Going for Wisconsin Gold by Jessie Garcia

Author:Jessie Garcia [Garcia, Jessie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-87020-766-2
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Published: 2016-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

FATHER-DAUGHTER CURLING DUO

One of Wisconsin’s most distinctive curling stories belongs to Wally Henry and Debbie McCormick, who are not only coach and athlete but father and daughter.

Native Canadians Wally and Ginny Henry moved with their two children from Saskatoon to the small town of Rio, Wisconsin, thirty miles north of Madison, in 1978. Young Debbie, a preschooler at the time, spent a lot of time hanging out at the Madison Curling Club while her parents competed there in league play. Debbie, her brother, Donnie, and other kids were allowed to play on the ice after the adults were finished. But Debbie didn’t take to it right away. “I did not love the game until I was invited [at age fourteen] to go to an international tournament in Scotland with a team from Madison,” she said. “I was competing for Team USA for the first time. [Seeing] my last name and Team USA on my jersey and curling jacket, I thought that was so cool. I met kids my age from all over the world who loved the sport. When I came back to the United States I was addicted!”

Debbie competed at an impressive four Olympics, in 1998, 2002, 2010, and 2014. And she almost made a fifth, barely missing making the team in 2006. In 2002, her father was Team USA’s assistant coach; the team flirted with a medal but finished fourth. Eight years later, Wally Henry was the head coach as the Olympics returned to his home country for the Vancouver Games. He and Debbie desperately hoped to medal this time, and being back in Canada would have made it especially sweet, but the team finished tenth.

Still, the unique father-daughter dynamic was a storyline that fascinated the media. For Debbie, it was never a big deal. “He was my mentor and coach from the first time I stepped on the ice,” she explained. “My dad is an amazing coach. He is knowledgeable, patient, calm, understanding, and his smile makes everything okay.” They shared some funny parent-kid moments during those times together, of course, like when the curling team sang aloud to hip-hop music on the way to games. Debbie noted with a laugh, “As you can imagine, some of the lyrics are not what a father wants to hear his daughter sing!”

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