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Pierce, Joseph Will Share Skip’s Duties for U.S. Paralympic Team Curlers in Debut
By Rick Patzke
// USA Curling
// March 11, 2006
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Jim Pierce (pictured) will team up with Jimmy Joseph to cover skip duties in the U.S. Paralympic Wheelchair Curling Team's first match of the Paralympic Winter Games against Sweden.
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PINEROLO, Italy – After days of practice and observation, U.S. Paralympic Team Curling Coach Steve Brown (Madison, Wis.) has tabbed Jim Pierce (Syracuse, N.Y.), 43, to call the shots for the Americans in their opening game against Sweden on Sunday morning at Pinerolo Palaghiaccio. However, it will be Jimmy Joseph (New Hartford, N.Y.) who will deliver USA’s last stones in each end, an arrangement highlighting the equality of the players and the team’s desire to make the best use of all available strengths.
“Pierce is probably the most experienced holding the broom,” said Brown, “but having Jimmy throw the last rocks spreads the pressure around a little bit. That way Pierce can mentally focus on reading the ice and calling the strategy.”
The two 43-year-old New Yorkers worked this same kind of arrangement at the 2004 World Wheelchair Curling Championship, after Pierce was elevated from vice skip to skip midway through the championships. At the same time Joseph moved up from second to vice skip, but threw the last stones for Pierce. This combination helped the Americans secure a berth in the Paralympics by winning win four of their next five games.
“I don’t mind skipping, but I don’t want all the pressure,” said Pierce, who will deliver the second pair of stones for his team.
Joseph, on the other hand, says bring it on. “I love it. I thrive on it,” he said.
As further evidence of the equality of the players, Brown has relative newcomer Augusto “Goose” Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.) playing vice skip. Perez, 33, who was born in Madrid, only began curling about six months ago but his natural athleticism and dedication to perfection has quickly helped him become one of the most consistent shooters on the team.
USA’s lone woman on the team, Danell Libby (Chatham, N.Y.) will throw the lead rocks, crucial shots that can dictate how an end gets set up. Team veteran Wes Smith (Glenburn, Maine), a two-time national champion, will watch the first game alongside Brown in the coaches’ row.
“For the first game we’re going with a comfort level more than anything,” said Brown. “Pierce, Jimmy, Goose and Danell all play together regularly, so that’s really the only reason Wes is sitting this first one out.”
Brown’s initial game plan for the Americans has more to do with a sound approach than a dissection of the opposition. “I’ll probably have them playing a lot more takeouts than they have in the past,” he said. “I think they always tended to draw just because they were used to it. We’re trying to work on strategy. There’s a time to be offensive, and a time to be defensive.”
The debut of curling in the Paralympics gets underway with two draws on Sunday, at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. USA meets Sweden in the first draw, and Norway in the second. The Swedes entered the Paralympics as the fifth-ranked team, one ahead of the Americans. Norway earned the last of the eight spots in the field.
The round robin competition features two draws a day through Tuesday, culminating with the last preliminary round at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Thereafter, tiebreakers will be held as necessary to determine the four semifinalists.
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