Team of the Week: Mark Johnson Rink

With less than one week until the 2009 Nationals/2010 Olympic Team Trials, the final team of the week is the Mark Johnson rink. The Mark Johnson rink consists of Mark Johnson, Wes Johnson, Brady Clark, Ken Trask and Derrick McLean.

Mark Johnson is the skip for the Johnson rink. Being from Canada, Johnson watched his parents curl and became very interested in the sport. Thirty seven years later, he is still playing. In 1997, Johnson competed in the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Brandon Manitoba, Canada. During his free time, Johnson enjoys golfing, running, going to the gym, fishing and hiking. With less than one week from Trials, Johnson is practicing 3 times a week with a coach along with competing in his competitive league once a week.

Wes Johnson is third for the Johnson rink. Wes began curling at the age of 8 in wool socks on the curing ice. At the age of 12, it was time for Wes to purchase his first pair of curling shoes and joined a league. Wes wanted to curl because his older brother Mark curled, and Mark was getting very good at the sport and Wes wanted to get better too. Wes mentions that, “Mark has always been my mentor; he is one of the top four skips of Edmonton.” In 2006, Wes participated in the Olympic Trials 2005 and his team finished 10^th. When Wes is not curling, he enjoys hiking, downhill skiing, water skiing, camping, swimming, bicycling, reading, writing and his favorite activity is hanging out with his daughter Kana. Wes will continue doing cardio and practicing four times a week leading up to the Trials.

Ken is the lead on the Johnson rink. 42 years ago, Ken’s father introduced him to the sport of curling and for the first several years of his career, Ken played on his fathers’ team. Ken participated in the 2006 Olympic Team Trials with Brady Clark and finished 3rd place taking the bronze medal. When not Curling, Ken enjoys traveling in his motor home, golfing, hiking, and bike riding. With February 21^st right around the corner, Ken will be on the ice everyday practicing.

Derrick McLean is fifth on the Mark Johnson rink. McLean began curling 11 years ago and became intrigued when he watched Sandra Schmirler win the 1998 Winter Olympics. This will be McLean’s first Olympic Trials! When McLean is not curling (which is very rare) he is focused on school, getting good grades, and setting himself up for a successful life. McLean is curling everyday until the Trials and currently competed at the Junior Curling Nationals in Devils Lake, ND. 

Team of the Week: Team McCormick

Team McCormick has 2010 Olympic Team Trials to add to their list of accomplishments. Team McCormick will also shoot for their 4^th National Championship here in Colorado. Team McCormick is made up of Debbie McCormick, Allison Pottinger, Nicole Joraanstad and Natalie Nicholson.  

Debbie McCormick is the skip on Team McCormick. McCormick grew up around curling and became involved when her and her brother would go throw stones for fun during her parents curling club times. At the age of 12, McCormick had her first competition and when she was 13 she traveled to Scotland for her first major competition. The love of traveling and curling has kept McCormick curling every since. This will be Debbie’s fourth Olympic Trials. She won the 1998 Olympic Trials with a different team, won the 2002 Olympic Trials with a different team and lost the final of the 2006 Olympic Trials team. This will be the first Olympic Trials team with the members of Team McCormick. When not traveling for Curling, McCormick enjoys being at home with her husband and two dogs where they are involved in kayaking and pheasant hunting. With less than three weeks until Trials, Team McCormick will have one more tournament together in Wisconsin.  

Nicole Joraanstad (Second)

Nicole Joraanstad is second on Team McCormick. Nicole began curling at the age of 15 years old and was introduced to the sport by her father. At the age of 18, Nicole moved to Madison to be closer to the heart of curling. Nicole competed in the previous two Olympic Trials with different teams, and this will be the first Olympic Trials with the members of Team McCormick. When Nicole is not on the ice competing, she enjoys working out, cooking and hanging out with her curling team, family and friends. In order to be 100% for the Olympic Curling Trials, Nicole will be spending a lot of time on the ice and making sure that she is physically and mentally focused for the Trials.

Allison Pottinger is the vice-skip on Team McCormick. Pottinger began curling at the age of ten when her father took her to the club with her siblings and learned how to curl. At the age of 16, Pottinger began her professional curling competitions. This will be the third Olympic Team Trials for Allison Pottinger, she competed in the in the Salt Lake and Torino Olympic Team Trials. Pottinger is married to Doug Pottinger, who will also be competing in the Olympic Trials at the Broomfield Event Center. Allison and Doug have two children (2 yrs old and 5 months old) and enjoys being at home with them. When not on the frozen ice, Allison also enjoys water skiing and skiing. Pottinger will make sure that her delivery and strategy through a lot of practice until the Trials.  

Natalie Nicholson is the lead on Team McCormick. Nicholson was exposed to curling by her father; however, it was two high school friends that convinced her to become involved in the sport that she is still competing in 16 years later. This will be the fourth Olympic Trials that Nicholson will be competing in and she is hoping that the 4^th Trials are a charm. Nicholson and her husband had their first child this fall and when Trials are over, she is looking forward to spending their first summer with her.

Team of the Week: Team Chris Plys (1-26-09)

Team Chris Plys is the youngest team that has qualified for the 2010 Olympic Team Trials. Team Chris Plys is made up of Chris Plys, Phill Drobnick, Matt Hamilton, Matt Perushek and Aanders Brorson.

