Badminton prepares for new season

Maggie Woods

Entertainment Editor

Badminton season is officially underway, and the team has ambitious goals. Many of the girls have spent months fine-tuning their skills and are excited to see their hard work finally pay off.

“During the off-season, I go to the Shannon Pohl Badminton Academy with [junior] Jillian [Rothernberger] and [senior] Emilia [Goldwasser] which has helped my endurance, footwork, and shot placement a lot,” senior Anastasia Brow said.

Because the coaches know it can be difficult to play badminton in Park Ridge, they provided many opportunities for the girls to practice at Maine South this winter.

“Over the past couple of months, the coaches have been hosting open gyms in order to prepare us for the regular season,” Rothenberger said.

Senior Mia Dovhaychuk attributed their motivation this offseason to the positive environment that the program fosters.

“I think the camaraderie of the team is what makes us so good,” Dovhaychuk said. “All the girls on the team are super funny, friendly, and supportive, and it creates a great environment for everyone.”

This camaraderie stems from friendships developed off the court.

“We spend a lot of time with each other outside of practices and games, so it makes our chemistry as a team so much better,” Brow said. “I’ve made some great friends from badminton and we are basically like a huge family.”

This season, the family has two new members—Varsity Coach Donna Schwan and Junior Varsity Coach Michael Scofield—and the players have developed a strong connection with them already.

“Coach Schwan is an amazing coach who pushes us to succeed, while also caring about our wellbeing physically and emotionally,” Brow said.

“She makes us work hard and pushes us to a new level each practice,” Dovhaychuk said.

The team hopes to perform well at Conference and Sectionals, but that is not what the team values most.

“I love the community,” Dovhaychuk said. “The girls are definitely the best part of the sport.”