the shuttler volume 3 issue 4

the Shuttler Magazine 1

2 the Shuttler Magazine


With 2014 Coach of the Year Efendi Wijaya

On his second visit to Canda, Peter Gade made stops in both Vancouver and Toronto

Ontario Winter Games team members are the next wave of our elite athletes

Four exceptional athletes who are making waves in the badminton world

From championships to district events, here’s the low down on all results with photo spreads

We revealed the winner of the Club Championships Banner at this annual event

coaches cornerpeter gadethe next generationwho to watch out fortournament wrap up2014 awards banquet

Badminton Ontario209-3 Concorde Gate

Toronto, Ontario M3C 3N7tel: 416 426 7195fax: 416 426 7346

[email protected]

Board of Directors

President: Jeff [email protected]

President: Dave [email protected]

Directors at LargeLinda Lee, Russ LeBlanc, Phillip Chow, Fei Tam, Kerri MacDon-ald, Lorna Duquette, Andrew

Bringham

Director of CoachingKevin Willington

Director of CompetitionsDave Kumar

Director of FinanceMasha Zakharenkova

Director of Governance & Legislation

David Vaillancourt

Director of Government RelationsIan Moss

Director of High Perfor-manceFaye Liang

Director of MembershipFei Tam

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Badminton Ontario gratefully acknowledges the funding support of the Ontario Min-istry of Tourism, Culture and

Sport

Above: Cover story - Brian Yang is one of the athletes to watch out for next year as he secured triple crowns at both the 2014

Junior Ontario and National Badminton Championships.


COACHES

CORNER

with Efendi Wijaya

I have been coaching badminton in Asia and Canada for many years. As a coach, I was given the precious opportunity to interact with different players with whom I have learned from. Today I would like to share my coaching experience when it comes to how Canadian players compare to those in other countries.

It is visible to all that Canada has a lot of players with tremendous talent in badminton. In addition to our talented players, the equipment and facilities are readily available to support the growth and development of badminton. However, our results in the sport of badminton, in comparison to other countries, are not as prevalent.

Similarly, our players need to be shown as to how to shine as a key/star ingredient in the sport of badminton. Most importantly, our players need a mindset adjustment, which can be achieved in discipline training both mentally and physically.

Quite often, our players lack confidence when they compete at the international levels. In addition, the worst defense (I have encountered) is a player making excuses for his/her poor performance. The following are most common excuses, and they all revolve around players from Asian countries:

1. “The players train a lot more.” 2. “They have access to lots of sparring partners,”3. “Their government supports them.” 4. “They had a great national team etc..,”

Quite often, I - along with many others - wonder what are the reasons for this end result. How do I improve my own coaching ability in order to help players improve to where they should be?

The conclusion I have made involves not just a combination of talented players, coaches, facilities and equipment, it also requires a key element; which is the right attitude of our players.

Like any dish in a restaurant, if the key ingredient does not stand out, no matter how hard the chef works to prepare the dish, and no matter how delicious the dish was described, the dish is doomed. The star ingredient has to be awesome!


Does this mean with such obstacles in our path, it is no wonder that our players are finding difficulties in achieving their maximum potential? My conclusion is a definite NO! This cannot be our verdict!

Let’s take a look at our recent Thomas Cup winner. It is well known that Japanese players are infamous for both their fighting and team spirit. However, it is quite interesting that Japan does not have a national team.

It should be noted that their condition parallels our country. So we can learn from Japan, and one day it will be possible that Canadian players will be Thomas Cup winners.

When our Canadian players are competing at the International level, they must know they are representing their homeland,

their country’s pride, and not just their own training clubs. They must also know that they are being chosen because of their abilities to shine, from the thousands of badminton players within Canada, to play at these international events. Most importantly, they must know that they have the support coming from home, cheering them on, watching them, wishing and yearning for them to break through and achieve great things.

Players and clubs must be united and inter-club-training should be encouraged. Players should stimulate each other by training together in a disciplined manner. Players should come together for both mental strengthening and physical trainings to create a precious bond for each of them.

Let’s help each other improve by putting aside our petty borders and boundaries of clubs and let’s play together for Canada! Let’s be the champion team that brings home the results!

Efendi WijayaHead CoachE Badminton Club2014 Badminton Ontario Coach of the Year recipient

“Quite often, our players lack confidence when they compete at the international level. The key element for any successful athlete is the right attitude.”


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This event could not have happened without the dedication and support of the volunteers from the Federation of Badminton Clubs

Peter Gade made his return to Canada after an exciting exhibition in British Columbia last year, this time making a second stop in Toronto.

The Markham Badminton Federation organized the event, held at Markham District High School, which included a signing event (right). The event was a sold out success as excited fans enjoyed the showmanship by Peter Gade and Thomas Stavgaard.