Chris Plys is 21 years old and has been curling for 10 years. Plys is from Duluth, Minnesota and has a laundry list of curling accomplishments. This will be Plys first Olympic Trials individually and with Team Chris Plys. Team Chris Plys is the youngest team that will be competing at the 2010 Olympic Team Trials. “I think it has its up and downs. In a way, we have not been around the block as many times as the rest of the guys which can hurt at times in terms of experience” says Plys. “On the other side of the spectrum, we have nothing to compare us to, we set the bar every time we go out and play and make it a goal to set it high.” Plys and his team will be competing in the Junior Nationals which is prior to the trials and they will be playing to defend their National Title for the 3^rd straight year.

Phill Drobnick is the 5^th player/coach for Team Plys. Drobnick began curling as a kid in 1986 and it has always been apart of his life. As a young child, Drobnick would go to club with his father to throw rocks. At the 2002 Olympic Trials, Drobnick competed as the lead for the Scott Baird rink held in Salt Lake City and his team finish in 3^rd place with a Bronze Medal. This will be the first Olympic Trials with Team Plys. With Drobnick coaching such a young team, he stated that his job will be to “utilize all of my experience to make sure that the entire week goes smoothly for all of them!” With less than 5 weeks until the Olympic Trials, Drobnick will make sure the team daily practices and Team Plys will be traveling to Jr. Nationals the week prior to Trails.

Matt Hamilton is the lead player for Team Plys. Hamilton is from McFarland Wisconsin and began curling in 2003 and joined Team Plys in 2007. Four years ago, Hamilton watched Trials at the Madison Curling club and was truly astonished by the players competing. He told him self that one day we wanted to participate in the US Olympic Team Trials, and four years later, Hamilton will accomplish his goals. On February 18^th, Hamilton  will be one of the youngest competitors in the Olympic Team Trials. Hamilton feels that age, “has its advantages and disadvantages. We are young and inexperienced when it comes to playing at this level, but we are strong and have enough stamina to perform well at the end of games.” In order to prepare for Trials, Hamilton will throw as often as possible, work out and eat well so he is 100% come February 21^st.

Matt Perushek (Second)

Matt Perushek is the second on Team Plys. Matt is from Eveleth, Minnesota and began curling in 1995. This will be the first Olympic Trials that Matt will compete in. With regards to being the youngest teams competing in Trials, Perushek thinks it only has its advantages. “We seem to have more energy and stamina, which allows us to keep up our level of play after playing many games during the week. Being the underdog has its advantages too. We do not put a lot of pressure on ourselves because we know that we will most likely be back to the Trials in the future.” Perushek will be throwing rocks multiple times a week and preparing for the Jr. Nationals the week before the Trials begin.
 
Aanders  Brorson (Vice Skip)

In 2001, Aanders moved to Duluth and began curling then. This will be Aanders first Olympic Trials, but, Aanders mentions that this will not be his last appearance. At this Olympic Trials, Aanders hopes to gain valuable experience and hopes for a good showing. “I don’t think age really is that big of a deal for us. We like being the young guns who are trying to knock off the old guys! Ever since I started curling it has been fun to take on the men’s national champions and show them who is boss! The curling world is a pretty tight knit community as it is and so we know most of the older guys that we play already personally” says Aanders in regards to Team Plys being the youngest competitors. With a little more than three weeks until the Olympic Team Trials, Aanders plans on practicing practicing practicing.

This past weekend, Team Cassie Potter qualified for the 2010 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Team Potter is made up of Cassie Potter, Jamie Haskell, Laura Roessler and Jackie Lemke.

Cassie Potter began curling at the age of 5 years old but began Curling competitively in 1996. In 2005 Potter qualified for the Olympics in Tornio, Italy where Potter and her team placed 8^th. This Olympic Team Trials will be the first trials that Team Potter will share as a team. With less than 6 weeks until the 2010 Olympic Team Trials, Potter will continue to practice and compete at bonspiels. Potter and her sister also compete together in St. Paul with their husbands and practice whenever they can.

Jamie Haskell is Cassie Potter’s older sister and began Curling at the age of 6 years old. At the age of 15, Haskell began competing competitively with her younger sister. This will be Haskell’s first Olympic Team Trials with this team but she has competed in the 2001 and 2005 Olympic Trials with here sister. From now until the 2010 Olympic Team Trials, Haskell will continue to practice at her club and condition herself off the ice. Eventually, Team Potter will meet up every other weekend for spiels (competitions) or team practices to prepare themselves for the Olympic Trials.

Laura Roessler is second on the team and her job is to judge the rock weight, rock placement, sweep and execute her shots to the best of her ability. Roessler began Curling after school at the age of 7. Years later, Roessler competed in 5 National Championships and in 2000 her team received the Bronze medal. In 2003, Roessler curled in the World University Games in Italy.

Jackie Lemke began curling in the third grade at her junior programs in Medford; however, because of her father’s involvement in curling, Lemke has always been around the sport of Curling. At the age of fourteen, Lemke began her competitive transition into Curling. In 2006 at the age of 20, Lemke won her first Junior National Championships. Last season was Lemke’s first year on Team Potter and this will be her first Olympic Team Trials. To prepare for her first Olympics, Lemke practices with her husband during his lunch break and works out two to three afternoons a week. In the beginning of February, Lemke will be competing with her husband and two other people at the Wisconsin State Mixed Championships.

To read Team Potter’s blog, check out their website at: www.curlteampotter.com