For Stirling curler Michael Goodfellow it was almost the perfect conclusion to a junior career.

As part of Team Muirhead at the Scottish Championships in Perth he helped beat Olympians, Team Murdoch in the semi finals.  But for an unlucky patch in the finals they could have been Scottish Champions heading for next month’s World Championships in Italy.

“Going into the event Team Murdoch were always the team to beat because they are the former Scottish and World Champions,” said the 21 year old Strathclyde University history student.  “Especially after watching them on TV at the Olympics.

“We got off to a good start, they clawed their way back and we managed to edge it in the extra end.   It was a good victory for us.

“In the final we played Warwick Smith and got beaten 5-3.  It was a pretty close game but we just didn’t have the luck going for us.  It was my last event of the season and my last event as a junior so it was a good one to finish on.”

Michael is relatively unusual as a curler in not coming from a family where the sport has been ingrained through the generations.  His introduction to the game was via a friend at primary school whose family were keen curlers.

The absence of curling in the Goodfellow bloodline has not hindered Michael’s progress.  This season he was invited to join the Central Scotland Institute of Sport, part of sportscotland’s institute network which focuses on preparing Scotland’s best athletes to perform on the world stage by providing high performance expertise.

“The institute put me on a Strength & Conditioning programme this season and I’ve noticed a big difference in my general fitness; being able to sweep for longer and concentrate better,” said Michael, who is coached by Gordon Muirhead (father of Vancouver Olympian Eve, and team skip Glen).

“All of the team are in the institute and we all use the Strength & Conditioning. It’s not a coincidence that we have had a great season and we are all doing the gym work.  I’d done a bit of jogging in the past and visited the gym but not to the same extent or as sports specific as we are doing now.”

Michael will emerge from the off season in September as a fully fledged senior.  And after beating Team Murdoch last weekend the gap between himself and the top level won’t seem so great.

“There aren’t many better events in Europe than the Scottish Championship so it was good to do well,” he added.

“The same as anyone else I’d like to compete in the Olympics and win major championships.  We know how close we were this season and it would have been lovely to win but it makes you more determined to win in years to come.”

RE-J