Meaghan Hughes’ visit a highlight of an exciting week (or so) here at the Club!

Well, it’s Friday and we have been reflecting on what an exciting time it has been at our club this last week or so!

A BIG part of that excitement was a visit from PEI’s own, Team Birt Second, Meaghan Hughes when she joined us on March 30th for the second session of our “Coaching Super Series!”

Meaghan and 30 young juniors between the ages of 11 and 21 (from our club, and some friends from other Island clubs) met right here at 29 Cornwall Road for an hour to talk and a brief on-ice session about sweeping during a fantastic mini-clinic!

Meaghan is a dedicated athlete, a busy professional and Mom, and an awesome curler and we could not have been more grateful for Meaghan to have shared her time with some eager Juniors.

Meaghan shared some information and tips on the technical end of sweeping, including knowing how to curl with the most efficiency, but also knowing how to reserve energy for when you really need that explosive power! It was interesting and insightful and we appreciated that Meaghan shared some key information from Team Birt’s own team of professionals who work and guide them…Meaghan is a former Skip and so she shared that learning to sweep on the front end has been an interesting journey for her …! She has been paying attention to sweeping in the most exciting time… when the technical aspects of sweeping are at the cutting edge and there’s an increased awareness of how important sweeping is to the game.

In addition to some great technical discussion Meaghan shared the value of dedication to fitness and being active, and the importance of team communication on the ice!

This session was super fun!! There were lots of smiles and laughter, as curlers cheered each other on to get that rock to the button, make it curl, and /or hold the line!

This activity also acted as a great way to connect our Junior curlers in a quick but meaningful way. Group learning has tremendous benefits and we could see the young curlers peer over at their older Junior mentors, and likewise, it was great to see experienced junior teams connect with each other in a fun way.

These sessions are for learning, but they are also about community.

When it was all over we were thrilled to catch elite curling coach Peter Gallant close by paying some great warm compliments to Meaghan. It is definitely not easy providing suggestions and lessons to such a wide range of curlers with varying ages and abilities (from our young new Junior curlers to our more experienced Junior veteran curlers…) but Meaghan nailed it… ! She made it fun and all curlers came away with some appreciated insight! Meaghan often mentioned Peter’s son and PEI’s own Brett Gallant during her session, as he is one of the world’s best sweepers and a great role model for young curlers.

Thank you Meaghan for coming out and spending time with us. You and Team Birt are such wonderful supporters of your home club (this honour shared with Montague Curling Club ) … and we are always cheering you on!

Another thank you to Cornwall Curling Club Junior Coordinator Sarah Doak for working as a part of our team to lead these fun and informative sessions!

While Meaghan was on-site, our Junior Coordinator, and Cornwall Curling Club Member, Sarah presented Meaghan a cheque for Team Birt as a part of the Cornwall Curling Club ‘recognition prize program’. This program is where our membership so generously donates funds to those teams who attend Curling Canada National events to help with some expenses, as they represent the Cornwall Curling Club as their home club.

More to come on our “Coaching Super Series” and what a great week it’s been here at the Cornwall Curling Club… stay tuned!

Here’s a photo gallery from Meaghan’s visit. Click to enlarge, and swipe or use arrows to go ahead and back: