Yay Karyn!

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Henry, Cousins named USA Curling's top coaches for 2007 Wally Henry and Karyn Cousins are USA Curling's Coach of the Year and Developmental Coach of the year respectively.

Aug. 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

USA Curling announces 2007 coaching awards

(STEVENS POINT, Wis.) - Wally Henry, Beaver Dam, Wis., and Karyn Cousins, Medfield, Mass., have been named USA Curling's top coaches for the 2006-07 season.

Henry was named 2007 USA Curling Coach of the Year after leading his daughter Debbie McCormick's team to back-to-back national championships and a fourth-place finish at the Women's World Championship in Aomori, Japan, in March. He was a member of the coaching staff at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and also coached McCormick's team to the 2003 world championship - the first and only world championship to date won by a U.S. women's team.

"Coach of the Year is an honor I never expected, and I am very thankful for the recognition," said Henry, a USCA Level IV coach, Level II instructor and Level I official. "Working with (USA Curling athlete development directors) Ed Lukowich and Rob Meakin over the past few years has allowed me to learn coaching techniques that will be of great benefit in the future."

Henry had a busy year as his men's team won the U.S. Senior National Championships and finished fourth at the 2007 World Senior Championships in Edmonton, Canada. He also is a two-time U.S. national champion and twice won the bronze medal at the subsequent world championships.

"As a curler, I never really had an interest in coaching until I was part of the staff at the 2002 Olympics, and then the clincher was being involved with the team winning gold in 2003," Henry said. "We really want to get to that level again and to have the opportunity to medal in 2010 at Vancouver. This team loves competing in Canada."

Cousins was named 2007 USA Curling Developmental Coach of the Year. She coached Monica Walker's junior women's team to back-to-back silver medals at the U.S. Junior National Championships in 2006 and 2007.

"The award is meaningful because it provides positive feedback from the U.S. coaching community that they like the work I'm doing with junior teams and junior camps," said Cousins, a USCA Level III coach, Level II instructor and Level II official.

With two members of Team Walker aging out of junior competition after the 2007-08 season (over age 21), Cousins sees big things for her team for the upcoming season. "I see them representing the U.S. at the Junior World Championships in Sweden in 2008." To reach this goal, Cousins will keep the team focused. "Team Walker needs to make the most of their available time," she said. "Juggling college schedules, on- and off-ice practices and 'spiels is tricky, but the team is motivated to make it all work."

Coaching positions in the sport of curling within the U.S. are primarily volunteer positions, thus asking a lot of an individual's time and financial input to make it work. "I am motivated by the progress I see in the youth I coach," Cousins said. "In addition to changes in skill, I see growth in perspective and attitude. It motivates me to have a hand in this growth, to inspire these young curlers to enjoy and value every minute of this phase of their curling careers."

The Coach of the Year and Development Coach of the Year awards are determined by the USA Curling Coaching Committee. Winners of these awards are nominated for the United States Olympic Committee annual coaching awards as well.

USA Curling is sponsored by AIT Worldwide Logistics, AmerAust Technologies and Nike as well as by AT&T, General Motors, The Home Depot, and Bank of America through a joint marketing program with the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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For more information: Terry Kolesar, USA Curling, terry.kolesar@usacurl.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 715-344-1199.