After tryouts in late February and with the short season of only 16 matches, the team wasted no time winning matches and flying birdies with their experienced coaches. Head coach Todd Kieswetter and junior varsity coach Hannah Christie said their teams had an eventful season.
“What a fun season we had! This season more than ever I saw kids step into and fill big role. What I am most proud of this season is not the records or the medals, but the character of the girls in this program,” Hannah Christie, JV coach, said.
Coach Christie is no stranger to the badminton world. This is her second year coaching badminton at South, but she coached the Lockport’s team for several years and was a State qualifier for her badminton team in high school. Kieswetter’s is in his third year of coaching, and he is quite familiar with how fast paced the season actually feels.
“Coaching JV is a unique experience in the badminton world. It is very rare to coach a sport at the high school level and teach it to kids for the very first time,” said Hannah Christie
The girls won their first match of the season against Argo, and with a fresh winning start, the motivation to play harder set in. Returning players commented that it is fun to get back into the routine.
“It felt great being able to get back into the season. I was waiting for it for so long and just wanted to start and get back into fun. Being able to jump back into badminton season also helped me stay positive throughout school and the rest of the year as well,” senior Marium Murtaza said.
“My greatest memory was when all of varsity came together and played laser tag,” said senior Maddie Monnot.
For the new members on the team, learning new skills proved to be exciting even when the fast paced season was difficult to keep up with.
“What kept me going is the love for the team. I learned is that even if you may be alone, you need your team to strive and succeed in badminton. It was such a fun experience and I would do it all over again. It was amazing to keep up the hustle and see how everything turned out. Best season ever,” freshman Sheyla Quinones said.
On April 25 the team ended their regular season on senior night with a win against Plainfield East. The team said goodbye to the seniors Rylee Schoo, Marium Murtaza, Gabby Partacz and Maddie Monnot with a celebration including gifts, fruit, brownies and other sweets before they headed into sectionals.
Sectionals took place on Thursday, May 5, and although the team did not advance to state, the coaches didn’t let their team lose their shine.
“We fell short of state by one match at sectionals, and while I know the kids are disappointed, Coach K and I could not be more proud of them,” Christie said.