Coach: Maxwell Kampel
Player: Connor Mahlbacher
Height:5'4"
Weight:135
Hand:Right
Life Story: It all started in a blizzard in Michigan back in October of 1998. That day, in Royal Oak, Michigan, the world of curling was changed forever. A beautiful 9 pound 2 ounce baby was born. This we will call key event number 1. This baby, 15 years and 3 months later, would hatch an idea that would alter the course of human history. But lets begin in the middle, when I came into consciousness. Our family moved from my home state of Michigan to the deep South in Texas. We only lived there for about a year and a half, but sometimes the smallest periods in life have the biggest impacts. I was at my brother's soccer game, that I still distinctly remember, because he was wearing a red jersey with a black stripe through the middle with the word "Sting" written in white. I still recall these details because that was the day I fell in love for the first time. Her name is soccer. That was the start of a love affair that has continued through the present. This will be called key event number 2. We moved to Georgia while I was 6 years old, and we jumped around a bit around my hometown of Fayetteville, until finally settling in one home.(After moving across the street, of course) I chugged along through Elementary school and middle school until key event number 3 happened in the summer between 8th and 9th grade. That's the summer I made the change to Landmark Christian School, where I met my best friends, and now teammates. Key event number 4 happened during my sophomore year, which is even better documented in the main portion of this blog, when I decided that my group of friends will go to the Olympics. So that will catch you up on the main parts of my life that led to this curling team, I hope to serve my team well, and push on to the Olympics.
Player: Jonathan Owens
Player: Phil Stephens
Player: Zack Carter
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 140 lbs
Hand: Right
Life Story: This is what happened. It was a stormy, yet sweltering night in southern Queens, January of 1997. A young woman, shunned by her family for her illegitimate pregnancy, was on the run from the mob. With the sirens of dirty cops coming ever closer, she took refuge in a small meat factory. While hiding in the cow pen she suddenly convulsed with severe pain; the baby was coming. Knowing she had no other choice, she gave birth to her son right there, on the cold concrete floor. With her son lying among the cattle feces and hay, she prayed to GOD that he might be safe and have a better life than she. Then... she died. A few days later her body was discovered by her pursuers; however, her son remained safe, shielded and hidden by the bodies of the cattle. The young boy spent the next few months under the care of the cows, receiving nutrition from their nutrient-laden utters. Eventually, the boy was discovered by the German immigrants employed in the factory. They gazed in wonder at this child, seemingly raised and nursed by cattle. They named him "Zack" which is German for "cow nipples". They took a liking to the young boy and commenced to raise him. As he grew, they began to teach him how to fight. In a region dominated by prejudices and violence, the Germans had mastered the art of self defense. Around the age of five, the NYC child services learned of Zack and took him away from his family. The boys at the foster home mocked him because of his German tongue; however, all attempts of physical abuse by the children were quickly suppressed by his physical prowess. It was because of this rough facade that Zack was long ignored by potential parents. Eventually, at the age of eight, he was placed under the care of a closet alcoholic. Despite his skills as a fighter, Zack could not fend off the vicious, drunken attacks by a man almost five times his size. However, it was during this time that Zack first attended school. It was here that he first fluently learned the English language and began to read and write. As it turned out, he was an excellent scholar and took a shining to mathematics and gender studies. His math teacher became the guiding light of his life and inspired him to never stop learning. One day, Zack decided to disclose to his teacher that he was being beaten by his father. He promised Zack that he would do whatever was in his power to stop him, starting with reporting it to the police later that day. Elated, Zack almost didn't notice the beatings he underwent that night. However, when he got to school the next day, he had a substitute in math class. The substitute continued to teach all that week. Eventually, Zack asked the principal where his teacher was. He admitted that he had died in a tragic car crash and that the students were not told out of fear that they would be traumatized. Zack came home that night in shambles, his guiding light was gone. That night he noticed something peculiar, however: a black letter on his father's desk. He, no longer caring if he would be beat, opened and read the letter. Zack was soon able to infer with horror, that it was from the mob. He learned that his dad must have been a member and had learned of Zack's teacher's report from a mole in the police. He then called a hit on his teacher to stop the word from going any further. Zack felt not sorrow, but rage. A rage he had never felt before. He confronted his father and in his fury managed to push the overweight monstrosity down eight flights of stairs, knocking him out cold. Distraught and ashamed, Zack hid in his room for days until police finally came. Finding the letter and the body they explained to Zack that his father would be going to prison for a long time. They said he would be taken to foster care in the morning. No longer trusting the system, Zack fled New York, hopping on trains, until he came upon the small town of Fayetteville, GA. At age eleven, Zack stumbled into the home of a small family where he was immediately taken in. They soon officially adopted him and enrolled him in a local school where he further excelled in his studies. He took their family name "Carter". He made several friends at this school and at the age of sixteen joined four of them to establish On the Rocks Curling where Zack continues to strive for greatness and break away from the chains of his past.
Player: Tyler Hedden
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