{"id":37333,"date":"2025-08-25T20:19:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T18:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/?p=37333"},"modified":"2025-08-26T11:07:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T09:07:28","slug":"there-are-no-shortcuts-to-success-says-the-national-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/there-are-no-shortcuts-to-success-says-the-national-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"There are no shortcuts to success, says the National Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For two seasons now, Canadian coach Wade Scoffin has been leading the Czech National Curling Team. He spent the summer back home across the ocean, but is already on his way to Prague\u2014with a stop at the prestigious Euro Super Series tournament in Stirling, Scotland, where the Czech National Team, skipped by Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kl\u00edma, is competing. This is the same team that qualified for the Olympic Games under Scoffin\u2019s leadership.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last weekend you were in Scotland with the men\u2019s national team, arriving straight from Canada. Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kl\u00edma\u2019s team had already started their season earlier\u2014with a training camp and tournament in Baden alongside their team coach Craig Savill. How was it to jump into a moving train?<\/strong>
\nNo problem at all! Over the summer, we stayed in regular contact with all team members and coach Savill, holding online meetings every two weeks. Craig also met with me separately online 3\u20134 times a month. He set individual and team goals and prepared personalized training plans for each player. Together, we agreed on the best way to collect and process information to meet those goals. I also watched all the matches from Baden Masters online, and we wrapped it all up with two long meetings with Craig to ensure continuity in every aspect.<\/p>\n

Stirling was actually a stop on your journey from Canada to Prague. How did you enjoy your summer?<\/strong>
\nIt was amazing! I focused on family, which I miss the most when I\u2019m far from home. We love spending time in nature, so we went fishing, hiking, camping, played golf, and spent time in places with no mobile signal. I also volunteered at the Yukon River Quest, a marathon canoe race that brings athletes from all over the world\u2014including the Czech Republic\u2014to the Yukon. It was a lot of fun and a great community of active people from around the globe\u2014just like our curling community!<\/p>\n

Back to work after the break\u2014what will you focus on most in the upcoming season?<\/strong>
\nOne priority will naturally be the men\u2019s national team. Either I or coach Savill will be with the team at all tournaments. Another priority for me will be the mixed doubles team\u2014after the Czech qualification, of course. We already have a training plan set for October and November to help them prepare for the Olympic Qualification Event in December. I also want to support other National Teams and their coaches in training, and assist the Czech Curling Association in setting up systems for the next Olympic cycle. The potential for growth and improvement in Czech curling is clear, but it needs to be built on the existing foundation.<\/p>\n

What will you focus on most when working with the men\u2019s Olympic team and the mixed doubles pair heading to Olympic qualification?<\/strong>
\nAll preparation will be based on evaluation processes and quality assessment. Every player and coach must have an individualized plan that is constantly adjusted based on what happens during the season. Generally, we\u2019ll focus more on controllable variables like nutrition, hydration, and recovery. My non-curling profession involves working with mental and emotional aspects, so I\u2019d highlight self-acceptance, positive inner dialogue, blocking negative thoughts, stress management, habit\/routine setting, etc.<\/p>\n

What do you think our mixed doubles teams lacked that prevented them from qualifying directly for the Olympics like the men\u2019s team did?<\/strong>
\nInternational comparison in this discipline. A typical example is the national teams of Estonia and Australia. These athletes and their associations aren\u2019t much different from us, but unlike us, they\u2019ve made long-term commitments focused on training and preparation in this discipline. It\u2019s definitely something to consider for the next Olympic cycle.<\/p>\n

What does that mean in detail? Feel free to compare it with Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kl\u00edma\u2019s team\u2026<\/strong>
\nWhat\u2019s needed is a long-term vision and commitment, clear goals, attention to detail, and personal responsibility for daily steps toward those goals. The main reason I see behind the men\u2019s success is the increasing effort over the past few seasons by everyone\u2014players, coaches, and their support team. There are no shortcuts to success\u2014just work smart and do a little more than your competitors.<\/p>\n

What do you think should be set up in the preparation process for Czech National Teams to make it work better?<\/strong>
\nClearly separate domestic curling from National Team activities. The reason curling in the Czech Republic is where it is today is the work done at the club level over the past 25 years. However, top international competitions are different than they were 10 or 20 years ago. The days when a team could achieve international success in juniors, mixed doubles, or adult disciplines without a well-established program are gone. More emphasis should be placed on the long-term development of individual players. It doesn\u2019t cost more money, but it requires thoughtful planning and the courage to modernize the old system.<\/p>\n

What are you most looking forward to in the new season?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m humbled and aware of the honor it is to have the opportunity to lead one, maybe two, hopefully three teams to the Olympics. So the answer is clear\u2014the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Which curling destination you\u2019ll travel to this season is your favorite and why?<\/strong>
\nBesides Cortina, there\u2019s one more\u2014Calgary (host of the Women\u2019s World Championship, where the Czech team must first qualify through the European Championship). Mainly for personal reasons, because my youngest child studies and trains there. The city is close to the Rocky Mountains, and I have many good friends in the curling community there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For two seasons now, Canadian coach Wade Scoffin has been leading the Czech National Curling Team. He spent the summer back home across the ocean, but is already on his way to Prague\u2014with a stop at the prestigious Euro Super Series tournament in Stirling, Scotland, where the Czech National Team, skipped by Luk\u00e1\u0161 Kl\u00edma, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37333"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37338,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37333\/revisions\/37338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curling.cz\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}