The Piedmont Highlander

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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Badminton makes cuts

Due to increasing popularity since the team started three years ago, the badminton team was forced to cut one third of its prospective athletes this season.

A record 48 students tried out for the badminton team, a number which has been trending upward each year, head coach Norman Lam said.

Of those 48 students, only 32 made the final team.

“I’m sure some [students] are disappointed,” assistant coach Rika Mortimer said. “We wish we had more on the team.”

The reality is that in a gym that only fits eight courts, the team cannot hold any more athletes. Additionally, there are only 24 slots on game day and the team traditionally does not substitute players into games, making a larger team impractical.

“Space is limited,” Mortimer said. “There is also a safety reason.”

Lam and Mortimer attribute the team’s increasing popularity to their open gym sessions.

“We have had open gym for three or four years,” Mortimer said. “A lot of people started to come on weekends. All season, we got not only high schoolers, but middle schoolers.”

Assistant coach David Siu, who runs the open gyms, sees another reason.

“The other part is that this is the third year,” Siu said. “And compared to other teams, a lot of our players start fresh, which is attractive to them.”

The coaches have noticed that even though most of the new prospects have no formal training behind them, they are still competitive and play well.

Of the returning players, some attended various camps and workshops to improve their skills. A few even play on club teams.

“We have three players with higher level club training,” Siu said. “Two are actually still in season.”

He finds that when players take outside training, it improves the team.

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