By Jonathan Brazeau via thegrandslamofcurling.com
Ontario—Brendan Botcher, fourth-year chemical engineering student, crammed for final exams and played in the curling Grand Slam this month.
Bottcher admitted it’s not easy balancing the student-athlete lifestyle but he enjoys every minute of it.
“There are a lot of nights staying up later than I’d like to,” he said. “When we’re in the city, I’m day in and day out at the university trying to get everything done … I have a fairly big course load here but it’s good, I love both. I love the time I spend at the university and I love the time I spend curling.”
“I just need to really prioritize,” Bottcher added. “When I’m at a Grand Slam or when I’m curling I need to be all there and then when I’m back at home and at university I need to try and really refocus.”
Bottcher’s high level of dedication has already resulted in a decorated CV filled with curling accomplishments. He skipped Canada to gold at the World Junior Curling Championships in March 2012 and just one week later guided his Alberta Golden Bears team to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport title. Bottcher was named the flag bearer for Canada at the opening ceremonies of the 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino, Italy, and his team came home with the bronze medal.
Bottcher and his Alberta teammates — third Mick Lizmore, second Bradley Thiessen and lead Karrick Martin — moved up to the men’s ranks for 2012-13 and last season saw them compete in two Grand Slam events, the Canadian Open and the National.
Read the full story published at www.thegrandslamofcurling.com
Source UofA