It’s beyond question that every Schreiber student, at one point or another, has glanced up at those blue banners that hang in the gym. When most people see the girls badminton team “sporting” one of the most recent championship emblems, their first thoughts are likely not, “Where is the banner for boys badminton?”
“A boys badminton team I think would be great, but as far as I know, nobody’s ever asked,” said Dr. David O’Connor, coach of the girls badminton team.
Maybe somebody should. You always see boys having fun playing badminton in gym, so why not?
Male interest seems to be the first question that needs to be addressed. If the idea were to come to fruition, would enough kids want to join?
It’s hardly a secret that you don’t see badminton on SportsCenter, let alone boys badminton. There is little to no media coverage of the sport and it could be another main reason for the lack of male interest.
“It’s definitely not the most popular sport and I don’t think that enough people know about it,” said junior Liz Kallenberg, who played first singles for the badminton team last year.
Despite these obstacles, there still seems to be interest at Schreiber for a boys badminton team.
“If there was a winter or fall badminton team, I would definitely play,” said freshman Alex Grossman, a third-year member of the boys varsity tennis team.
Several people, including some on the girls badminton team, believe that the boys could greatly benefit from having a badminton team.
“If enough people express interest, it is definitely a great experience and opportunity that I am happy to have,” said senior Holly Hubsher, a member of the badminton team.
“Although badminton is an individual sport, I feel like the team spirit is still the most important thing… Badminton has taught me to work hard and be dedicated in anything that I do. That is something that anyone should learn,” said Kallenberg.
This brings us back, of course to the issue, if there is enough interest and the boys could extract a benefit, then why isn’t there a team? Boys badminton is one of the newest high school sports, having only been introduced to high schools on Long Island approximately five years ago.
There is only one badminton league on Long Island, in Suffolk County. The distance to travel to the farthest team would be over an hour; therefore, there would need to be more interest in Nassau County.
The lack of conferences also means that there is no flexibility when it comes to the season in which boys badminton would be played. This would mean that the season would take place in the fall. This becomes the largest, team-breaking problem because this conflicts with football, volleyball, and soccer. Would it be worth it to take away talent from one of the other various sports in order to add to badminton?
Another problem lies in the fact that the team would need staff and a place to practice, neither of which are easy to come by. Both the boys and girls volleyball teams practice and play in the school gymnasiums in the fall. The boys and girls basketball teams use the same venue to practice and compete in the winter sports season.
Unfortunately for interested male “racqueteers,” the real question becomes, not why there isn’t a badminton team, but how there could possibly be one given concerns over the budget and players interested.