The Mental Game of Curling

1. Choose a job you can do

Winning matters. So do the score, hammer and stones remaining. Use that information to choose the team's plan, then turn the plan into a specific job.

“I have to make this” gives you little direction. Try:

• Thrower: “Confirm the weight and target.”
• Sweeper: “Give an early weight estimate, then update it.”
• Skip or vice: “Make sure everyone understands the call.”

You can choose your preparation, effort and communication. You can keep bringing your attention back when it wanders. You influence the stone's result, but you cannot guarantee it or control the opponent's next shot.

Before the game, choose one behavior you want to repeat. Afterward, check whether you did it. Keep the score as part of the story, alongside how you played. Research on sport goals supports considering process, performance and outcome together. Read the goal-setting study.

2. Let the miss become information

While a stone is moving, your team may still have a useful Plan B. After it stops, use the short reset in the delivery guide: acknowledge the feeling, keep a useful observation and return to your next role.

What if the miss keeps popping into your head? You can notice “I'm replaying that shot” and look for something happening now: the next call, the opponent's stone or a teammate's weight estimate. You may need to do this more than once.

Own your contribution when you know it. “I gave the weight call too late” identifies something to practice. A clear acknowledgement is enough; follow it with useful action on the next stone.

A study with self-critical university women athletes found that a self-compassion program helped reduce rumination, self-criticism and concern over mistakes. Fair self-talk can leave room for learning. The study did not test this curling advice or promise better shot percentages. Read the study.

3. Give nerves somewhere to go

A close game can bring butterflies, tense shoulders and a busy mind. Notice what is happening, take a comfortable breath, and return to one familiar task cue: “See the broom” or “Commit to the weight.”

Choose words you understand and have practiced. Your cue should help you do the shot, rather than start a debate about whether you are good enough. You can still follow your preparation while feeling nervous.

Use the delivery routine guide for the setup itself. Keep your usual sequence and pace instead of adding five new technical instructions because this stone feels important.

Research with young competitive athletes found benefits from practiced self-talk for some outcomes, but it did not improve every measure of anxiety. Test a cue over several practices and see whether it is useful to you. Read the self-talk study.

4. Use words your teammate can work with

Agree before the game on what helps after a miss. One player wants a quick factual check; another needs a little quiet before the next call. The team-building guide has more on making those agreements.

Useful language can be simple:

• “That was frustrating. What did you feel?”
• “I saw it finish heavy. Let's compare what we noticed.”
• “We still have this draw. Here's the weight and target.”
• “Would a cue help, or would you like a moment?”

Avoid sarcasm, public delivery lessons and promises that everything will work out. A missed shot does not need to be described as wonderful. Honest encouragement can recognize something specific: an early weight call, a clear decision or a teammate staying involved.

Curling Canada's mental-performance guidance emphasizes making room for frustration while helping athletes return to a chosen focus. You do not have to perform cheerfulness to be a supportive teammate. Read Kyle Paquette's curling perspective.

5. Use the walk between ends

Keep the conversation brief enough to fit the pace of play:

• What did we learn? Share one useful observation about the ice or stones.
• What is the plan? Confirm the score, hammer and aim for this end.
• What is my first job? Give your attention somewhere to return.

Leave the full argument about the third end for a calm review afterward. If something needs resolving now, address the specific decision without assigning blame. A new end deserves your attention even when the previous one still stings.

6. When the opposition makes everything

A great opponent shot can erase a sensible plan. Acknowledge it, look at the house as it now stands, and choose your team's next realistic option.

Ask: “What can we still do from here?” The answer might be a simpler shot, a changed scoring goal or a carefully chosen risk. Let the actual game situation guide that choice. Frustration alone is a poor reason to attempt a shot your team cannot reasonably make.

The other team does not owe you a miss. Keep communicating and learning from their stones. You can recognize their good play and still compete fully on your next one.

Try it at practice: the difficult-end rehearsal

This is an original HouseCall exercise, not a validated mental-skills test. Use safe, ordinary playing conditions and shots suited to your ability.

1. Set the scene. With two practice teams, arrange a realistic late-end situation with four stones left to deliver. Imagine the opponent has just made a very good shot. Agree on the score and hammer.
2. Speak the response. Each player names the job they need to do next. Make the tactical call together, then play the remaining stones at a normal pace.
3. Watch the response to setbacks. One observer, or the team afterward, notes whether information stayed clear and everyone returned to their role. Record the result separately.
4. Repeat and compare. Reset the same situation and play it again. Try one communication change. Discuss what helped you stay involved even when the result disappointed you.

Add pressure gradually by keeping score or inviting a teammate to observe. Keep the challenge friendly and optional, without punishments or unsafe distractions.

Small experiments in basketball and darts suggest that practicing with pressure can help performance under pressure. Those findings do not establish an ideal curling drill or guarantee a result. Read the pressure-training study.

Finish with a useful review

After the game, each player can name one helpful action, one moment to learn from and one thing to practice. Be specific enough that you can do something with the answer next time.

Take one thing onto the ice: choose your next-job reminder before the game. “Watch this stone” or “Give the first weight call” is a place to start.