Skip Brown talks reaching Scotties playoffs, pregnancy changing outlook, importance of sports psychologist, table talk with dad

Below is the question-and-answer session, which has been edited for length.

MH: What feels different this year?
CB: We’re just really taking it one game at a time and not really getting too far ahead of ourselves, just really staying in the moment. That’s what we’ve done a ton of work on with our sports psychologist, Tracey Bilsky. We stay within ourselves and I think that’s really shown in our success.

MH: I was going to ask you if there is one piece of preparation that has been key this year. Is it the same answer?
CB: Yeah. We’ve done a ton of work mentally just to be as prepared as we can. With a new teammate, with Sarah [Koltun] coming on this year, we wanted to make sure we started that early. We started meeting with Tracey early summer to get familiarized and expedite that process a little bit. We’ve been able to build on those skills throughout the season and learn from everything we’ve gone through and make sure we’re not making the same mistakes over and over.

MH: Is there a moment that happened so far that you can point to and say we would have done that wrong or differently last time and this time we made the right choice and it paid off?
CB: Potentially after the game against [Kayla Skrlik of Alberta]. That was the game we were in control of for most of it and we kind of let it slip away. I would say bouncing back after that might have been a bit more challenging in the past, but we really acknowledged there were a lot of good things that came from that game. It wasn’t the end result we wanted, but we were able to move on and move up from that and had a really good game against Northern Ontario after that. If you’re going into a bit of a slide, making sure you’re able to get out of that pretty quickly.

MH: Did you take some time to celebrate making the playoffs?
CB: That was Goal 1 for us this week — to make the playoffs. We’re really stoked about that, but we know we still have some business we want to tend to. That wasn’t our only goal coming into this. That was just the first of many. We did have a little celebration with our team, acknowledging the work we’ve put in and the accomplishment we have achieved, but we know there is lots of work to do and we still have a game today. Even though it doesn’t necessarily matter as far as rankings, it does impact how we move forward. We want to make sure we come out firing today and still have a really good game and bring some momentum into our game tomorrow evening.

MH: What do you think of the playoff format?
CB: It’s the first time we’ve made playoffs in this format. The last time we made playoffs in Moose Jaw, it was what they call a Championship Pool, so you kind of crossed over with the other teams and played another three games and based on that was your ranking for the 1 vs. 2 and 3 vs. 4 games.

It’s pretty cutthroat [this year], a single-knockout if you’re on our side of the draw if we end up there. But we knew this was the format going in, so we’re happy with it regardless. Maybe after we go through this process we’ll have some different opinions. I know there are some people who don’t necessarily love it, but we haven’t experienced it. We’d love to have more than one life and be in that one or two spot, but we’re very thankful we have this opportunity and we’re ready to bear down and see what we can do.

MH: What has it been like to be pregnant at the Scotties?
CB: It’s kind of just simplified things for me, just acknowledging there is more to life than curling. Before this, curling has kind of been my identity. I put so much stock into it. Now that I’m expecting my first child, it kind of puts it into perspective. There is more to life than curling. It just makes me enjoy it a bit more. It’s something I get to do, it’s not something I have to do. It’s a privilege to be able to do this and to be physically able to still do this at this point in my pregnancy. I’m really fortunate.

Rather than a do-or-die situation — I feel like I kind of hanged my hat so much on wins and losses prior to this — it puts it into more perspective.

I feel really good. It’s amazing how your body can let you do things when the adrenaline is pumping. It’s probably the most physically challenging curling I’ve ever done. There are a lot of things that are changing on a daily basis, as far as musical fatigue and soreness. My teammates have been super supportive of it all. When I’m playing, I feel invincible. When I’m off the ice, I’m a little worse for wear.

MH: I know you have a large contingent of family and friends in Thunder Bay. When you go out for dinner, do you talk about curling or try not to talk about curling?
CB: When Ken Brown is your father, you’re always talking about curling. He gets the water glasses going to show shots, so you’re always talking curling but it’s also nice to decompress a little bit and talk about their experience in Thunder Bay and what they’ve been up to. It’s all good.

It’s just as much of an event for them as it is for us. They’re having their own stressors and want to debrief some things. We’re very fortunate to have a big contingent here. Everyone is thankful their families are here to support them. It is a really stressful time, so it is nice to decompress with them.

by Marty Hastings

Skip Brown talks reaching Scotties playoffs, pregnancy changing outlook, importance of sports psychologist, table talk with dad

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