Between the Sheets: Thanks Coach!

To our Coach, Dennis Balderston. Thank you for missing so many important family events for the team. Thank you to your family for letting us have so much of you all these years. Thank you for tapping us on the shoulder at the Patch to remind us it was ‘time to go”. Thank you for reminding us of our three F’s! Fun, Focus and Finish! Thank you for always finding new ways to challenge us. Thank you for being the ‘master scheduler’ for our team. Thank you for keeping Cathy O away from Carolyn (and the rest of the team) when she was wanting to have some fun! Thank you for being Cori’s fellow Roughrider fan! Thank you for providing years of entertainment whenever you ordered your custom meal at a restaurant. Thank you for going to the team meetings when we all went to bed. Thank you for attending the pro-am in Lethbridge at the Scotties when we were ALL’ under the weather!’ Thank you for eating all the cheesies in our kitchen at the Olympics to save us the extra calories. Thank you for taking on the role of bouncer and bodyguard for Cheryl at the Olympics. Thank you for the hours you spent facing the corner in our co-ed dressing room in Vancouver while we ALL changed – and for not being mad when we sometimes forgot you! Thank you for knowing us well enough to know when we needed it to be just ‘the team.’ Thank your for the millions of hours sitting on a hard cold chair watching us curl – and not always well! Thank you for only nodding off once or twice (that we saw). Thank you for hanging onto your special ‘Canada Hat’ for 3 1/2 years, and then wearing it for 2 days straight when we won the Trials! Thank you for believing. Thank you for showing up at 7 am on Wed mornings to run our team practice, especially since you are retired! Thank you for always handling our emotional, hormonal, womanly ways so well (thanks to your daughters for preparing your for the job)! Thank you for traveling to all the hot spots in Canada with us! Thank you for being Cheryl’s ‘hotshot’ dealer at all the cold events we played in. Thank you for using up our free beer tickets at every event – cause we drink wine! Thank you for the shoulder to cry on when we lost and the hugs to celebrate when we won. Thank you for being an amazing friend to all of us. Thank you for your quiet wisdom. Thank you for pointing out our weaknesses and our strengths. Thank you for challenging us to win early morning games. Thank you for challenging us. Thank you for killing a tree or two with your ‘team handouts’ over the years. Thank you for patiently spending time with each one of us in ‘doping control.’ Thank you for tolerating our pre-game rituals. Thank your for always being willing to listen. Thank you for the hundreds of hours you spent preparing and running team practices. Thanks Coach Dennis Balderston… for all you did for Team Bernard. Our one and only regret, is that you did not get stand on the podium and receive a silver medal with us – it is yours as much as ours. Luv The Team!