LUSELAND – Luseland District School held their 2nd Annual Badminton camp for all students who wanted to join this past weekend. The camp was hosted by Steve Smith, Canadian Collegiate National Champion 1999- 2001 and silver medal winner in Canadian Open Doubles in 2018.
On April 5, students from Luseland, Unity, Coleville and Kerrobert attended the camp with instructions from Smith for the day. He coached a total of 12 students, four Grade 9’s and eight Grade 7’s, over the weekend. On Sunday, April 6 they held a round-robin tournament, each player playing to 21 points.
Smith’s career in badminton started with his father, who had ranked second in Canada for the sport. Watching his father play and learning from him really sparked his motivation and love for the sport. Smith’s son, who had also attended this badminton camp, along with a friend, also is following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps.
He had been given the idea to start coaching badminton in Luseland by a family friend who lives in town. Smith would come to town twice a year, once in May to drop a trailer off with the family and come back around October to pick it up again. The friend suggested he started coaching in the same school their kids attended and may be interested in playing badminton. He agreed to the idea, and has loved it since, explaining that Luseland has a great group of hardworking and eager to learn kids.
Smith has loved the sport since he was a kid, saying he finds it incredibly fun and is a good way to get fit, travel and make friends, as well as talking about how much he loves teaching the sport. Smith has coached badminton full-time for close to 15 years and is just getting back into it now. He had been head pro at the MNP Community & Sport Centre, formerly known as the Repsol Sport Centre, in Calgary, Alta. for around 10 years. He had also done a lot of additional volunteer coaching at the Glencoe Club.
Throughout his years of coaching, he has picked up on numerous tips and tricks for the sport, working with youth to teach them all he’s learned too. When asked about what advice he would give to new players looking to join badminton, he said it completely depends on the individual and what they’re looking for. “Different goals should be set if you’re just looking for fun and friends versus if you were looking to play competitively.” Although, for new players looking into competitive badminton, he believes spending the time to develop the skills is most important. For players looking to turn badminton into a career, he explained it is a full-time thing, between joining tournaments, eating healthy, keeping fit, getting proper rest and training twice a day, at least six days a week. It is a lifestyle thing to keep your career prospering.
The Luseland kids got to play against, as well as watch, two non-local players who have been playing competitively for three to four years. Many of them learned a lot from watching their footwork, techniques, as well as just their attitudes towards playing.
Both boys had similar starting points within the sport. They both started out playing hockey, although neither enjoyed it. Each of them had family members introduce them to badminton, where they both switched over to play competitively. The two non-local players both found the most enjoyable factor for them is the friends they’ve made, opportunities they’ve had, places they’ve seen, as well as others they’ve met and had the opportunity to train or play against. Though, one does note that winning is always most enjoyable. The advice the boys would give is to just follow your dreams, that it is better to do something you love even if you’re bad at it, than to do something you hate even though you’re good at it.
A local student who hadn’t played badminton before this year explained he enjoys playing with friends, developing a love-hate relationship with how fast-paced the sport is – 小蓝视频 the second-fastest sport in the world – he’s found that he both loves the aspect as well as hates it. He looked forward to playing at districts in Unity on April 8 and continuing with the seniors at conferences on April 9, also in Unity.
