Three-time Brier champion Stoughton named national men’s team coach

Jeff Stoughton helped guide Canada’s mixed doubles curling team to Olympic gold at the Winter Games. He’s hoping to do the same thing with the national four-man team at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.

Stoughton, a three-time Brier champion, was named national men’s coach and program manager as Curling Canada announced a number of changes to its high-performance staff as it prepares for the upcoming quadrennial.

The 54-year-old replaces Rick Lang, who will remain with the federation as a performance consultant. Stoughton will continue to oversee the mixed doubles national program for the time being.

In addition, four-time world champion Scott Pfeifer was named as a performance consultant and former Team Rachel Homan coach Adam Kingsbury was named as a mental performance consultant and information/technology manager.

“I’m impressed with the team that we’ve been able to assemble here,” high-performance director Gerry Peckham said from Ottawa. “A whole wide array of skills and attributes and experience with some pretty impressive resumes.

“My sense is that any athlete, any team, any coach in any of our competitive domains will be able to access somebody that will be able to make a difference to what they’re doing and how they go about their business.”

John Morris of Canmore, Alta., and Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes won gold for Canada last February in Pyeongchang as mixed doubles made its Olympic debut. Homan’s Ottawa team did not win a medal in the women’s team event and Calgary’s Kevin Koe also missed the podium in the men’s team competition.

Jennifer Jones of Shanty Bay, Ont., won gold at the women’s world championship later in the season and Brad Gushue of St. John’s took silver at the men’s world playdowns.

Elaine Dagg-Jackson will continue to serve as women’s national coach and program manager. Members of the wheelchair national team program will be named at a later date.

Pfeifer will likely get a chance to focus on mixed doubles under Stoughton’s tutelage as they sort through roles and plans in the short-term, Peckham said. Stoughton started managing the mixed doubles program shortly after announcing his retirement as a competitive curler in 2015.

“I’m looking forward to working with the teams,” Stoughton said from Winnipeg.