The start of a new season of badminton is underway. The badminton team meets everyday after school near the basketball courts to start their training for tryouts. Conditioning consists of a lot of legs, chest, arms, and endurance training that will help the players last longer on court, hit harder, and move faster. This year we have over 75 people interested in joining the team.
“My favorite exercise is river dance,” said senior Elbert John Lopez, who is trying out for the team. “It helps you find your rhythm, and helps you train motor coordination.”
This year, we have two large groups led by our five captains; senior Valeria Garcia and senior Johnni Chong Pan in one group, and junior Elizabeth Ngyugen, junior Dylan Thai, and senior Kristen Sy leading the other group.
“In the end, badminton is just a game and I want our players to feel good about themselves and just to have fun,”said Dylan Thai, a captain in charge of conditioning. “Putting too much emphasis on winning will prevent you from having any fun and it will quickly destroy your mental state.”
Last year our Boys Doubles Kevin Zhu and Danny Mai scored a victory in West Alameda County Conference (WACC), a championship near the end of the season. In the past many players of the school won WACC. The team hopes that this year they are going to continue the trend.
“Students who really want to join badminton this year will need to put in a lot of effort and work,” said Coach Smart. “We will not be able to get the gym until the end of February, so those that want to join really should take as much of an opportunity to go and play at different local clubs.”
