My First Home: Ben Hebert, Canadian curler and Olympic gold medallist

Courtesy Curling Canada/Michael Burns

Decorated Canadian curler Ben Hebert has fond memories of his first home in Regina, though it will forever be tied to an unhappy event.

"We moved in May of 2009, right after we lost the world final in Moncton," he said. "That's how I remember it.

"But we loved that house. We built it and got to pick everything ourselves. It checked all of our boxes, and if we had stayed in Regina, we had no intention of leaving that home."

Hebert and his then-girlfriend, now-wife, Teddi, built the three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot home on Sherlock Drive in the Lakeridge area of north Regina where they both grew up.

The Heberts spent 18 months in that home before moving to Calgary. Hebert spent the first half of those 18 months working out and throwing rocks full-time to get ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he won gold for Canada as part of Kevin Martin's Alberta-based team.

Now a member of Kevin Koe's rink, the reigning Canadian champions from the Glencoe Club, Hebert is preparing to make his 12th appearance at the national championship (the Tim Hortons Brier) later this month in Kingston, Ont. In a poll conducted by TSN in 2019, he was named the greatest curling lead of all time.

"My parents had a cabin in Saskatchewan when I was growing up and so did my wife's. With the lake in Chestermere, it feels a bit like a beach town in the summer, which I love, and I just love the short commute everywhere."

Whenever he goes back to Regina, Hebert is left to marvel at the changes to his hometown. It's spread out in all directions, he says, just like Calgary.

"When we built our house in Lakeridge, that was as far north as you could be, and now there are two huge communities past it," he said. "It's booming, and I guess everywhere is. We've been in Chestermere since 2011 and it's grown substantially since we've been here as well."

The Heberts – with their daughter Sloane, 6, and son Griff, almost three, now on the scene – currently occupy a toy-filled, 3,400-square-foot home on Stonemere Close in Chestermere's Westmere neighbourhood. Hebert commutes to Calgary daily for his work as business development manager at CalTech Surveys and for daily curling practice at the Glencoe.

"I love the lake," he said. "My parents had a cabin in Saskatchewan when I was growing up and so did my wife's. With the lake in Chestermere, it feels a bit like a beach town in the summer, which I love, and I just love the short commute everywhere.

"We have a great foundation here. I'm pretty involved in the community and am coaching the junior kids on Sunday at the curling club. My daughter is involved in all the activities out here and we have a lot of good friends out here."