UMD Physics Class Curls With Olympian John Schuster

DULUTH, Minn.– Distance learning classes continue at UMD but one physics class got the opportunity to be together and learn hands on in a unique way from an Olympic gold medal winner.

Curling — it sounds simple but it’s not easy. Pairing it together with physics can make it sound even more challenging. But UMD students got some help from a guy who knows a thing or two about the sport.

A UMD physics class went down to the Duluth Curling Club Monday to apply concepts they’ve covered in class, learning about momentum, collisions, and centripetal motion.

Their teacher for the day was gold medal Olympian and UMD alumni John Schuster.

Schuster is a member of the Duluth Curling Club. When he heard UMD students were coming, Schuster “lunged” at the chance to show them how to slide the stone down the ice.

“I love teaching curling,” said Schuster, who won the gold back in the 2018 winter games. “There’s just something fun about stepping on a slider, kicking and gliding out and getting a rock to go 150 feet someplace down the other end and have it stop where you’re trying to get it to go.”

Paige Sarkaria was one of those lucky students. After spending the semester learning through a screen, she says being in person for the day with her classmates again helps her learn better. And Sarkaria thought it was crazy they were taught from one of the best curlers in the world.

“We’re just like college students who are able to be taught by him. It’s really cool,” said Sarkaria, a junior and biology major at UMD.

After going through a few tries, Sarkaria says the sport and physics is a great pair. She added that curling is a lot harder than it looks on TV.

“Just how fast the stone moves, how it’s moving on the ice, how it would like collide with things I realize that it all involves physics,” said Sarkaria.

Schuster also received a bronze medal in curling at the 2006 games in Italy.