Korey Dropkin crouches low over the ice, one hand on the handle of the rock and the other hand holding his curling brush out beside him. He slowly slides forward, releases the rock, and his teammates take over, furiously sweeping the ice in front of it until the rock glides to a stop in the marked scoring circle, known as the house.

Dropkin, a 2013 Algonquin graduate, has spent the last fifteen years pursuing the growing sport of curling, and recently won a silver medal in the Junior World Curling Championships.

“My favorite was the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics,” Dropkin said.

At the first Winter Youth Olympics ever, held in Austria, Dropkin was excited to meet other young athletes from around the globe.

“[It was] so much more than just curling,” Dropkin said.

He won a bronze medal in the Mixed Doubles event (one male and one female curler, with partners from other countries) with Russian competitor Marina Verenich.

As for his teammates now on his Junior Men’s team, Dropkin said, “I almost think of them as brothers.”

He started at age five at a curling club in Wayland. Dropkin’s older brother, Stephen, is also a successful curler.

“My whole family curls,” Dropkin said. “I was just brought into curling.”

Dropkin recently won the U.S. Junior Curling Championships for the third time, and traveled to Denmark for the World Junior Curling Championships this March, where he earned a silver medal for the U.S.

“Being able to represent my country and wear the USA on my back, see my old friends, and make lots of new relationships,” Dropkin said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

Dropkin also appeared repeatedly in NBCSN’s TV show Curling Night in America.

“To watch him on TV is the best part,” his former English teacher Tom Alera said. “He makes it look effortless. He works really hard.”

This is Dropkin’s last year of eligibility in the Junior category. He has taken the semester off of college at University of Minnesota–Duluth to focus on making the most of his last year in Junior Curling.

“The most challenging part with travel is dealing with that and school,” Dropkin said. “[To] just focus on preparing myself on and off the ice.”

Focus is just as important during the matches.

“The most challenging part on the ice is being confident in yourself and positive that you’ve trained and put in the best work you can,” Dropkin said.

Dropkin also knew the importance of working hard at school.

“He’s got a great work ethic,” Alera said. “A great attitude. Always positive.”

Dropkin also helps to teach people new to the sport.

“People underestimate the sport of curling… Sometimes it looks easy on T.V.–even stupid–but people who try it are surprised at the amount of balance and fitness [needed] and undervalue how fun the sport may be,” Dropkin said.

Dropkin is excited to head off to his final World Junior Championships and a new, sure-to-be successful career in Men’s Curling.

“Win or lose, it’s a lot of fun,” Dropkin said.