next to the ice center. After getting our sandwiches and a few cookies for the team, we ate pretty fast. Max, our coach and photographer, had followed us up there as well. We went into the ice center, grabbed our brooms and sliders and got on the ice. As a team, they definitely looked good and had an air of talent and experience. Maria decided we'd have the same lineup as last time, Connor, Me, Jonathan, and Maria. Connor, being our lead, flipped the coin; they called heads, and heads it was. I'm not quite sure if they were just cocky, but they chose the color of the stone as opposed to taking the hammer.
The first end we scored one point, both of our defenses were quite good and the entire game would be a low-scoring game. In the second end, we didn't go for points, just made sure they only scored one so we could repossess the hammer. In the third end, Connor led off with a great shot, nearly perfectly lying on the button. His next shot was commendable as well, lying in the eight foot ring to the left of the button.
We followed that up with another point in the fourth end. This end was also the second time Jonathan hit Connor's stone out, this one was, however, outside of the house and quite wide to the left. In the fifth end, the main highlight of this end was also the most controversial point. It was the very last stone of the end, and they had the hammer and we were lying one. Their stone came in at a takeout weight and knocked out our stone. This would have made them be lying two, but one of the sweepers, Jason, had burned the stone. He immediately pulled the stone out, thinking that that move would disqualify the stone. Maria was the most experienced between our teams, and she replied that the stone wouldn't count because of the burn. After she had walked away for a second, I overheard the player who burned the stone saying he didn't think that was the right call because if anything the burn would have slowed the stone, decreasing its ability to take out our stone, but he didn't make any further complaints on the matter. I talked to Maria afterwards, and she said that if the stone had come to rest in a scoring position, she would have let it stay. But it hadn't so it didn't matter. So now, we were only up by one, a very small lead for us. In the sixth end, there were lots of take-out weight stones from the other team that missed our stones by mere inches. We had the hammer, but their skip was really good. He threw his last shot to knock out our stone and put his closer than all our stones. He hit our stone out, but it didn't hit well enough
to be closer than our other shot rock. That put us up by two to take the win. If they had made their final shot and taken one in the last end, we would have had to throw a tie-breaker shot, probably by either Maria or Jonathan. But we had secured our win, a very close match indeed. This was their first loss, and put their record the same as ours. We are now in a three-way tie for first. The two matches we have coming up are going to be just as nerve-wracking, as we play the other two teams in our tie for number one. We're really excited for the two upcoming matches and consequential two-week tournament.
Good Curling
-Phil
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Season Halfway Over
In our third game of the season, we continued our winning streak with a 5-3 victory. I finally really got it and was able to place the shots the way I wanted them. We had another clutch performance from Jonathan, and key contributions from Phil and I on our way to a 2-1 record.
Zack's team lost their third straight match on Friday in heartbreaking fashion. They clawed all the way back from 8-0 down to tie it up before a tiebreaker. Zack played so well during the game that he was chosen to draw to the button for his team, but couldn't win the tiebreaker for his team.
As you can see on the right side of the page, we finished our design for the logo, which looks beautiful. We are also currently trying to design an alternate to go on the front of our jerseys.
Tonight we take on the top team in Division A in a crucial match in our season, so wish us luck!
-Connor
Zack's team lost their third straight match on Friday in heartbreaking fashion. They clawed all the way back from 8-0 down to tie it up before a tiebreaker. Zack played so well during the game that he was chosen to draw to the button for his team, but couldn't win the tiebreaker for his team.
As you can see on the right side of the page, we finished our design for the logo, which looks beautiful. We are also currently trying to design an alternate to go on the front of our jerseys.
Tonight we take on the top team in Division A in a crucial match in our season, so wish us luck!
-Connor
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Progress
As any of you reading this know, we had our second match of the season last night. This time, Maria arranged us with me a lead, Phil as second, Jonathan as vice-skip, and as always Maria as skip. We jumped on them early with the hammer in the first end and scored two, and never looked back. We managed 6 ends this time, and won 7-1 in the end. On the Rocks had its first official win! Jonathan played outstandingly, even when he missed shots he put them in the house. Phil and I improved immensely. Last time, we both struggled to even get them in play, but this time around, we struggled to get them in the house. Hopefully by the end of the season, we will be playing the shots that Maria calls.
At the Curling club, there were fliers about a bonspiehl(curling tournament) this summer in Wilmington, North Carolina. Immediately Phil knew he was unable to go, but fortunately Tyler, our alternate, is willing and able to go, and even suggested that our road trip should include a tour of colleges on the way. So On the Rocks will hopefully have its first bonspiehl on June 21 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
If you are reading this, a simple comment would be appreciated to know that I am not just speaking to myself.
-Connor
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
A Thought
As any of you that have read the blog know, I am still in high school. As a result, I was reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay when I read a marvelous quote that seemed oddly pertinent to our dream. For some context, the person who says this in the book is a nature lover. "Always in life, an idea starts small, it is only a sapling
idea, but the vines will come and they will try to choke your idea so it cannot
grow and it will die and you will never know you had an idea so big it could
have grown thirty meters through the canopy of leaves and touched the face of
the sky. The vines are people who are afraid of originality, of new thinking;
most people you when you are a young plant they are very dangerous." As I read it, all I could think of was all those who have scoffed at our dream and called it silly or ridiculous. It is true, most people in life will be vines to our dream.
