Jones
reveals secret advisor to her success
Adam
Daifallah
National
Post
What
is the secret to Colleen Jones' success?
The
Jones
has succeeded with hard work -- she continues to hone and improve her game
while at the top of Canadian women's curling -- and she has thrived with the
help of Ken Bagnell.
Bagnell
is the unassuming guy you saw on television last week, sitting in the stands
and watching all of Jones' games with the rink's fifth player, Mary Sue
Radford.
It
is hard to pin down an actual title for Bagnell. He's at once their sports
psychology guru, team facilitator, confidence booster, motivator, stress
manager, cheerleader and coach. In short, he tries to bring out their best.
"Each
player needs something a little different, so I'm there to give them different
support when it's needed," he said yesterday. "This team is great to
work with, they're so committed to excellence. It makes it easier when the
team's at such a high skill level and they're so determined. There's been no
major changes, just some tweaking."
Bagnell,
41, is being humble. Jones has gone through a transformation over the last
decade. She is more self-assured, composed and focused. Much of that is
undoubtedly Bagnell's doing. He has maximized the team's potential.
"We
have a lot of debriefing sessions on where we want to be going," Bagnell
said. "My role is to have those discussions and bring it out in the open
and to help them develop whatever that plan is. I set up the opportunities for
debriefing and where they want to go."
While
not a curler himself, Bagnell formerly coached varsity volleyball at the
University of Regina, and he is working on his PhD in sports psychology at
Michigan State University. He is the president of the Canadian Sport Centre
Atlantic, an organization focused on the development of elite-level athletes in
the Atlantic provinces.
He
started working with Jones and her team in April, 2000, after they failed to
defend their Scott title as Team Canada that year -- and after a disappointing
fifth-place showing at the 1999 world championship in Saint John, N.B.
Jones,
still beaming yesterday after Sunday's big win, couldn't say enough good things
about Bagnell.
"I
give him a lot of credit. He gets the most out of us," she said.
"Curling is a game like golf and so much of it is mental. I remember when
he took us on as his pet project, he was excited that he realized we were
involved in a sport where a sports psychologist could play a huge role.
"He's
been a big key for our success. He makes sure we're in the right frame of mind
before each game. He keeps us really positive. I don't think he waves a magic
wand and gets us all to play well, but we've developed such a strong
relationship. He really knows us well, and knows what buttons to push."
Obviously.
After Bagnell entered the picture, the team returned to the Scott in 2001 as
Nova Scotia champions, won the national title again and then won the worlds.
They have captured every Scott crown since, but the world title continues to be
their Achilles heel. The 2001 victory is their only one.
That
prompted Jones to think about some strategy changes. The team worked with Scott
Taylor, a curling coach and entrepreneur from Barrie, Ont., who helped them
with some skills and sweeping analysis. They also consulted Rick Folk, the
two-time Canadian and world men's champion, who helped tinker with strategy. He
offered tips on how to generate more offence, and it showed last week.
"I
think all of the curlers found him [Folk] really beneficial. We have such
respect for what he's saying and we think he respects our game back,"
Jones said, adding that Folk tailored his advice to fit her particular style,
and avoided a "cookie-cutter" approach.
All
this hard work, Jones says, is to get back to the world championship and win
again. One gets the sense she feels there is unfinished business. Next month in
©
National Post 2004