Rachel Homan shoots during a January practice with teammates Lynn Krevizauk and Emma Miskew.
After a week of triumphs and heartbreaks, junior curler Rachel Homan and her team have a silver medal to commemorate their last game together.
The Ottawa Curling Club’s Team Homan came achingly close to victory at the World Junior Curling Championships in Switzerland, but lost in the final against Sweden.
This was the end of their season, and next year will mark a big change for the team, as skip Homan, who turns 21 in April, and her teammate Emma Miskew, who turned 21 in February, will be done playing at the junior level.
The team, which also includes Lynn Kreviazuk and Laura Crocker, had a tremendously successful season. It was a hard loss. The team dominated the round robin and playoffs, losing only once before the final.
Earle Morris, the team’s coach, says they were the favourites and it was especially tough to lose the final since they had already beaten Sweden twice in the championships.
“I think we were all disappointed,” says Miskew, the team's third.
Nonetheless, the team says it’s proud to have brought back the silver medal.
“To say that you won a silver medal at a world championship is still pretty incredible,” says Kreviazuk, the team’s lead.
Morris says he’s extremely proud of the successful year his team has had.
Greg Stremlaw, the CEO of the Canadian Curling Association, agrees.
“That team is a team to be reckoned with,” he says. “I think what they’ve shown is that when they play, they are very tough to beat.”
Putting their silver medals on the shelf, the team is already looking ahead to a very different season next year.
With Miskew and Homan too old to play at the junior level, the team will have to split up next season.
Kreviazuk and Crocker will team up with two other players to form what should be a very strong junior team, says Morris.
“It’s definitely going to be a new experience,” says Kreviazuk. “But I’m really excited for it.”
Meanwhile, Miskew and Homan will be moving into the women’s field.
Morris says they are definitely prepared for the jump, as they’ve already had plenty of experience playing other womens' teams. He says they’ve played a mixed schedule for the last two years – half a junior women’s schedule and the other half a women’s schedule. Morris says they’ve already had success in the women’s field. For example, they’ve played Canadian champion Jennifer Jones three times and beaten her twice, he says.
“We know we can play with the women,” says Miskew. “It’s a matter of getting a good solid line-up,” she adds.
Who Miskew and Homan will play with and whether they will stick together is still up in the air. The team members will be meeting soon to discuss their future.
Meanwhile, Morris will be taking a year off. Despite enjoying working with the young women, Morris says it’s a good time to move on.
Although he won’t be coaching them anymore, Morris says he sees a bright future ahead.
“The sky’s the limit,” says Morris. “The Olympics in 2014 is something that’s very realistic for them and I’d love to see it happen.”