So earlier on today, I attended my varsity practice. About only half the team was there, and there were in total, 4 men and 2 ladies. Since there were four men, we decided to play doubles while the ladies played singles. All four players (including myself) were roughly equal, though my team lost 19-21. Afterwards, the head coach set up some drills for our opponents, so my partner and I played singles for the time being as he did not give us any drills. During the game, one of the former varsity players came to play. My coach then proceeded to tell me to get off the court so that they can play "high-level" doubles. He then gathered the 3 men together, and asked the former varsity player to be the fourth. The four men played doubles while I sat, eagerly waiting to be called in next. My partner and the former varsity player lost 20-22, 21-16, 18-21. One of the opponents had to go home so he left right after the game. I thought I was going to be called in, as we have a tournament in 2 weeks time and the doubles pairings were not decided yet. INSTEAD. My coach grabs his racquet and jumps on the court as the fourth man! They then played a 3 set game! I literally sat there for almost an hour doing nothing because there was no one else to spar with. I couldn't believe the audacity of his actions! And this was not the first time he had done this to me, last year was pretty much the same story. In my mind, I think that.... He would rather: 1. Work on players that he THINKS are superior to me, but in reality, we are 50/50. 2. Have fun on court, while one of the players sits and watches all while a tournament is on its way. Last year, I busted my butt to make the team, and to stay on it while many other players at my skill level did sweet nothings and still managed to get ranked higher than I in his view. This year, it looks as if things are still the same. There is a freshman on the team, and he has not attended 5 practices without notice, and yet the coach still wants to pair him with the top player on our team, Raymond Wong. The freshman is not a great player either, btw. If the freshman does not return, there will be only 5 men on the team, and my partner will be Raymond's partner. And with the treatment I've received from him, I'd say that I'm not gonna have a doubles partner for the rest of the year, which is also my best event. So now I am contemplating quitting the team this year, because I know for a fact that no matter what I do, no matter how well I play in practice and no matter how well I perform in tournaments (and I've performed quite well last year), I'll always be 2nd string to every other men player on the team. Thank you for reading my rant BC, have a good night!
Sorry to hear that Gunblade. Did you and the coach ever have any bad blood going? Seems like you're not standing up for yourself possibly for the fear of getting kicked off the team. You worked hard enough to be on the team, you should let the coach know that you want to practice with your partner. If you're silent about your treatment, he'll take it as everything is OK with you. Be diplomatic but firm when you talk to him to get your point across. Also you might wanna clarify your position in the team with him. If he told you outright that you're not good enough for his team, then you should just get out because it's pointless to waste your time and effort with someone who doesn't have confidence in you.
yeah, might as well air it all out since you are comtemplating leaving the team anyway. at least you can get an explaination on why he is treating you that way. maybe it was an misunderstanding. and if it is in fact an injustice towards you, you can at least leave with some dignity.
Sorry to hear you miss your chance to play. Be patient, you will get your chance to shine and I am not talking about shoes...
I would ask him right out sometime, "whats ur problem with me?" & if he doesn't know what ur talking about, explain everything to him. That would really annoy me what he is doing, i wouldn't take it anyway! If i had to take it, i wouldn't quit, i would train so hard on & off court, made sure i could whip every1s butt & show him whos best, haha.
Or, you can see it the OTHER way around. He thinks you're quite good and you don't need any fun practice... Just joking What I can definitely say is: don't always make quick judgement, as things aren't always what they seem. Maybe the coach played because the varsity player was an old trainee, and just wanted to catch up some fun. It's like seeing an old friend and wanting to spend some time with him. Second, a lot of people, if not most, will judge you superficially, and not really on the inside. It's sad to say, but that's how the world usually works. Playing great badminton isn't good enough. You need to dress well, be likable, socialize with the coach, be a confident person (I didn't say arrogant). People like it when you ask them questions they can answer. It makes them feel important and useful, not just there standing and watch. So ask for feedback, on how to do technique, if what you do is correct, what stuff you can do for the team, that the coach is doing a good job.... At least, he'll know that you are very interested in the team and that you're a good person. My guess is the more esteem he has about you as a person, the more he will see you as a better player. I can tell you stories about confident and likeable persons who didn't know their job as well as hardworking people, but were always selected for important jobs and ranked higher than these people... Here is something related, and can also cheer you up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Egi8EoQc8
could it be he's trying some reverse psychology on you......hoping you'll train harder by telling you about what 'high-quality' doubles you're about to see? Unless there's really some bad blood between the 2 of you, could it be that he didn't really notice that you're waiting for a long time? Or maybe he thought you were actually happy to 'learn' some high quality doubles from them by watching at the side, and hence decided to add to the spectacle? perhaps you could at least try to clear up any misunderstandings. Afterall he's a coach, and probably has more pride than ordinary(as most coaches do). Otherwise, why not join the ladies? or the other drilling partners? if he stops you from joining them then something must be wrong
a real sparkling diamond would be uncovered even if covered in mud. if you're that diamond, not to worry. its just a matter of time.
Since your back is against wall already, I will say you have nothing to lose to voice your concern. I am not suggesting a heated arguement, but at least, you should let your voice be heard. There must be some reasons behind his actions, and you can only find out exactly what it is from his own mouth. Then, once you get the feedback, be it positive or negative, make your decision by then.
