General

The High Performance Program at the Woodstock Badminton Club (WBC) is off to a great start. But, what is High Performance, what does that mean and where does that term come from? This article will break down the mystery surrounding High Performance in regards to the sport of badminton.

High Performance, in regards to sport, simply means to train or compete at the highest level that the sport offers. It is an opportunity for those athletes who want more out of their training than a recreational program can provide. High Performance is a term that is common to most sports and at the highest levels of badminton in Canada, High Performance refers to those athletes who are part of our national team. If an athlete has a desire to compete provincially or nationally, the High Performance Program at their respective clubs would give them the best chance of doing so.

At the WBC, the High Performance Program has produced many champions over the years under the watchful eye of Head Coach, Sajjad Malik. This includes two provincial titles in 2000 and 2001 and Mike Beres, 8 National Titles, Canadian Olympian and Gold Medalist at the Pan Am Games.

Athletes can be any age in a High Performance Program although the most common ages are between 10 and 25. The High Performance Program has been reintroduced at the WBC this year with nine athletes qualifying. As we enter tournament season through Badminton Ontario, these athletes will be competing on a provincial level across Ontario. To qualify as a High Performance athlete at the WBC an athlete must achieve a proficient level of technical and physical progress at their age level, determined by the coaching staff.

The Woodstock Badminton Club is pleased to announce a new time slot for youth to come and play badminton. It is every Tuesday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for youth under the age of 18.

This time slot is not part of the Youth Program, therefore coaching is not provided. Youth members are welcome to bring a friend. Non-members are only required to pay $5 as a drop-in court fee. Racquets and shuttles are provided. Note that non-marking and slipping court shoes are required for safe play.

Parents are asked to stay if they have young children that require supervision.

Enjoy Tuesday Youth nights 5-7 p.m. at the WBC!

The Youth Program at the Woodstock Badminton Club is thriving!

It is two months into the season and the athletes are showing some wonderful signs of progress. To date we have had two in-house tournaments and athletes that have competed at the Stratford Junior A and the North Bay Junior B tournaments – a great start to the season! Early team uniforms have arrived for those currently competing, with the rest slated to be ready in the next couple of weeks. Picture day (actually two days) was a huge success. A special thanks for Dan Peer for making this happen!

The coaches and I are extremely proud of how well the athletes are progressing. Badminton is a very competitive sport and, unlike some sports, the competition is fierce because any tournament you play is a provincial level tournament, not just a local tournament. The tournament schedule is now set with lots of opportunities for competition taking place from January to April at the Junior B and Junior C level. Congratulations to Matt Wilker who made it to the semi finals in the consolations in North Bay this past weekend. Way to go Matt!

Registration for the Skills Development Program and the High Performance Program open this Friday, December 7 and spots are limited so be sure to book as soon as registration opens before the spots fill up.

The Youth Program at the Woodstock Badminton Club is off to a fantastic start. We are pleased to announce the program has sold out which has caused coaches to consider expanding the program at the next lesson block in January. The coaching staff would also like to extend a warm welcome to all the new athletes and their families.

The new Knight Trainer Pro (KTP) has been a big success. While coaches are getting acclimated to its operation the athletes have shown excellent capabilities to adapt to this new learning tool. The KTP can be programmed to ‘fire’ shuttles at various speeds, in various directions and at various angles – making it adaptable to any athletes abilities. once in a while a coach even gets to try it out (with varying degrees of success!).

We are also pleased to announce two new coaches have been accepted into the Youth Program: Nancy Alway and Gord Brewster and are NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) certified at various levels. Both Nancy and Gord have an abundance of energy and enthusiasm for coaching our athletes and we are very pleased to have this extra level of assistance. Thank you Gord and Nancy – we look forward to seeing you on court!

As we move toward the end of October with the program in full swing, the coaches are concentrating now on player development, finding suitable competitive opportunities for athletes and continually finding new and fun ways for athletes to learn the sport of badminton.

Thank you, as always, to all my coaches who have been a pleasure to work with. Your volunteering at the club makes a difference in the lives of many young athletes. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season!

Kevin Cougler, Youth Director
Woodstock Badminton Club