"Maybe Tomorrow We'll Figure Out What My Job Is"

Kehler challenged by her role

Murray McCormick, The Leader-Post
Published: Friday, February 22, 2008

Lorie Kehler had one of the best seats in the Brandt Centre at the Canadian women's curling championship.

She was the fifth with Saskatchewan's Michelle Englot, which provided Kehler with one of those elevated chairs behind the scoreboards at the home end. Kehler enjoyed the view and her role with Team Saskatchewan at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

"It has been fun and it was kind of like being in a fishbowl," Kehler said after Thursday's 8-1 victory over Prince Edward Island's Suzanne Gaudet at the Brandt Centre. "There has been a lot going on and it's a great event to be involved with. I thought that my Scotties years were over, so it was nice to have another."

Kehler had been involved in five other Canadian women's championship with Englot. Kehler played lead, second and third with Englot at those events, which Kehler said was a little easier than being one of the support team.

"You haven't any control over anything," Kehler said. "At least when you're out there you can take it out with you sweeping or just being there. It's a very different role."

Englot, Darlene Kidd, Roberta Materi and Cindy Simmons already had well-defined roles before winning the provincial championship. Anita Ford worked as the team's coach before the Scotties. The squad, which is well-organized, was looking for support and encouragement from its alternate.

"Anita had worked with them before, so she had a bit of role already," Kehler said. "As far as running and managing things, they have that covered. They really didn't need anyone."

Englot appreciated having Kehler as part of the team, especially during a challenging week.

"Lorie and I are very close and we always have been," said Englot, who was 5-5 heading into Thursday's final draw against Alberta's Shannon Kleibrink. "We couldn't have picked a better person to be our fifth in this situation."

Kehler filled the role as a cheerleader and as a shoulder to lean on when the emotions grew to be too much for the members of the Englot team. Kehler also filed a daily dairy to saskcurl.com that provided insights into Saskatchewan's team away from the pressure of the Scotties.

"Anita and I tried to scout rocks and see what everybody else was throwing," Kehler said. "Michelle pretty well has her mind made up and there isn't a lot of input from me. I'm just a big supporter."

Kehler said reaching the 5-5 mark was huge. It improved their performance in Sudbury in 2001 by one win.

"You always want to come back with a winning record," Kehler said. "I remember that 4-7 was really tough coming home. You just feel that you let everybody down. You want to go out on a winning note."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008

It's always interesting to see what a fifth thinks about the job. Here's Lorie Kehler herself, writing on the same subject, just a few days ago:

Speaking of my job, that has been a topic of debate.

What is my job? Certainly not remembering what rocks/sheets we have been on, or are heading to. Without Anita’s magic book I would be lost.

Playing, not my job unless an emergency, this is the girls' show.

Slight emergency yesterday when I left my glasses at home, Roberta was quite concerned that it would cut into my crowd watching. Now that is my job, but as Joan Stricker can attest to, I could do that when even when I was curling.

I told Roberta not to worry as my glasses were being hand delivered by my hubby and in the meantime, I could borrow coaches’ binoculars, surely she could do without them for an end or two.

How important can determining how the other teams are matching rocks and throwing rock on certain sheets anyway, which by the way is not my job, Anita can pick out what rock anyone on any sheet is throwing and I am still focussing the darn binoculars. Maybe I just needed the pressure of needing them for crowd watching.

Then last night, I found a smelly, worn out, old pair of mitts that I thought Bert had had since the 2001 Scott in Sudbury, and I thought finally I can show my worth to Bert. But sadly, I was wrong. Sorry to whomever’s smelly, worn out, old pair of mitts I stole, check the yellow rock dressing room.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll figure out what my job is.

Three In A Row: The Rebound Continues

Englot continues to rebound

Murray McCormick, The Leader-Post
Published: Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Before her father's death, before starting 0-2 at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Michelle Englot was feeling great about her lot in life.

