Many students join a sports team in high school because they have played the sports for many years. However, there are others who start playing a new sport for the first time in high school and are able to find success and enjoyment in a place where they may not have expected.
Badminton has been an interest to senior and doubles player Zexian Wen since middle school, when he took a PE unit on the sport. Wen was unable to play in high school due to the pandemic, he said. However, when Wen decided to try out for the team, Wen did not feel confident, he added.
“I thought I was going to get cut during tryouts,” Wen said. “Everyone was so good. … I’m glad I even made the team.”
Throughout the season, Wen not only learned more about badminton’s different techniques and strategies, but also more about being on a team, Wen said.
“You are one as a whole,” Wen said. “As a team with 60 people, we play like one team. When you are in a big group, unity is very important.”
Similar to Wen, senior and golf player Dylan Gee had little experience going in and went into his first season of golf not feeling confident in his abilities, Gee said.
“I thought I was going to be terrible at it,” Gee said. “It takes a lot of patience, and it’s not like you can brute force golf. I was pretty bad starting out.”
Gee had his fair share of early season struggles, such as not knowing proper form and swinging stance, he said.
“I would whack the ball,” Gee said. “I wanted to get more distance, but the more I played, I learned more about hitting it with more accuracy and precision.”
However, through practicing and adapting to the style of golf, Gee was able to learn the proper technique and form, he said.
“Slowly I realized that I would just need to try to calm myself down,” Gee said. “It (golf) is a very calm sport. So, the more frustrated you get and the more stressed out you get, the worse you’ll play. You really have to try to ground yourself.”
Going into her first track season as a senior, Suzanna Hasan tried many of the different events but ultimately settled on middle-distance running, she said.
“I learned a lot,” Hasan said. “It (track) is a lot more complicated than just running. Workouts, recovery, shoes — everything is important.”
Integrating yourself into an already established team can be challenging, but through making new friends and building upon existing friendships, Hasan was able to adapt to track much quicker.
“It was a lot easier when I had other people running with me,” Hasan said. “I would never run that much by myself, and it helps with all the coaches encouraging you.”
A moment that Gee has fond memories of is golf’s senior night, he said.
“Surprisingly, a good number of people showed up to our senior night, which was really nice,” Gee said. “We had a lot of our friends come, and it was just really fun. I didn’t expect the turnout to be so huge, but I was very lucky and surprised to see all my teammates and friends come out.”
One of the most memorable moments of the badminton season was senior night, Wen recalled.
“The spirit, the team bonding, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Wen said. “Even though I didn’t play too much, I was a part of it and cheering them on was awesome.”
Although he came into the season with doubts on his abilities, he came out of the season determined to continue playing golf, Gee said.
“I would say that I could have picked up another sport, but I definitely don’t regret golf,” Gee said. “I’m glad I joined the team … it was really fun.”