SAISA Badminton

Hey guys,

So yeah, sorry if this post is a little lackluster but I have a sorethroat/cold thing so I don't really feel up to doing very much... Anyway, I'm just trying to update my action activity which is something I'm actually very very excited about. If you couldn't guess from the title, my activity is SAISA Badminton XD It's badminton season again so yeah, much excitement!

I'm trying out for the school team again because frankly, I loved the experience last year. This year I'm hoping to make it into the top 3 in girls singles (which I missed by one game last year -_-) as well as place in doubles and these two are going to be my goals for the season.

To achieve these goals I know that I have to learn and improve my already existing short serv, polish it up till I can nail it every single time. This is porbably my biggest area of weakness in the game as I can't get flat, slow short serves which means I lose points within the first few shots. I'll also need to practice getting my drops/saving drop shots from high up s that I don't lose easy points trying to dive for those shots.

As well as this, I will work on my areas of strengths which are usually my long serves and my smashes (if you can call  them that). I need to keep practicing these particular shots in order to improve my game and make it to the top.

I am, quite honestly, surprising myself with how committed to the game I am this year and how much I've been preserving in my need to improve my game. I've got my game face on. I realize that this is my last chance to play a SAISA sport (I won't be traveling after January due to exams) so I'm giving it my all. I'm making every single practice on time with all my gear (including shoes haha since I like playing barefoot) so that's three days a week for 2 and a half hours each session. We'll soon start Saturday morning practices as well and I'm looking forward to it :) I've also been on top of my fitness, running with my dog every day I don't have practice and doing 4K on Saturday evenings.

So, aside from the physical aspect, I've found badminton to be a fairly mentally challenging game this year. Not just strategy wise but with the team, it takes a lot of willpower to play the game and survive practices. Our team was reduced to just 4 members from last year once the seniors left last year and now I find myself having to collaborate with the other members to help in practices and sometimes plan and initiate activities when we play with the new kids which is as annoying as it is fun. That is to say, as a senior player I'm expected to help the new player and teach them some skills. I love doing this when people are willing to learn but I do have a short fuse when people muck around when I'm trying to be serious so playing the game is teaching me to be mindful of other people's opinions and feelings which is considered a bit of a challenge for me personally. Apparently I'm intimidating (pshhh as if, I'm adorbs :P) on the court so I'm trying to work on that too. I'm really looking forward to this season, I'm ready to play the game and I just really want to do my best. I can't wait to start the team practices and start playing doubles with both the guys and girls. 

Well, I guess that's what badminton is about in a nutshell. It's pretty hard balancing it with studies but at the same time it helps because I have limited time to do things so I do my work rather than procrastinating. It's the type of game that gives me a pleasantly swooping feeling in my stomach when I think about it and I look forward to a successful season ahead.

Fingers crossed for the tournament~!

Have a great weeks guys, stay safe, stay healthy and talk to you soon! :D