Samuel Follett (born August 30, 2002) is a Canadian curler from Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador. He currently plays third for Team Nathan Young.[1]
| Sam Follett | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 30, 2002 |
| Team | |
| Curling club | RE/MAX Centre, St. John's, NL |
Curling career  | |
| Brier appearances | 2 (2022, 2023) |
| Top CTRS ranking | 34th (2021–22) |
Career edit
Follett and his team have been competing together from a very young age. It was in 2015 when the rink won their first provincial championship in the U16 NLCA Provincials.[2] After their championship, they would move straight to the U18 curling division.
In 2020, Follett won his first provincial championship in the U18 category. He competed for the first time with Joel Krats who was picked up for the tournament due to Ben Stringer being aged out. The Nathan Young rink beat Team Liam Quinlan 8-1 in the finals to qualify for the Canadian U18 Curling Championships.[3] This tournament ended up being cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19.[4] Follett also got the privilege of competing in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics[5] as an alternate player. The squad led by Nathan Young went 5-0 in the round robin before getting eliminating in the quarter-finals of the play-offs.
In 2021, Follett started off the year by competing in the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard to try and compete in the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier. He would end up falling short of the playoffs and finish in the standings with a 3-4 record. Towards the end of the year though, he got to travel to the 2021 World Junior Qualification Event, representing Newfoundland and Labrador for a chance to be Team Canada in the 2022 World Junior Curling Championships. They fell one point short losing to Nova Scotia's Owen Purcell in the finals.[6]
In 2022, he once again started off the year by competing in the 2022 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard. This year though, his team won all of their round robin games to send them straight to the finals. They ended up defeating defending tankard champion Greg Smith in the finals to qualify themselves for their first ever brier. In the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier[7] they were easily the youngest team at the competition. While they did finish the tournament with a 1-7 record, his team broke the record for the youngest curler in brier history when alternate player Nicholas Codner stepped in on their game against Kevin Koe to play at only 15-years-old.[8] To add to this year, he also won every game in the 2022 U21 Newfoundland and Labrador Provincials to qualify themselves for the 2022 Canadian Junior Curling Championships when they beat Team Sean O'Leary in the finals.[9] There, his team went 7–1 in the round robin before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Ontario's Landan Rooney.
In 2023, the year started off with his team picking up Adam Currie to play in the lead position as their second does not attend Memorial University. They beat the Sean O'Leary rink in a series to three to become the Memorial University Seahawks curling team. The second tournament of the year which had them compete with Aaron Feltham did not go as well. They would go 3-1 in the round robin of the 2023 NLCA U21 Provincials. After beating the O'Leary rink in the semi-finals, Follett's team would go on to lose 9-1 in the finals to Simon Perry. Due to past performances though, Newfoundland and Labrador were granted a second team in the 2023 Canadian Junior Curling Championships and the Nathan Young squad get to represent that team.[10] The team would rebound a few days later by going 6-1 in the round robin of the 2023 Newfoundland and Labrador Tankard and then beating the Greg Smith rink in the finals to secure their second consecutive title and locking in their spot in the 2023 Tim Hortons Brier.
Personal life edit
Follett is currently a psychology student at Memorial University of Newfoundland.[11]
Teams edit
| Season | Skip | Third | Second | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17[12] | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Ben Stringer | Nathan Locke |
| 2017–18 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer |
| 2018–19 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer |
| 2019–20 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer Joel Krats |
| 2020–21 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer |
| 2021–22 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer |
| 2022–23 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer Aaron Feltham Adam Currie |
| 2023–24 | Nathan Young | Sam Follett | Nathan Locke | Ben Stringer |
References edit
- ^ "Nathan Young as Skip". CurlingZone. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "2015 U16 Champions". CurlingNL. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "2020 U18 Champions". CurlingNL. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Timmins U18". Curling Canada. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "This Torbay teen is at the helm of Canada's curling team at the Youth Olympics". CBC. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "'Just feels amazing': Nova Scotia curling team going to world juniors". CBC. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Newfoundland teenagers soaking up experience of playing against curling greats at Brier". Toronto Sun. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Torbay's Nicholas Codner Becomes the Youngest Curler in the Event's History". Torbay. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Young's team hopes to build off Brier experience at Canadian junior playdowns". TSN. March 24, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "Newfoundland and Labrador under-21 men's and women's curling champions crowned". TSN. January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- ^ "Nathan Young Team History". Curling Zone. Retrieved January 31, 2023.