Ask their parents, and you’ll soon learn the U18 boys’ curling team at the Chatham Granite Club is a very talented group; ask the coach, and he’ll pause in thought.
“For 15 and 16 year olds, they are coming along really well,” he said of a team that has so far fared very well in the club’s recreational league, and also gave a very talented U21 men’s squad all it could handle just before the holidays. “But I won’t know just how good they are until we get to competition and see how they fare against other teams.”
The team is made up of skip Alex Jeromel, vice Alex Gough, second Logan Butler, lead Austin Haddock, and alternate Hayden Weaver.
As cautious as Brackett is with optimism for the team’s chances against out-of-town competition, he knows he has some good kids in his charge.
“I see potential in them. There’s good chemistry. They are all willing to learn and they are all very excited about playing the game,” he said. “They’re improving in all areas.”
All the winning locally so far hasn’t hindered the learning process, something he said is often an issue.
“When you are winning, it’s hard to teach. Winning can mask any problems there may be if you go to a different level,” he said. “They’ve been winning at the club level. They’ve been getting built up in their own minds and their parents’ minds.”
But Brackett added they remain very coachable. Both the kids and the coach continue to learn.
“I’m really enjoying it. I have always liked to coach and give back and teach. It helps me hone my skills too,” he said.
The kids are learning everything from shot placement to how to directional sweep, and even the psychology of sports.
Brackett stressed psychology is a huge element of any sport.
“It’s how you control the mental part of your game; how you react if you’ve made a shot or you missed a shot, what you say to a person you are standing beside, how you breathe,” he said. “This is a team sport. If you are getting ready to throw the final shot and it’s a big shot, and the guy beside you says, ‘Don’t be wide,’ the mind can’t differentiate a positive from a negative.”
His advice to his curlers it to always be positive to one another.
Brackett has entered new territory as a coach recently – dealing with parents. He’s coached the St. Clair College varsity team for a decade, but that was with adult men. He said it has been going well to date.
“The parents have taken on responsibilities of the organizational effort too. It’s been a really good experience for everyone,” he said.
Becoming coach of the U18 squad was humbling for Brackett. He said the kids approached him to ask if he’d be interested in coaching them.
“It means that all the work I’ve put in … maybe I can help other people as well,” he said.
As much as Brackett is tight with his open praise of the U18 team, he certainly admits there is plenty of potential.
“They all have a lot of raw athletic ability that I’m trying to harness. They have a great love of the game and are enthusiastic. That’s what’s making them a really good team right now,” he said. “I’m trying to move them in the right direction. It won’t happen overnight, but I hope that down the road they have long, successful curling careers.”