The Regina-based skip of Saskatchewan at the Canadian women's curling championship was pleased with work, her family life and the way it had come together in her 44th year. Most of those good feelings were pushed to the side when Joe Englot died Friday, one day before the Scotties started at the Brandt Centre. Joe Englot died at the family farm in Montmartre after suffering a heart attack.

"I'm battling to get back, get back there and that isn't coming easily," Englot said after rebounding from her dreadful start to improve to 3-2 and tied for fourth with four others heading into today's draws. "Hopefully we'll use the other strengths that we have."

Englot has drawn upon more than the support of her team to deal with the tragedy. Englot, Darlene Kidd, Roberta Materi and Cindy Simmons had met with sports psychologist Gary Gregor on Thursday and a number of times over the weekend. Gregor, who helped 1989 Saskatchewan Roughriders win the Grey Cup, has helped the players and alternate Lorie Kehler and coach Anita Ford deal with the grief they are all feeling.

"We gave each other permission to play like we normally do and that was huge," Simmons said. "It was OK to have fun out there, to be ourselves and play the way we want to play. It's not disrespectful and we've given ourselves permission to have fun and that's when we play our best. If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't be playing."

Normal is a state Englot is striving to reach. She was not there when Saskatchewan was beaten 9-6 by Quebec's Marie-France Larouche on Saturday and 8-6 by Ontario's Sherry Middaugh on Sunday.

"It was definitely hard and it is hard to step out there," said Englot, who is appearing in her sixth Scotties but first as the skip of the hometown team. "There are moments when I get weepy but I'm doing OK."

A three-game winning streak has helped. Englot was dealing more with curling questions as the weekend progressed.

Gregor, who worked with Englot at the 2001 Canadian Olympic team trials, has helped her clear some of the hurdles associated with her grief.

"It's nice having a third party come in and talk about your emotions," said Englot. "Giving us permission to play was important for me because I was struggling with it. Maybe I shouldn't be here ... That definitely helped me."

The move forward started Sunday night when Englot bounced back from a 6-4 sixth-end deficit to pull out an 8-6 win over Team Canada's Kelly Scott. Englot backed up that win with a 10-5 victory over New Brunswick's Sylvie Robichaud on Monday morning and a 5-4 win over B.C.'s Allison MacInnes last night.

"Family Day was good to us and we'll take it," Englot said. "We just hope that we can keep building on this."

Englot has games today against Kerry Galusha of the Yukon/Northwest Territories at 9:30 a.m. and Nova Scotia's Mary-Anne Arsenault at 2 p.m.

Upon the completion of those games, Englot and her team will make the 90-kilometre trip southeast of Regina to Montmartre for a funeral mass, 7 p.m., at Sacred Heart Church. Saskatchewan also has Wednesday morning off before resuming play at 2 p.m. against Heather Strong of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"We'll deal with (today) the same we have been," Englot said. "We'll give ourselves permission to play. We have a funeral to attend after that but I think we're through the toughest part emotionally. (Tonight) will be tough but we have grieved and we're starting to turn the corner. We'll be all right and we'll deal with it."

Englot (3-2) was tied with Manitoba's Jennifer Jones, Arsenault and Larouche. Alberta's Shannon Kleibrink (5-0) is first followed by Heather Strong of Newfoundland-Labrador and Ontario's Sherry Middaugh at 4-1.

The Scotties runs through Sunday. The winner is to represent Canada at the Ford women's world championship, March 22-30 in Vernon, B.C.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008

Lead: Cindy Simmons

Curling is a family affair

Murray McCormick, The Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts starts Saturday at the Brandt Centre with 11 of the country's provincial champions and Team Canada in Regina pursuing a Canadian women's curling championship.

Regina's Michelle Englot is the Saskatchewan representative. Englot, Darlene Kidd, Roberta Materi and Cindy Simmons have earned the right to be the hometown team in the championship.

