Zacharias, MacKay on forefront of youth movement at Scotties

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This article was published 21/01/2016 (3785 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BEAUSEJOUR — The game was a loss, which was expected, but Mackenzie Zacharias didn’t leave her Thursday morning match against Kristy McDonald empty-handed.

Instead, the Altona skip and her team snapped a photo with their opponents. Like any other teens meeting an idol, they wanted to remember the moment.

Remember, these kids weren’t even born when McDonald won her two Manitoba junior titles.

“We’ve always watched them on TV and stuff, and they’re our role models,” said Emily Zacharias, who plays second for her sister. “Getting to play against them, and get a picture with them was really cool.”

Meet the youth movement at the 2016 Manitoba Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Of the 16 teams vying for the buffalo jacket, two are still eligible junior contenders. There is 2016 provincial junior semifinalist Zacharias, who is just 16; the other foursome is led by 20-year-old Fort Rouge skip Christine MacKay.

The energy is contagious, you can’t miss it. Team Zacharias’ family has been waving signs in the stands and Mackenzie Zacharias raves the experience is “so incredible.”

Their presence here is even historic: at 14, Emily Zacharias is the youngest player ever to take the ice at a Manitoba women’s curling championship. In other words, just being here is an achievement. And for Team Zacharias, this has been the year of trouncing expectations. They weren’t expected to win the Central region Scotties berth, versus seasoned Deb McCreanor — in fact, they only entered that bonspiel to warm up for junior provincials. Then they won.

The trend continued earlier this month, at the Manitoba junior championship in Rivers. The team, which includes 15-year-old third Morgan Reimer and 17-year-old lead Jenessa Rutter, wasn’t ranked among the top five contenders. Nonetheless, they soared to a 6-1 round-robin finish and a 1-vs-1 Page playoff appearance.

Results like that make the curling world take notice.

“This year’s been something to remember,” skip Mackenzie Zacharias said. “It’s been incredible. I think we’ve just found a group of girls that really wants to work hard for something. We work well together, and it’s just showing off, I think.”

Well, they’ve sure come a long way from where she and her sister started, pushing rocks around Altona bonspiels when they were barely more than toddlers. Their father, Sheldon Zacharias, got them into the sport, and he now serves as their coach.

“They outcurl me now,” he said, and laughed. “They’re too good to play with me now.”

After all, they are provincial contenders. Although they stood winless after four matches Thursday, her team’s Scotties debut was never supposed to be measured by the standings. Sheldon Zacharias said his biggest hope for the girls was that they’d have fun. Beyond that, they’re looking not for results, but for lessons.

Well, they’re finding them. Zacharias collected her first deuce of the week Thursday afternoon, in the fifth end of a 10-3 loss to fourth seed Michelle Montford. (In that same draw, fellow junior MacKay earned her first Scotties win, collecting a trio of single-point steals to earn a 6-5 decision over Joelle Brown.)

“I’ve picked up so much, and it’s so incredible,” said Mackenzie Zacharias, beaming after the game against Montford. “Just every little thing. A bunch of strategy. Strategy is the thing I picked up on the most, and where to place rocks, and how perfect you have to be.”

She has a lot more time to learn. Mackenzie Zacharias still has five years of junior eligibility left, while her sister has a whopping seven. Still, the Scotties experience should serve her well, when she eventually makes the leap into full-time women’s play. To see how, she just has to look across the ice at Shannon Birchard.

Two years ago, Birchard made her own Manitoba Scotties debut while still a junior. She went 1-6 through that round robin in Virden and a learning experience. This time around, the talented 21-year-old is back in the hack at the Scotties, and is making some noise after rocking 4-0 through the first half of the round robin.

The transition didn’t happen overnight. It’s just the last year, Birchard noted, that she felt herself settle into the level of women’s competition.

So maybe she can see a little of herself in them.

“It’s a little bit of a different strategy in women’s, and you have to be a little bit more careful with the placement of rocks,” Birchard said. “As the girls get older, and get more years under their belt, they’re going to pick that up and eventually will do well.”

Time will tell. In the meantime, Zacharias and MacKay are set to face each other in the midday draw today, an accidental junior showcase built right in to the provincial field. It may not be a key match as these Scotties are concerned, but it does highlight what Birchard called a “changing of the guard” in the province.

“I think it’s a bright future for Manitoba,” Zacharias said.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca