Officer excited about new opportunity with CurlManitoba

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This article was published 27/06/2022 (1377 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After finishing up her competitive career in 2018, Jill Officer took some time to find out what her next steps would be in the sport of curling.

Following a four-year journey through a number of different roles, the 2014 Olympic gold medalist and six-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion has joined CurlManitoba to serve as their new high performance director.

“I knew that I didn’t want to go far from curling when I retired four years ago,” Officer said. “I couldn’t imagine distancing myself from the community of people that I’ve known for so long.

“At the same time, I also didn’t want to make a commitment in one way or the other, so I kept myself busy in a variety of different ways in the game. When this position came open … I knew it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Officer officially started in the position on June 6 and is taking over from Connie Laliberte, who will be retiring on Thursday after serving in the role for nearly two decades.

“I told Connie that even though she’s stepping back, she’ll need to have her phone handy as I’ll probably have her on speed dial for a little bit to get some clarification on things,” Officer joked.

“Connie picked up the program in its early stages around 18 years ago and it has really changed and evolved over that time, especially with the knowledge and experience that Connie has. She knows what works and what hasn’t and it’s really important for me to take that information and use it where it is applicable.”

While one might think that the high performance program would involve some of the top curlers from Manitoba, the likes of Mike McEwen and Kaitlyn Lawes are now in Curling Canada’s system.

In the case of CurlManitoba and other provincial bodies, they are more focussed on younger curlers.

There’s a development program for those just starting out in the sport that want to improve their skills, and a high performance program for teenage curlers that focuses on a variety of aspects of the sport, such as on-ice strategy and dryland training.

Officer is quick to point out that those things weren’t readily available when she teamed up with Jennifer Jones and went on to capture a Canadian junior title in 1994.

“I’m probably dating myself a little bit here but I was first starting out, curling wasn’t even an official Olympic sport and it didn’t have the same feel as it does now where curlers were doing all sorts of training and see sports psychologists as they do now,” Officer said. “That’s not to say there weren’t people doing that, but it certainly wasn’t as prevalent as it is now.

“At the same time, we had a good coach (Nancy Malanchuk) and Jen was always trying to get better and we did certain things to do that as a team, but in terms of having the programs, resources or guidance towards high-performance sport, that wasn’t there for junior curling at the time.

“I think that this program is great because the things that the young athletes are learning now are things that I didn’t learn until I was in my 30s. This is going to benefit them, not just in curling, but in all aspects of life.”

Another long-term project that Officer and CurlManitoba will be involved with is helping to get youth numbers up, especially after they took a hit in certain regions of the province in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That’s always been a focus but I think it’s certainly increased more after the last two years,” Officer said.

“At the end of the day, there’s a lot of selling points for the game. There’s no body contact involved, it’s a life-long sport and it’s certainly a lot more economically favourable when compared to other sports. We just have to get that out there more to people so that we can make them feel comfortable as they look to come in.”

Since her full-time curling career came to a close, Officer has gained different perspectives on the game from other positions, such as being a coach for Tracy Fleury’s rink, being an athlete mentor at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and doing colour commentary on Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events.

She’s also currently the chairperson for the World Curling Federation’s Athlete Commission, which she says has really challenged her perspective on what she knows as an elite athlete as she’s learned what sanctioning bodies deal with as they try to satisfy everyone’s needs.

“It has given me good perspective in seeing a side of the sport that many people inside of it already know, but I’m able to combine that with what I’ve learned as a curler and help the sport in general, along with this program with CurlManitoba,” Officer said.

As she begins her new job, Officer will also be balancing it with school work, as she’s currently studying kinesiology at the University of Winnipeg.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school so there was a bit of a transition, but I’ve gotten the hang of it and I’m really happy I’ve made that commitment,” Officer said.

“A lot of the things that I’m learning in school are going to be really beneficial in this position. It’s one thing to be an elite player, but it’s another to be a high performance teacher or coach, so it’s important to gain that perspective as I go forward.”

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @lpunkari