Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining

My talented author and friend Guy Scholz wrote this blog about the release of our new book. Enjoy! Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining

“Between the Sheets is really a life-skills book using curling as the primary metaphor.” – George Karrys, owner/publisher, The Curling News and 1988 Olympic silver medalist

Last December I had this feeling come over me that I better keep a journal close to the TV, keep the printer ink up for my computer, sharpen my exacto-knife for news stories, and start recording my impressions, observations, quotes, etc from Team Bernard as they started securing the top seed at the Olympic Trials in Edmonton. I never told Cheryl I was doing this. I didn’t want to jinx ‘em. Then when they went to Vancouver to win their silver medal I kept the journal jottings up. A few weeks after the Olympics, Cheryl called and said we should do an updated version of Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining. We went over the manuscript and cut out four chapters and added four new ones under a section called, “The Olympic Journey.” This final section of the updated version covers three main areas. What was the overall experience of representing your country like? What mental game lessons did the team apply from their previous experiences? And what life lessons did they learn as a team that helped both on and off the ice? It’s a fascinating read in the sense of how honest each team member was about what it took to put themselves into a position to earn an Olympic Medal and what lessons they learned along the way. The reader will get extensive insights from each team member as well as their coaches and team psychologist. The first edition came out in late 2005 titled, Between the Sheets: Creating Curling Champions. The response to the first edition was better than expected. We came so close to being a best-seller that it was like losing a last rock gold medal game at a major curling event. The book was one of the top non-fiction sellers by Canadian authors for 2006. We filled the book with stories that would entertain sports fans and educate competitive athletes regardless of their sport. The updated additional section of the book is written in the same spirit as the rest of the book with curling lessons being written in the context of stories that will both entertain and inspire. Polished Publishing Group in Calgary has published the book with the new title, Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining to reflect the new additions to the manuscript. We believe this new edition will continue to inspire curlers with the motivational stories and principles to aid their mental game. And, hopefully the book will also capture some new curling fans that Team Bernard helped create from their fan appeal in Vancouver. There is also an Olympic picture section included featuring all of Team Bernard. In the first edition we counted 14/20 Olympic teams from 2006 and 2010 using the book as a reference. We received so many encouraging emails, calls and handshakes from national and international curlers who used the book as a motivational tool. Kelly Scott sent us the nicest email telling us how her team used the book in their World Championship season. A pleasant surprise for us was the crossover appeal to other sports. New and old Defensive co-coordinator Richie Hall of the Saskatchewan Roughriders found the book useful in honing his emphasis of the mental game for his players and himself. The head of the Phys Ed department at Bowness High in Calgary used the book as a text for his high performance sports elective. Lloyd Brown a 30 year veteran Phys Ed teacher who has coached volleyball, basketball and hockey, and attended Bemidji State on a hockey scholarship, said, “It was by far the best book he has ever read on the mental game and it could easily be applied to any sport. “ And, the late Tony Proudfoot, a former Grey Cup champion with the Montreal Alouettes, and radio color man for the Alouettes said he read the whole book in one night because he couldn’t put it down. Why did Cheryl and I decide to write a book like Between the Sheets in the first place and to do an updated version? Both of us are fascinated by sports psychology and what makes high performance people in any field successful. And since we both think curling is the most fascinating sport on the planet it made sense to us to focus on curling and its high achievers. On a personal note, it has been fun and inspiring for me to watch Cheryl and her teammates apply the lessons we ferreted out in Between the Sheets. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the lessons learned from the entire team and their Olympic journey. This last section of the updated version really captures how Cheryl put her own thoughts, research and our writing into practice. This is so rare to find in life. Even in my own curling game the last five years have been my most successful and fulfilling in the win column and in having regional success. I would even go so far to say the lessons we wrote about has benefited both of our business and personal lives. Wayne Gretzky, whom I have always thought was one of the best pressure athletes in sports, maybe the best, gave Cheryl the ultimate compliment in my opinion: “The Canadian skip of the women’s team just may be the best pressure athlete I have seen at this Olympics.” If Mr. Gretzky is impressed by anyone in sports, any serious athlete needs to pay attention, whether you are an Olympic caliber athlete or weekend warrior. Cheryl and her team really put a nice post script on the updated version of Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining. Cheryl along with her team really do practice what they preach. This stuff works!!! Obtain your copy of Between the Sheets: The Silver Lining here