Longtime Curling Canada coach Paul Webster to coach Team Bottcher for full quad

In his long career as a curling coach, Paul Webster has always been excited to share the things he knows about the sport.

The pandemic break gave him a chance to improve his listening ability too. He decided to take mediation courses, giving him another skill in an ever-expanding coaching toolbox.

“I’m a better parent, a better husband and definitely a better coach,” he said.

Webster, a 47-year-old curling director at Calgary’s Glencoe club, is giving up his position as Curling Canada’s national development coach to serve as a full-time coach for the new-look Team Brendan Bottcher.

Bottcher, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert, who announced their lineup earlier this off-season, recently confirmed Webster’s addition via social media.

With each player boasting a strong curling resume, the Alberta-based rink will be a favourite to succeed next season. The addition of Webster — and his high-performance expertise — should improve its chances.

“They’re just trying to make that jump and beat all those European teams that are beating us on a consistent basis right now,” Webster said. “So one thing they wanted to do was find a coach that could possibly provide them with everything they felt they needed. They didn’t want to wait for that so they came early and knocked on my door.

“They weren’t sure if I was going to be able to commit to leaving Curling Canada but the more they talked to me and the more I thought about it, the more excited I got.”

Webster will still serve as a coaching consultant for the federation. However, he’ll no longer work with any other men’s teams, and like the four players, has committed to a four-year cycle.