Just my 20 cents.. ..thanks for sharing that.. ..GunBlade008, my suggestion is, don't quit your team; UNLESS you really2 don't want to get involved and have lost your passion for badminton. And i would concur with azabah_ipoh & DivingBirdie. Perhaps there's simply a misunderstanding between you & the coach..Go, ask & share what you really felt, at that time, when you were asked to watch. If he's a concerned coach, he would listen to you and explain why such & such happened and why he did so. Perhaps after that conversation, everything will be clear & fine. Bottom line is, if you were to quit the team and never find out why he did that to you, you'll have that hanging on your mind and your issue won't be "totally" resolved. The coach and your other teammates will also wonder why you quit; and maybe you'll tell them the reason(s) but they might then say "You should've shared and talked with coach". Anyhoo, keep persevering and don't be afraid to communicate w/your coach.
could it be he's trying some reverse psychology on you......hoping you'll train harder by telling you about what 'high-quality' doubles you're about to see? I literally sat there for almost an hour doing nothing You might do some jump rope, sit ups, push ups lounges, hit the birdie against a wall, etc. What do mean by doing nothing. True, may be the coach wants you to train harder. Also think BIG, try to make it to the national team, not just a school team If your are good at doubles, BE a good partner, NOT to wait for the coach to get you one keep up your hard work and good luck
Gotta be assertive... Reverse Psychology?! I think this is verging on overanalysis here. Just talk to the coach and get straight to the point. If he's really good at what he does, he'll have a good explanation why he neglected you that day. You're part of the team afterall, so start acting like you belong.
I don't know your tournament schedule, but if your varsity's first match is not very far away, you need to get down to doing some real work if you intend to stay on the team. Is your partner willing to continue to support you? It will be great if he does and the confidence level remains high. Find out from your coach how he would select the team. It would be fair to everybody if it is based on merit, ie, if you guys play a round robin tourney among yourselves if you have enough teams for doubles. Have more than one trail run before the final selection so that the results can be more meaningful and relied upon. This is also to prevent the subjective views of the coach from over-riding your performance.
Sorry to hear about your situation.. I don't know what "advice" to give but I was in a similar situation.. Last year, I was seperated from my good friend / doubles partner after our very first competition (I played singles against you remember ) due to my disappointing performance. Even so, I attended practices, train, and sweat like any other team member.. The words "lazy" and "recreational-player" still gets thrown at me from time-to-time and it can be quite demoralizing. I'll skip the details.. but I lost motivation and often considered quitting the team as well. As of this year, I decided to train hard for myself and not for a team. It's my last year of college, and a "school team" is not the end of badminton in my life.. Outside of and during practice I try to use the time I have to train (at my own pace), and if people think I am lazy then that's their opinion.. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. My partner and I teamed back up as well, because he is no longer as "high-level" in comparison with the new players.. Chances are we won't be chosen to play for the school, but we decided that we can always join tournaments on our own. Even without a team, we can still enjoy badminton and playing at tournaments together. And hey.. A coach gets paid to teach and lead a team to success, dealing with upper management on top of players whom may or may not respect his/her ways. It's reasonable for the coach to seem "unfair" at times.. it means they're doing their job? "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." If your coach is doing none of that for you, then I suppose you have every right to dislike him/her. But if you quit the team, the only person at a loss will be you.. Just use the time and opportunity you have and train for yourself! Who cares about the team in comparison to your passion for badminton? Or the friendship and partnership between you and your partner that will go beyond the college days? Hopefully you can relate to my perspective as we are both college players.. Else.. thanks for enjoying my little rant as well!
agree with cynic. do it for yourself. i don't really see badminton which needs a very strong team based approach because you are broken up in to doubles or singles. so make the best of it and do it for yourself. don't give up and make your coach accountable to you. i think coach and players have responsibility to each other. if you come to a place where there is no respect between both of you then i think you should quit. no harm speaking to him to clear the air. i am guilty of keeping things within as well and people have been telling me to be more vocal. good luck. remember badminton is supposed to be fun.
Hi all, just wanted to thank you all for your replies and insights. Cynric, that's tough to hear, I was hoping to have a few rematches against you this season! Anyways, I hope to see you at the Humber cup at the end of the month, or if not, at Georgian. As for the matter of my coach, he did not show up to last practice so I was able to train with my assistant coach, who has much more insight into the game and is able to provide me with changing advice during games. I've decided to play on this year, because the varsity team is about more than just competition, its about the bonds and personal strengths that you develop during a season.
^^Good to hear..^^ ..you've decided to stick around and support your teammates, eventhough things might not what you expect them to be! Best of luck to you and i'm sure you'll gain a lot this yr, not only thru competition, but thru your camaraderie!
hmmm, it sounds a lot like you go to humber.... unless theres another college in toronto with a badminton team. do i know u|?
sorry to hear that. Sometimes coaches do strange things so ask for an explanation; if he did it for a reason, he'd tell you at this point. If not, have it out with him and express your displeasure. You don't have to shout, just be polite and tell him you're not happy and that you don't expect for it to happen again. Be assertive, not aggressive, you don't want him taking a real dislike to you.
