Martin still learning tricks at summer academy
Kevin Martin may have retired from competitive curling this past April, but the 18-time Grand Slam champion is still learning a thing or two about the sport during his annual summer camp.
The Kevin Martin Summer Curling Academy has been going strong for over a decade preparing future curling stars from across Canada and the U.S. for the elite level.
Featuring a staff that includes Marc Kennedy, Renee Sonnenberg, Laura Crocker, Dana Ferguson, Jules Owchar, Garry Coderre, and Millard Evans — all of whom have either played or coached at the world level — even the Ol’ Bear is discovering new tricks.
“You just can’t help it, I learn a lot everyday,” Martin said with a laugh.
Thirty-two cream of the crop curling prospects arrived last week at the Saville Sports Centre in Edmonton for three intense, 10-hour-plus days developing the skills required to win Canadian and world junior tournaments as well as succeed on the world curling tours.
The summer academy also featured a second camp running this past weekend specifically for teams and coaches as a whole. Martin said the team camp is really awesome because having the coaches there, year after year, helps unify the teaching lessons.
“We usually get 12 coaches there so you can imagine after five or six years you’ve had 40, 50 or 60 of the coaches so now they all teach the same methods as us,” Martin said. “What you’re doing is you’re really giving the kids a better chance because the methods and the way the game is being taught is being taught the same and that’s important so there’s no mixed messages for the kids when they’re trying to learn.”
On-ice drills and techniques are also mixed with off-ice lectures involving sports psychology and fitness training, including a specialized curling workout plan from Martin’s personal trainer.
“We run all of the participants through a real workout, a real 12-station, hour-and-a-half, hard fitness workout and then explaining all of the way why certain things are important, what are you gaining by doing these exercises,” Martin explained. “That’s really important because a lot of the kids want to work out but they don’t know what to do and they don’t know what to zero in on; what to worry about or what injuries you could cause by doing certain things.”
Martin said the most rewarding aspect about running the camp is seeing the kids who have strengthened their skills when they return the following year.
“They’ve practiced, they’ve done the things we’ve told them, they come back and they’ve improved remarkably. That’s my favourite part,” Martin said. “When we asked them this morning who’s coming back for the second time, we probably had about 40 percent. Who’s coming back for a third time, we probably had 10 or 12. Who’s coming back for a fourth year in a row, there were two. We’ve got kids coming back year after year after year and they get really good.”