Meet the Sudbury curling coach with the 'big personality' at the Scotties

Team Northern Ontario continues to perform well heading into the last day of pool play at the Scotties in Moose Jaw.

They have a record of 3-2, and are in 3rd place so far.

The top four teams in each of the two pools move on to the championship pool.

Two Sudburians Kendra Lilly and Jen Gates are playing on the Northern Ontario rink.

Jen's sister, Amanda Gates, is also at the women's curling championship, as a coach for the Northwest Territories.

She said it was just a coincidence that led her to a coaching opportunity with team NWT.

"[Curler] Sarah Colton got into the med school at Laurentian in Sudbury so she had been staying with my family," Gates said. "And when she was coming up for her interviews, when she got into the school my family took her in and she lives with my parents now."

"One day she kind of was telling me that they were having a hard time. Their coach is normally John Epping and he qualified for the Brier so it was a bit of a hectic schedule for him to come here and then go there. So they were kind of looking for someone to help them out. And I just I mentioned that I was a certified coach and then the next day they asked me to coach."

Gates said the team is already a "well-oiled machine" and doesn't require a lot of involvement. She focuses more on the management side of the team, keeping their day's agenda on track, getting game information, and scouting rocks.

So far, the team has gotten off to a "shaky" start, Gates said, likely due to the players not having as much opportunity to play together as a team.

"Even if you've played on this level, you still feel a little bit of nerves and and I think that was that showed a little bit in the first game," Gates said.

Also showing nerves are Gates' parents, who may end up seeing one daughter coach against another should the NWT make it out of the first round.

"I remember though this is the second year we played each other in provincial finals and my poor mom and dad are just having a hard time with it, but they're happy that at least one daughter gets to win."

"So that's always a bonus as well."

Gates said that she's also hoping that coaching at this level will open up more opportunities in the future. She also says she's not afraid of the challenges that coaching presents.

"Well I think you have to be confident. You have to be organized," she said. "[My team] has made a lot of comments about how organized I am. And I think that that gives them comfort."

She said it's important that players know that the coach has their best interests at heart.

"It's also a lot of managing personalities, making sure the way you say things the person will be receptive to it. And I'm a very overwhelming person at times I have a big personality."

"So sometimes when I'm talking to some of our players that are a bit more introverted, I watch that I'm speaking slower and and clearer to them and making sure that everyone is getting the information I'm trying to say the best way that they'll receive it."