Today, The Leader-Post's Murray McCormick begins a four-part series on each member of Englot's team. First up is Simmons.

The closing ceremonies at the 2008 SaskPower Scotties Tournament in North Battleford featured a moment that was significantly poignant.

It happened while Del Jones, the president of Saskatchewan Curling Association, was presenting the members of Michelle Englot's team with the provincial jackets they would wear as Saskatchewan women's curling champions at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Jones presented the jackets to Englot, third Darlene Kidd, second Roberta Materi, lead Cindy Simmons and coach Anita Ford.

The final two presentations were especially emotional because Cindy's father, Gary Ford, was Jones's best friend. Anita is Simmons's mother and Gary's widow. Gary, a four-time Saskatchewan men's curling champion, died April 22, 2004, at the age of 65.

"Without having my dad there to congratulate me . . . but having Del present me with the jacket in his last year as president of the SCA . . . was pretty darned close," said Simmons, 33. "It was a great experience for my mom and I. To have Del right there was special."

The presentation summed up what Simmons is about -- family, friends and curling. Simmons, who is to begin play at the Canadian women's curling championship Saturday at the Brandt Centre, can't remember when curling wasn't part of her life, including her family and friends.

"I played volleyball and basketball in high school but then I was given an ultimatum," said Simmons, who grew up in Grey, attended Sheldon-Williams Collegiate and lives in Moose Jaw where she is a financial planner with RBC. "I had to give up basketball if I wanted to curl because they conflicted. It turned out to be the right decision."

It sure did. In 1990, Kidd and Simmons won the provincial and Canada junior women's curling championships. It would be the first of three provincial titles for Simmons. She won a provincial mixed title in 2004 with Regina's Randy Gilewich, Englot and Pat Simmons. Cindy and Pat, the four-time Saskatchewan men's champion, have been married for six years.

Cindy's accomplishments follow a string of curling successes for the Ford family. Gary was a four-time Saskatchewan men's champion with Avonlea's Bob Pickering from 1968 to 1971. Anita was the coach with Sandra Schmirler's powerhouse team that won three Canadian and world titles and gold medal in women's curling at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Atina Ford, Simmons's sister, was the Schmirler's alternate and skipped the junior women's team in 1990. Anita Ford won senior women's provincial championships in 2004 and 2005 as a third with Regina's Crystal Frisk.

Cindy credits her parents with having an influence on her development as a curler.

"They offered different aspects of the game," said Cindy. "Dad was really into strategy and he was the one talking to us around the kitchen table. My mom has been the silent supporter. She is somebody you can talk to and will give great advice but she will never interfere. That's one reason why she's a great coach. She brings that grounding that every team needs."

Cindy adds that to her current team. She has curled off and on with Englot since moving into the women's ranks. This is the team's first year together in the current formation but each player has history with each other. Those ties create a comfort level that increases the team's chances of success.

"Cindy loves the game and has been involved in it since she was a young whippersnapper," said Englot. "I remember watching her in juniors and thinking what a great personality that she has. She's perfect for the game. She has a lot of experience to feed off."

Simmons has also planned her opportunities to be involved in competitive curling. Cindy and Pat have two children -- Makena (two) and Max (eight months) -- who were both born during the offseason. Planned parenthood is also a part of the Simmons' lifestyle.

"We worked it out so I would be pregnant in the winter," said Simmons, who barely missed a draw while carrying her children. "We're lucky that we don't have any problems getting pregnant. We know our curling season. The prime time to have children was early in the summer so they would be around three months by the time curling season came around. My family is all curlers and it's just something that we all do. It makes sense for us and it has worked out very well for us."

There is also an added bonus. When Cindy misses her father and wishes he was here to see her curling accomplishments, she only needs to look at Max.

"He looks like so much like my dad," Cindy said. "He acts like him, has the same blue eyes and the same mannerisms. He's just like my dad and when I go home, it's like having him there."

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008