Fresh off Brier, Simmons turns focus to worlds
Skipper says Team Canada is ‘in a very good place’ heading to Halifax
It’s clear chiropractor Pat Simmons knows how to carry a lot of weight without it causing him back problems.
He didn’t flinch when asked to assume the heavy load from struggling John Morris, of Ottawa, four days into the 2015 Tim Hortons Brier last month in Calgary. Simmons took over as skip in a rare mid-Brier move and lifted Team Canada to the Canadian title, drawing to the button with the final shot for the win.
Now, the 40-year-old Moose Jaw, Sask. product will have the weight of the country on his shoulders again as he, Morris (now at third), second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen head to the 2015 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship in Halifax. Their first game is against the John Shuster-skipped U.S. rink on Saturday.
Simmons admits to adjusting his plan the past month in preparation for the worlds, but not drastically.
“There’s some things I’m probably doing that I probably wouldn’t have done if I was third,” he said.
“I’ve been watching a fair bit of game tape on some of these teams that we are playing, hoping to pick out a couple of strengths and a couple weaknesses of each team, so I can have a little more of a game plan.
“I like doing that as a skip, just having a little bit of an idea of ways you might get a step up on a team.
“Aside from that, in terms of my practices, nothing’s really changed.”
Simmons, Rycroft and Thiessen are returning to the world championships this year in a much more comfortable situation.
Playing with Kevin Koe in China in 2014, it was leaked in the media that Koe was leaving them to form another team. It doesn’t get more awkward.
Simmons doesn’t blame that occurrence for their fourth-place showing in Beijing.
“I don’t think last year’s situation had any bearing on the outcome — the results or how we played or anything like that,” he said.
“But, I think it’s a fair assessment to say we are all in a very good place right now and obviously got a lot of momentum as the Brier went on. I think we are all feeling pretty good.”
With Simmons living in Moose Jaw, Morris in Calgary and Rycroft and Thiessen both in Edmonton, Team Canada scattered after the Brier and have not been together as a team since the March 8 final at the Scotiabank Saddledome. They will have a couple of days together on the ice in Halifax to get reacquainted.
Simmons has been practising alone, which he doesn’t think is a bad thing.
“It ... allows us to be highly efficient with our time when we are together. I like the fact that every single practice isn’t a full team practice.”