The night started out with a men’s doubles match between Nyl Yakura/Kevin Li versus Arif Saputro and Thomas Stavgaard followed by a singles match between Peter Gade and Ontario’s sweetheart, Michelle Li. Michelle certainly surprised Peter, who had to pull out his signature trick shot a few times, but it was Peter in the end who secured the match.

He then took on Jason Ho-Shue, then Nyl Yakura and finished with a demonstration of some of his signature trick shots for the crowd.

Ontario is keen to have him back, and we hope he returns to Canada once more.


Badminton Ontario had the priveledge of learning from one of the top shuttlers in the world at the first Team Ontario development camp.

Athletes from Ontario Winter Games teams, and even a few out of province athletes, came to experience Nathan Robertson’s world class coaching skills.


Badminton Ontario had the priveledge of learning from one of the top shuttlers in the world at the first Team Ontario development camp.

Athletes from Ontario Winter Games teams, and even a few out of province athletes, came to experience Nathan Robertson’s world class coaching skills.

Nathan is a former Olympic medalist and World Champion.

He assisted Team Ontario Head Coach Andrew Dabeka with a Canada Winter Games focused camp, that helped athletes who have an end goal to make Team Ontario futher develop their skills.

This camp featured an excellent athlete to coach ratio, with an additional 11 assistant coaches, including Olympian Alex Bruce and National Team Coach Stephane Cadieux.

Thank you to Humber College and Sport Alliance Ontario for your support of this camp and our athletes.


BRIAN YANG This promising athlete has exceled over the past season, earning six Provincial triple crowns - including one at the Black Knight Ontario Junior (A) High Performance Championships - and one National triple crown at the 2014 Yonex U23 & Junior National Championships.

Miles ahead of his peers, he is officially the King of Crowns.

TRACY WONGGoing into her fifth year at Humber College, she has blazed a trail through the OCAA and CCAA earning her fourth straight All-Canadian and Player of the Year nods, and making her third appearance at the FISU World University Games.

At this rate, she is likely to follow in her brothers footsteps, who was inducted into the OCAA Sports Hall of Fame for badminton in 2012.


NYL YAKURAOnce a Golden Boy, always a Golden Boy. This young man is currently on the National Team, with his partner Kevin Li, vying for a spot to compete at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

His recent success at the 2014 Yonex U23 & Junior National Championships will help - he won a triple crown in the U23 division.

JESSICA CHENGLast season this budding star played against athletes much older than her, and we think it helped.

Seems like KC Badminton Club has a new Queen of Crowns to add to their impressive roster of talent. She was undoubtedly the backbone to their team this season, leading them to win the 2014 Ontario Championships Banner!


This year’s Junior (A) High Performance Championships were a terrific display of athleticism and sportsmanship.

153 players from across Ontario gathered at the new Haber Recreation Centre in Burlington to compete for the chance to be an Ontairo Champion.

With a few of the top athletes missing in action with the World Juniors event running simultaneously, this gave some of our top athletes the chance to shine. And shine they did.

Four athletes took home gold in each of their events, including Jessica Cheng, Colin Jia, Brian Yang and Katie Ho-Shue, giving us a new King and Queen of the Crowns (triple crowns).

Badminton Ontario’s newest program, the BON SHOP, was also on site for athletes to redeem any remaining points they accumulated over the season.

Athletes competing in the Junior (A) Series won points this year, rather than prizes, and were able to save up and redeem those points online for brand new BON and Black Knight merchandise.

The Championships included tournament specific merchandise and in the end, the BON SHOP was one of the big highlights of the event, as it let the athletes ‘shop’ without having to spend money!

We are looking forward to the BON SHOP for next season. Stay tuned for new merchandise!

Photos by Bryan Lau


Photos by Bryan Lau


Nathan Robertson, who is a former Olympian and world champion from England, came to Canada this year to assist with a number of Provincial and National Team camps, and put on a fantastic exhibition.

He was joined at the Granite Club by National Team Athletes Nyl Yakura (top right), Toby Ng (right), Alex Bruce (below middle), Kevin Li (below left) and Rachel Honderich (below right). Matches were officiated by Glen Prevoe.

He charmed the crowd with his sense of humor and display of athleticism, and enjoyed the competitive games with our National Team Athletes.

Ontario was fortunate to have him assist in the development of our athletes at a Team Ontario camp a few days prior. He brought insightfulness and his expertise in doubles to the camp, and not only did the athletes walk away with new ideas, but our coaches did as well.

Ontario would be delighted to have him back any day.


Bachelor DegreesApplied DegreesDiplomasCertificatesNationally Recognized Badminton Program

For more information contact:Ray Chateau—Athletic [email protected] X4456athletics.humber.ca

the shuttler volume 3 issue 4

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