Nova Scotia junior skip throws a smooth stone, plays a mean piano

A lot of people say a lot of nice things about 17-year-old Nova Scotia skip Mary Fay.

"She could be a Rhodes Scholar someday," said one observer this week at the Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Stratford, Ontario. "She's like a concert-level pianist," said another. "She could probably win the Nova Scotia Women's Championship right now," said someone else. "Well, she's the next one," said yet another, referring to Fay's obvious curling talents and bright future in the sport.

A straight 'A' student and a level 9 Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) pianist, Fay is trying to skip her home province to its first national junior championship since Jill Mouzar did it in 2004. So far, so good. Heading into Thursday night's draw, Fay and her teammates found themselves tied for top spot (with British Columbia) with a record of 7 and 1, with Fay being outshot by the opposing skip, percentage-wise, just once in those eight games.

Regardless of this week's outcome, Fay will then head to Norway, next month, selected by organizers to skip Canada's mixed team at the Youth Olympics in Lillehammer.

“She strives for excellence in everything that she does whether it’s sport or academically or with her piano or anything," says the coach of that Olympic team, Helen Radford. "She’s a really incredible young woman.”

“Amazing person. Amazing curler. Amazing student,” says Team Nova Scotia coach, Andrew Atherton, as Fay squirms just a little bit, standing nearby.

People have good things to say about Mary Fay, who, at the age of 15, skipped her provincial team to a bronze medal at juniors. Last year she guided the province to a silver at the Canada Winter Games. She and her teammates were denied a medal at last year's juniors but they have set their sights on getting back to the podium in 2016. It will be hard work and Fay knows it, paying proper respect to the talents of the rest of the great young curlers all aiming for gold.

“Going onto the ice, people sometimes get nervous before games," says Fay, a grade 12 student at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. "But I always remind myself that I would rather be going onto the ice with my teammates than anyone else. So, I have the advantage there. They work so hard, they’re so much fun to be around."

Fay's teammates are third Kristen Clarke, who joined the rink this season, and front-enders Karlee Burgess and Janique LeBlanc, who are each appearing in their third national junior championship. "Karlee and Janique, they always sweep my last rock," says Fay. "We like to say that we're lucky because we've got probably two of the best sweepers on the ice. They're strong." (Burgess, by the way, will be joining Fay on the Olympic team in Lillehammer, along with B.C. juniors Tyler Tardi and Sterling Middleton)

Fay took to curling early, the way she took to piano, with the keys being the first outlet for a precocious 4-year-old. Her parents got her a tutor at that young age, an instructor who was at first hesitant to teach her, knowing that very young kids can easily feel discouraged. "But I’m the type of kid who always wanted a challenge," says Fay. "Always liked to prove people wrong.”

“She’d (the instructor) say ‘don’t play this song, it’s too difficult.’ But that would just make me wanna play it more.”

From those early days of piano, Fay has reached the complicated intricacies of RCM's second-highest level, playing such pieces as Claude Debussy's 'Arabesque,' as well as a clutch of compositions by the likes of Beethoven and Bach. However, if asked to bang out something she can really have fun with, she opts for a song from the early 1900's.

“One of the songs that I really like is ‘Maple Leaf Rag.’ Scott Joplin. He’s a lot of fun.”

While piano offered a young Fay plenty of challenges, it was curling that caught her eye soon enough as she sat in clubs and arenas watching her older brother, Evan, play. "I was pretty young," she says. "Most kids my age were just bored watching curling. I guess I kinda just took to it and I wanted to learn about what was happening. It seemed really interesting and I just couldn’t wait to get on the ice.”

Besides, sitting on a piano bench and plunking keys has its limitations, in comparison. “I find it hard to sit still," Fay says. "Just sit down and work at something so tedious. I like to kind of be out there in the action. So, curling’s a lot of fun and I enjoy the social aspect.”

It was apparent to many that curling was a sport at which Fay could excel, from early on. Atherton remembers seeing her play a decade ago.

“When she was eight years old you could tell she was destined for greatness and she had an instinct for the game that very few kids have. That instinct, I can’t coach that. Can’t create that. It’s either there or it’s not.”

Same thing with work ethic, some would say. Fay seems to have had that in great abundance ever since she was very young and it is a quality she values in herself.

“I’m a really hard worker, no matter what I do. Sometimes it’s almost a disadvantage. I put so much pressure on myself to do well at school, or curling or whatever it is.”

“She’s incredibly smart and she’s very motivated," says Radford. "When Mary sets out to do something she certainly strives at a very high level.”

Balances a lot of things too. However, with curling and school taking centre stage in Fay's life right now, piano has had to fade into the background.

“I did start it but this year there’s just no extra time,” she says of finishing the RCM's tenth and final level certificate demands.

“There’s no night of the week that I’m not busy.”