Morris taking a year off

This may be a surprise to many but John Morris is putting his career ahead of curling.

The runner-up in this year’s Tim Hortons Brier announced that he’s stepping away from the game to take a course that will help him in his firefighting career.

The Brier, World and Olympic champion made the announcement on his Facebook page.

After a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided to take a step back from the game of curling next year.

I had the tremendous pleasure of playing with three great, genuine teammates in Jim Cotter, Tyrel Griffith and Rick Sawatsky as we made it farther than I think anyone would have predicted for a team playing its first year together. 

You were all amazing, as were our coach, Pat Ryan, and our alternates Jody Epp and Jason Gunnlaugson. I am extremely proud of our squad for what we accomplished and would like to thank my guys for helping me recover my passion and heart for the game of curling, and for having one of the most memorable years in my career. I will be taking some time off to pursue an educational course that I’ve been wanting to take for a few years now, as well as to secure a career in the fire service. If our team happens to be awarded the default Team Canada berth at the Brier next year, then I will consider coming back to play a light schedule.

Thank you to all our true fans, friends, sponsors and to all of our families for being there every inch of the way and showing us the support we needed to almost make the improbable happen! 

You kind of wonder what would happen if Simmons, Rycroft and Thiessen called him up and asked him to skip their rink. Hmmm. . ..