Curling Competition: East teacher and coach Alex Henton curls

East history teacher and coach, Alex Henton shuffles down the ice, quickly sweeping his curling broom back and forth alongside teammate Anthony Winklemann. 

“No, I never got a chance to watch it,” Henton said, looking up at Winkelmann. “My cable wasn’t working.” 

Clink.

Henton and Winklemann’s rock barely tapped the opposing team’s rock out of the target, leaving their rock hugging the outer ring of the target. 

Their casual game-time conversation was referencing NBCSN’s new show — “Friday Night is Curling Night” — that Henton missed because of cable issues. Curling — a strategic sport in which a team of four slides rocks down a lane of ice, sweeping brooms to straighten the direction of the rock, in hopes of making it on the target — has been Henton’s pastime since he was 16 years old.

“Growing up he’s always been interested in sports,” Henton’s father Aaron said. “Our family are big Olympic watchers, and curling really caught our attention during the [2006] Winter Olympics.”

When the following Winter Olympics came around, 16-year-old Henton and his family signed up to take Kansas City Curling Club’s “Learn To Curl” class — a two-hour session that teaches the basic strategies in curling. Since then, he has been competing in Kansas City Curling Club’s league for the past 10 years.

“In the actual playing of the game, I love shooting the rock,” Henton said. “Committing to understand the sport is a whole strategy. [Curling] requires balance and a low center of gravity — those little movements are key in order to be successful.” 

Last year Henton and his family headed to Omaha to watch the 2018 curling Olympic Trials. After nearly eight years on the ice, watching the speed of the professionals was more entertaining because he was well educated on the sport.  

“Obviously, I’m not hitting the shots Olympians are hitting,” Henton said. “But talking about what strategy they should use and then seeing them actually use that strategy is pretty cool.”

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Opposed to Olympians, playing the sport at a recreational level doesn’t require outside practicing and conditioning, and instead is more about positioning and strategy. Since it’s more for fun and he’s not planning on taking a trip to the Olympic Village anytime soon, Henton can focus his attention on his students, the girls varsity volleyball and girls freshman basketball team. 

Junior and varsity volleyball player Sarah Bingham has known Henton since eighth grade volleyball conditioning at the high school. 

“[As a coach], he is really approachable,” Bingham said. “Everyone on the team has some kind of strong relationship with him, which creates a good culture because people aren’t afraid to talk to him.”

Henton’s light-hearted attitude isn’t just around on the ice. According to Bingham, Henton is never afraid to jump in at practice and serve the ball or volley it back and forth. Her favorite memories are when he interacts with everyone. 

“Last year, my teammate Jenna Thieman and I were working on serving at a morning practice,” Bingham said. “When he went to toss the ball, Jenna threw her ball at him and he was so mad he [jokingly] left the gym.”

After a day of coaching two-hour freshman girls’ basketball practices and grading LEQ’s, Henton still makes time in the winter to play on Sunday’s at Line Creek Community Center. Jan. 19 marked the first official game of the season, with five more weeks to play the remaining teams in the league. Males and females of all ages can form a team and enter the league. 

Henton’s current team consists of his dad, East’s JV girls volleyball coach Anthony Winklemann and any friend that wants to join in on that weeks game. 

Lauren West | The Harbinger Online

“I have the most fun playing in the league with Alex,” Aaron said. “Growing up he was always a really good kid — but maybe I’m being biased because I’m the dad. [Curling] is a sport that spans ages, so I don’t have to be in the peak of athletic condition to play.”

According to Henton, one of the best parts of curling at the recreational level is that anyone can do it. 

“I mean [curling] is such a low commitment sport with low training,” Henton said. “I could see myself doing it till whenever I can’t anymore.”

Both Henton and his father want to encourage anyone who is able to take the “Learn to Curl” class at Kansas City Curling Club.

“I know that Alex loves to talk about [curling] to his students,” Aaron said. “I think it’d be great if some of his students got together and came to do a ‘Learn To Curl Class’. He would love having that influence on some of his students.”