PACKING THE HOUSE: Officer hopes to share experiences in coaching career

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/01/2025 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If anyone can shed light on high-performance curling, it’s Jill Officer.

Officer was one of the first curlers in Manitoba to utilize the high-performance model, and her accomplishments speak volumes to her dedication.

And to think it came after a break from the game, and time here in the Wheat City.

The hiatus came as she was starting her professional career, which included time as a news reporter at Brandon’s now-defunct television station CKX.

She’d hoped to get back into the competitive side of the game, so after Officer moved back to Winnipeg and was asked to rejoin Jennifer Jones, the answer was a quick and resounding ‘yes’.

Officer had success in juniors and won a junior title on a team skipped by Jones, but nothing like what was in store.

Following her move back to Winnipeg, where she started her curling career at the Rossmere and East St. Paul Curling Clubs and was a creative communications graduate from Red River College, she and teammates hired trainers, focused on nutrition and mental health, as well as overall well-being.

In short, they started training like Olympic athletes, which led to Olympic champion results.

“If we hadn’t done all the things we did off the ice to make us better on the ice I definitely think people would have surpassed us and we wouldn’t have accomplished what we did,” Officer said.

Officer joined team Jones in the 2003-04 season, beginning one of the most decorated and successful curling careers, not only in Manitoba but all of Canada.

A year after adopting the high-performance model, Officer, Jones, Cathy Overton-Clapham and Cathy Gauthier won their first Scotties in 2005.

Of course that came on Jones’ memorable shot to win it, but that shot likely doesn’t happen without adopting the high-performance model.

“I think in Manitoba we were ahead of the curve in that regard, and never really became complacent with what we were doing,” said Officer.

“Always looking for different ways to improve and always looking for different ways we could be better once we stepped on the ice.”

“We started hitting the gym all the time,” she added. “We all recognized that not only as it becoming a requirement but we also recognized how it was impacting our game. A few years later we won three Scotties in a row, and fortunately for us that wasn’t the end of it either.”

Far from the end of it indeed, as Officer and Jones ended up enjoying a long list of career accomplishments: 13 hearts appearances, seven world championship appearances, 16 grand slam victories, a near decade run as the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) number one seed, and an Olympic gold medal in Sochi in 2014.

“Over time it had a great impact on our endurance, our abilities to focus for long periods of time, and just getting to know yourself in different ways and how to perform your best,” said Officer.

“I remember feeling like it was having an impact. Things like I felt stronger on the broom, even beyond after we won the Olympics some of the training I was doing was still different, trying new things, and it continued to make me a better player and sweeper after we won the Olympics.

“I don’t think I would have had the longevity and I certainly don’t think with how the game changed in that time … if we hadn’t been doing what we were doing people would have gone speeding past us.”

As Officer transitions from the competitive side as a player, she hopes to share her experiences and insight in a relatively new role, as Curl Manitoba’s high-performance coach.

Still transitioning to life after retiring from competitive playing in 2018, she decided to make another change during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Officer went back to school to begin working on a kinesiology degree from the University of Winnipeg.

Partway through the degree she took a call from Curl Manitoba executive director Craig Baker, who was looking for a new high-performance coach following the retirement of another Manitoba curling legend in Connie Laliberte.

Officer was recruited for the role, and she’s been juggling both school and the new position while trying to continue growing the competitive base of curlers in Manitoba.

The addition of a high-performance training centre at the Heather Curling Club in Winnipeg is an asset to those who have close access, and Officer is quick to lend a hand to those wanting to reach the next level.

“There’s opportunity to spend more time on the ice with some of the high-performance teams. One of them played at the Scotties, and I think that if we could provide more support to teams like that it would help. I’m still tossing around lots of ideas but looking forward to being able to bring the ideas and experiences into the art of coaching,” said Officer.

The work largely focuses within the city of Winnipeg at the moment, and there is a bit of high-performance work being done in Dauphin.

Curl Manitoba has tried some developmental coaching in Brandon in the past, but according to Officer didn’t have great uptake.

Officer and Curl Manitoba are still open to the possibility in the future.

“I’d like to look at Brandon once again, but in the meantime it just wasn’t feasible, but Brandon has always been a hotbed of curling so I’d like to be able to create something there,” she said.

“I think athletes are getting better earlier in their careers, so we are seeing the younger athletes, so that’s why I’d like to be able to help them win not only provincial championships but also national championships.”

• • •

I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to shout out Pilot Mound.

A massive congratulations goes out to the organizing committee, co-chairs Jackie McCannell and Travis Saban, and the entire community of Pilot Mound for the tremendous work hosting the 2025 RME Women of the Rings.

It was truly outstanding to see volunteerism alive and well in both the rural and curling communities, and I can’t say enough about the hospitality from locals who were so welcoming.

I also feel the need to give credit to the entire field of participants. With two of the top female teams in our province not in the field, it was great to see young participants competing at the highest level.

The majority of the games were close and entertaining, but the mutual respect between teams and appreciation from participants was the admirable part. It’s great seeing how the future of the game is in great hands.

And even though RME paid for naming rights, I still heard the event called the Scotties more often than not.

I’m guilty of that myself, likely a combination of old habits, but also the place an event that has held high regard in our hearts for decades.

Don’t be surprised if we still call it the Scotties after another 40 years.

» mpackwood@brandonsun.com