Red Deer's Kerr Drummond is returning to the competitive curling scene but on a new team.
Just over a month after he announced on social media that he would be taking a step back from competitive curling, Drummond announced he's joining Team Thomas Scoffin.
While Drummond had every intention of walking away from competitive curling, he told The Advocate the opportunity was too good to pass up.
Competing with Team Scoffin, which is based out of the Yukon, will allow him to focus more time on his young family, which was the reason why he took a step back in the first place.
"I wanted to take a step back because, with my current team, we were playing between 10 to 15 events throughout the season. With having a young family that's pretty tough being away that amount of time in the winter," he said.
"This opportunity with Team Yukon we basically play in a couple of events with hopefully a trip to the brier and represent Team Yukon there. It's an opportunity to play with three other curlers who are more than capable of making some noise at the brier.
"I think with my expertise, talent, passion, and winning attitude I know the guys are excited to have me on board."
This season Drummond and Team Aaron Sluchinski won the provincial title at the Alberta Men’s Curling Provincial Championship in Hinton, knocking off the eight-time Alberta champion Team Koe.
Drummond went on to compete in his first ever Brier in Regina, Sask. from March 1-10. The team's success from this past season certainly made Drummond's decision to take a step back tougher.
"It was a very hard decision to leave them but at the end of the day, family comes first... Curling has gone down the pecking order I guess. It's definitely not my main priority anymore but it is in terms of being able to compete," he said.
"We're going to be able to compete just not at the level of some of the teams who are more full-time because it's impossible."
Based out of the Yukon, Team Scoffin is led by skip Thomas Scoffin, second Trygg Jensen, and lead Joe Wallingham. Drummond will throw third stones for the team.
They have always represented their province and have qualified for tour events. However, they've never been in the mix at the Brier and Drummond hopes to help them get there.
"I know all of the guys well so it's going to be an easy transition over to playing with them. They're all very athletic. They know how to curl. It's not like I'm going over to the Yukon and playing with beginners. They're all experienced," he said.
"They've just never had somebody on their team that's been to that next level. I think with my expertise I'm really going to help them make some noise."
They're hoping to compete in the Red Deer Classic next season but will be more focused on training as opposed to competing as often.
"I'm coming back because these guys only want to play a few tournaments and finish with a trip to the brier. How would you not want to do that with a group of guys who have the same mindset and the same time commitment? It's perfect."