Bad Bad Badminton

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not the most athletic person. Never enjoyed playing basketball in any point during my life; Never kicked a soccer ball thru any goal posts as a kid; Never did serious training for running or swimming. My life as a kid was pretty straight forward: Wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, pray, sleep - That was it.

My dad attempted to get me into some sports though. His choices for sports for me were golf and tennis. I quit golf after a golf mate of mine stood me up one too many times in the golf course; Junior golfers aren't allowed to play by themselves so I ended up going home. I quit tennis after everyone in the beginner class promoted to the intermediate class except me.

Okay, enough of the painful memories. After that embarrassing experience, I just decided to give up on sports altogether. I wasn't going to be good at it anyway and no one wanted to play with someone who wasn't good so I never bothered.

It was summertime and I didn't have anything to do for the summer so my mom thought it was a good idea to bring me along to her badminton group in Cebu Country Club. I'd watch them play and never understood the rules even after several sessions. During that time, parents didn't give their kids iPhones to play with when they were bored so when I told my mom I was bored and wanted to go home, she said I should score their games - This, my friends, is class A parenting.

I was hesitant at first but the alternative was to wait in the bench and do nothing so the choice was pretty clear. That's when I started to enjoy watching badminton. I never held a racket or hit a shuttlecock before that but I enjoyed watching the game.

During one of their sessions, one of my mom's badminton friends couldn't go so they would be short one person. At the time, my mom got a trainer with three friends and so they could play doubles with no worries. My mom's solution was brilliant, "Jon can play!" I played my first game of badminton and needless to say, I wasn't very good. After her other friend had left, my mom stayed behind and asked the trainer to do some one on one with me! This became a regular thing for me and I enjoyed it a lot! Some days, we'd come earlier to train before my mom's friends would arrive. Mom even bought me new shoes and I loved how I looked in them.

I remember very little from my interactions with the trainer but I remember him saying I was good at anticipating shots. I remember he told me to take things one step at a time. Footwork was important so he always told me to run to where the ball would be and he'd praise me for simply reaching the area the ball would land. Next thing he taught me was that I has to extend my arms ar far as I could. Smashing came next and he always told me it was better I hit the net than have it go too high above the net. I looked forward to badminton sessions with my mom then all of a sudden, it stopped.

I had finally connected with a sport and because my mom's friends got busy, it had come to an abrupt end. I was sad sure, but this didn't last long as I was able to find a group of friends of my own to play badminton with. Nigel and I became classmates and he was looking for a group and I said I'd love to play. Now, me and Nigel weren't even in the same circle of friends. We just happened to share this one passion. Not too many people played badminton that time so we actually had to ask a teacher to play with us. As for the fourth person, we had to force one of our friends every week to join us even if they didn't know how to play. After some time, our group was more or less the same - Me, Nigel, Mr. Rivera (Buddy), and either Vienna or Sheena. This group continued until the end of high school.

When it was time for me to leave Cebu for college, it would be a temporary good bye to my badminton buddies. I did try out of the Engineering Varsity Badminton Team but that didn't work out so hot for me. So during college, I didn't have much badminton time. Every time I came home though, two things were sure to happen. I'd meet with my barkada but only two of them would show up and the old badminton group would get back together. It wasn't until my 4th visit that I realized none of them played when I wasn't around even if I was the only one who left Cebu for college. lol.

After college, I got a job at a big development company and they had an existing badminton group and just like that, I was back in the game. It felt great being back on the court and smashing balls to my heart's content (Just realized that there doesn't exist a way to say this without sounding even slightly dirty). I did have to leave that job but I continued to play with them at this old badminton court in Makati. They played much better than what was used to and that always excited me.

At my new job, I found out that a few of the people there played badminton as well although they did so very casually. I asked if I could join and we all had a blast. Word spread that the group was growing and even new employees were joining in - new employees, who had been members of their college's varsity team. I got excited every time I got to play with them. That was a good solid two years of badminton fun.

I had to leave and come back home though and it was back to my old badminton group. Nigel, Buddy, and a fourth person, who we'd have to scour our contacts for. Alas, time had taken its toll on us. People were getting busier and busier and that left me again without a group.

I did try out other forms of physical exercise like going to the gym and swimming but without the thrill of a competitive game, there wasn't as much drive for it. When I started to ask my girlfriend out on dates, I found out she likes to run so that became our regular date; a running date. After a few months, I asked her if she wanted to try playing badminton and she just said she didn't want to play. It broke my heart a bit but that wasn't going to be a deal breaker. Eventually, I was able to convince her to try it out. I think she still didn't enjoy it as much until a time when some of her friends started joining us or when we would join her friends.

It then quickly became a weekly thing for us. We play every Sunday morning and have breakfast after. Just recently however, we started joining a group of badminton players on Tuesday nights. While we can't attend every week, we join when we can and since they're more advanced in their skills, it makes me want to improve even more. This is the first time I've thought about getting a new racket as well as new shoes.

Badminton has been a part of my life for the past fifteen years and still enjoy every second of it. Whether I'm playing with new players who are still learning the basics, or playing against pros who could teach me a thing or two, I enjoy every second I'm on the court. And one thing I love even more about badminton now, is that my girlfriend has become as much a badminton addict as I am now. Nevermind his stomach, the true way to a man's heart is thru his hobbies.

I'm really happy how far me and badminton have gone and I can't wait for what the future has in it for me. This is the sport that I can honestly say I can play for hours and hours without getting tired.