Delivery: Release Point Method with John Benton (Part 1 of 2)

This is a two-part series!

John Benton is a longtime American competitive curler, administrator and coach. He also owns a company called "Cold Granite Curling" that provides training for individuals and teams. His approach to the delivery is called the "Release Point Method" (RPM). In Part 1, we introduce RPM, talk about the three "planes," and discover why he felt the need to create this set of delivery principles.

NOTE: It's helpful if you can download the RPM Handbook PDF in advance to follow the conversation.
Release Point Method (RPM) Handbook link

Some of the topics we discuss include:

Two coaches that influenced his thinking about the delivery (4:03)Why looking at the delivery from a side view led to a breakthrough in his thinking (6:02)What is the "Release Point" (8:57) and why we should practice it off the ice (11:47)The "Glide Plane" (13:05)The "Line Plane" (16:48)The "Support Plane" aka "balance" (20:40)How to get kids to work on their "Support Plane" (24:05)

Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Cold Granite Curling Web site
Release Point Method (RPM) Handbook link
"Curling - The Slide Demo.mpg" YouTube video from Continental Cup 2012
Pro-Slide Delivery Aid by Reid Carruthers - Hardline Web site
Four Seasons Curling Club (Blaine, MN, USA) Web site
Curler Outreach Program Web site
John's e-mail address: [email protected]

Follow our podcast on Twitter: @kidscurling

Glenn Gabriel is an NCCP-certified curling coach who lives in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has been the coordinator of the Little Rocks (U12) program at East York Curling Club in Toronto since 2011. If you have a question or feedback on the podcast, send us an e-mail at [email protected]

The intro and outro music is "Golden Sunrise (Instrumental Version)" by Josh Woodward. Licensed under CC BY 3.0