Olympic curling team calls the Northland home

EVELETH - In two months, five athletes – four of whom are from the Northland – will represent the U.S. in men's curling at the Winter Olympics.

This weekend that world–class curling team is in Eveleth, competing against other top teams from the U.S.

From there, it's a straight shot to the Olympics.

Soon, these men from the Iron Range, Duluth and the Twin Cities will be in Vancouver - a long way from where it all began.

"I was a basketball player from Chisholm. It's a big basketball town," said John Shuster. "Kinda wasn't necessarily working out and I could see that I wasn't gonna be a professional basketball player."

Shuster is the skip of the 2010 U.S. Men's Curling Team.

Once he got his first taste of the sport as a teenager, he couldn't help but share it with others.

"Myself and Jason are both from Chisholm," said Shuster. "I actually tricked him into come to the curling club one time."

"He came to my house one Sunday and asked me if I wanted to go to McDonald's and ended up bringing me to the curling club instead," said Jason Smith, a 'third' on the team.

For the group of friends turned Olympic athletes, curling has become a full–time job – a far cry from the after–school activity it used to be.

And the pressure to perform is now at a whole new level.

"This will be my first Olympic games," said Smith.

Shuster is the only member of the team who has been to the Olympics before –winning a bronze metal in 2006.

Coach Phill Drobnick of Eveleth is confident his team has the skill to win gold in Vancouver.

But competition against top teams like Canada, Norway and Sweden will be tough.

"When you get to that level they're all tough," said Drobnick. "You just gotta come with you're A–game every game and do what you can to win."

Team USA has been training hard since early spring, playing in tournaments just this weekend's.

They're trying to build up as much momentum as possible – all in preparation for the big show in Vancouver.

"We wanna make sure that these guys are the best prepared team when we go to Vancouver," said Drobnick. "Then, it's gonna be up to them once we get on the ice."

Make no mistake – this Northland team is going for gold.

But without each member's talent these athletes know they might not be going anywhere.

"We qualify as a team. We don't necessarily all qualify as individuals," said Shuster.

Stepping on the ice with a chance to win Olympic gold is something that once seemed an impossible dream.

Now that's it's only months away – they can't help but be proud.

"It's really gonna be a great thing for the whole area to be able to root the guys on and having the guys represent the country," said Dronick.

"It's good to see. You come from a small town and do big things," said Smith.

The Olympic team also includes Jeff Isaacson of Duluth, Chris Plys of Duluth and John Benton of St. Michael.

Team USA took fifth place in the World Culring Championships in April.

They head to Vancouver on Feb. 5.

For more information about the team and the sport of curling, go to www.curlingrocks.net.

For more information about this weekend's Curl Mesabi Classic tournament in Eveleth, which continues Sunday, go to www.curlmesabi.com.