Is there an official term for the area from the hack to the hog line? I don’t know if there is, but I’ve been calling it the “Zone of Infinite Possibilities”.
When I’m in the Zone, the distractions of the outside world fade away. The rising voices from the other skips as they urge their teammates to sweep harder, the crash of rocks from the other sheets, they all seem to disappear once I place my foot into the hack.
My sole focus is on my skip’s broom. In my mind’s eye, I’m imaging my next shot. On the broom. Perfect weight. Sweepers walking down the ice, ready to sweep, but it’s not necessary, the rock stops exactly per the skip’s call. That’s the possibility I’m hoping for. But I know it’s one that rarely occurs.
When the rock leaves my hand and crosses the hog line, that’s when reality returns. I can hear the skip urgently calling the sweepers to hold the line or to sweep for distance. It’s a team sport so when the whole team is involved in making a good shot, that’s one of the best possibilities. One of the worst possibilities is when the rock leaves my hand and there’s silence. The rock is either too slow, too fast, or nowhere near the broom. No amount of sweeping is going to save it.
And of course, there’s eventually going to be a Plan B shot. A possibility beyond anyone’s imagining. A missed shot that plays with everyone’s emotions. Recently, there was a situation where our team had the last shot, with our opponent sitting two points. The actual shot was nowhere close to the called shot, but our rock ends up ticking off a guard, then raised our own rock into the house, knocking out their two rocks and all of sudden we scored four points. Sheepish elation for us, shocked frustration for our opponents.
Anything can happen when you are in the Zone of Infinite Possibilities!
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