It is true that our idea is very sapling at this point, as we have played only a mini-match together as a full team, but it also says that that is when the sapling is most vulnerable. So if we can feed our sapling enough nutrients as hard work, and sunlight as belief, this sapling can burst through the canopy into greatness.
So when we take the ice tonight to face Team Sammis, we are growing our sapling ever taller, trying to reach the sunrise in Pyeongchang
-Connor
It is true that our idea is very sapling at this point, as we have played only a mini-match together as a full team, but it also says that that is when the sapling is most vulnerable. So if we can feed our sapling enough nutrients as hard work, and sunlight as belief, this sapling can burst through the canopy into greatness.
So when we take the ice tonight to face Team Sammis, we are growing our sapling ever taller, trying to reach the sunrise in Pyeongchang
-Connor
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Curling Underway
It has been a little while since I posted here, I have kind of been swamped with schoolwork, and, of course, curling. There have been a few major things that have happened since I last posted, so I will go ahead and start on those.
First, as we were driving up last Wednesday, the 27th, we discovered that Zack's dad is disallowing him to participate in the Wednesday night curling league with the rest of us, which added a disappointing note to the trip up there but did little to keep down our spirits. He is instead participating in the Friday night curling league, without any of the other members of On The Rocks. While we are sad to miss him for this first curling league in our young history, we know that he will dominate that league in our name.
The Learn to Curl itself was very exciting and informational. We showed up to the Marietta Ice Center full of not hopes, but dreams. We traveled past the full-size hockey rink with the local youth hockey team practicing and into a smaller, more cozy rink. We grabbed some brooms and stepped tentatively onto the ice, learning quickly how to maneuver on it to keep balance. Then the curling started. We first learned the proper ending position of a curling throw, and looked a tad bit silly doing it. Then we learned the correct way to sweep and all about what it does. We were grouped together, the four of us, with our instructor Maria Eswine. Maria taught us how to leave the hack, how to throw some shots, and was very kind and patient with us. Then we played a mini-match against some of the other learners, which we won 3-0 in our first ever "match" as a full team.
After the match, Maria asked us if we wanted to be on her team in the Wednesday night curling league, and as we had already hit it off with her, we enthusiastically obliged. So later in the week when rosters and schedules were emailed home, the three On The Rocks curlers in the Wednesday night league were kept together along with our temporary skip, Maria.
Wednesday the 5th of March, we once again piled into the car and headed on up to Marietta for our first match in the league. We were one person lighter this week, as Zack went on Friday for his first match. We met up with Maria, shook hands with our opponents, who were skipped by Maria's husband, and started curling. We led off with one in the first, because we had the hammer, from a clutch draw from Maria. The opponents tore into us in the next ends though, taking two and then one in the second and third ends. We bounced back with some good shots from Jonathan in the fourth, and pulled level at 3 heading into what would be the final end, because we were limited on time. Sadly, we could not defend well enough, and the other team took two to win the match.
So that's the story that has been missing from my time off of blogging, tomorrow we can hope for redemption and to find our winning ways in league play. We don't yet know who we will play, but personally I am hoping to shore up some issues I had with my shot strength. Phil also struggled a tad last Wednesday, but Jonathan really brought it, and hopefully he has the same skill tomorrow night.
I'll write a summary after the match tomorrow night.
-Connor
First, as we were driving up last Wednesday, the 27th, we discovered that Zack's dad is disallowing him to participate in the Wednesday night curling league with the rest of us, which added a disappointing note to the trip up there but did little to keep down our spirits. He is instead participating in the Friday night curling league, without any of the other members of On The Rocks. While we are sad to miss him for this first curling league in our young history, we know that he will dominate that league in our name.
The Learn to Curl itself was very exciting and informational. We showed up to the Marietta Ice Center full of not hopes, but dreams. We traveled past the full-size hockey rink with the local youth hockey team practicing and into a smaller, more cozy rink. We grabbed some brooms and stepped tentatively onto the ice, learning quickly how to maneuver on it to keep balance. Then the curling started. We first learned the proper ending position of a curling throw, and looked a tad bit silly doing it. Then we learned the correct way to sweep and all about what it does. We were grouped together, the four of us, with our instructor Maria Eswine. Maria taught us how to leave the hack, how to throw some shots, and was very kind and patient with us. Then we played a mini-match against some of the other learners, which we won 3-0 in our first ever "match" as a full team.
After the match, Maria asked us if we wanted to be on her team in the Wednesday night curling league, and as we had already hit it off with her, we enthusiastically obliged. So later in the week when rosters and schedules were emailed home, the three On The Rocks curlers in the Wednesday night league were kept together along with our temporary skip, Maria.
Wednesday the 5th of March, we once again piled into the car and headed on up to Marietta for our first match in the league. We were one person lighter this week, as Zack went on Friday for his first match. We met up with Maria, shook hands with our opponents, who were skipped by Maria's husband, and started curling. We led off with one in the first, because we had the hammer, from a clutch draw from Maria. The opponents tore into us in the next ends though, taking two and then one in the second and third ends. We bounced back with some good shots from Jonathan in the fourth, and pulled level at 3 heading into what would be the final end, because we were limited on time. Sadly, we could not defend well enough, and the other team took two to win the match.
So that's the story that has been missing from my time off of blogging, tomorrow we can hope for redemption and to find our winning ways in league play. We don't yet know who we will play, but personally I am hoping to shore up some issues I had with my shot strength. Phil also struggled a tad last Wednesday, but Jonathan really brought it, and hopefully he has the same skill tomorrow night.
I'll write a summary after the match tomorrow night.
-Connor
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