There are several reasons why the US lags behind in international badminton, and maybe there are articles out there that cover this topic, even expressing this same particular opinion—I don’t know. This is just my own personal conclusion. Here in the US (and this goes for many other countries, particularly in Europe), there are many different sports played. Unless they are pushed by parents into something specific, most kids are free to choose whatever sport, if any, they would like to participate in. As you would expect, most kids choose the high-profile sports because that’s what they see played and what has the drawing power. The desire to become pro in a sport may be based on the potential monetary rewards, like what’s available in football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, golf, and tennis. Sometimes it’s the prospect of Olympic glory, like what’s available in gymnastics, figure skating, or track and field. With these incentives and dreams to offer, these sports draw in many. Generally, the best athletes among them go on to success in their respective sport. But where do badminton players come from? How many kids who are athletically gifted at the highest levels ever find out about badminton, let alone consider making it their choice for a sports career? There’s no glory…there’s no fame…there’s no fortune to be made in competition or endorsements. Why should they choose badminton? If you had a chance play on your college basketball team, knowing that pro scouts might offer you a big contract, would you choose to try to make the US badminton team instead? It would be like a musical protégé choosing between studying the piano with a chance to play in the great concert halls, or, instead, dedicating him/herself to mastering the accordion (no offense, Polka fans). Frankly, it’s been my observation that so many young people who pursue badminton are “wash outs” from other sports—it simply wasn’t their first, or second, or maybe any choice, or they may have had no athletic background at all. They fell into it, found they liked it, found they could play decently, and began working at it and improving. I include myself in this. I was a mediocre baseball player as a youngster. After getting into only one game on my high school freshman team, I stopped playing organized ball. I started non-competitive activities, like running and weightlifting/bodybuilding. A few years later, when I was invited to play in a college PE class, I found that my baseball skills of throwing and hitting, plus the strength I had acquired, enabled me to hit the shuttle hard from the beginning, and I felt encouraged to develop other elements of my game. My daughter is another example. In spite of the encouragement she got from me to learn badminton, she joined the badminton team in high school only after faring poorly at track and cross-country. The really gifted young athletes end up pursuing other, more attractive sports, while badminton gets the leftovers—those of us who have to work and scratch and struggle to train ourselves to do things that come so easily to others. Many kids who have the physical abilities to become great badminton players often don’t find or choose badminton. The fact that many US badminton players had some athletic background—especially if it was tennis--was an asset many years ago because it gave them a head start over players from other countries. But US players have long since been surpassed by players from countries where badminton is held in high regard and where there are incentives to draw the top young athletes from among their citizens. It is no surprise that so many of the good US players are children of Asian immigrants, because the interests and traditions of badminton were brought here by the parents and relatives and friends, so badminton is a genuine option for the kids, even though they know there is no great glory or money to be made at it. I can’t help but wonder how good Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Bret Farve, or Canadian Wayne Gretsky would have been at badminton if it had been their chosen sport. Do your experiences support this opinion? Feel free to disagree.
yes, i agree greatly on this reason. I found badminton from my physical education class. I was in good shape but not physically fit for any sports. After having a horrible 1-9 record in wrestling i didn't want to have anything to do with school sports. Then during P.E. i found that me being in good shape helped me during rallies while playing badminton. then the game overtook me, and now i play everyday for an hour to and hour and a half, and get free coaching from the athletics department manger, who is an avid player. badminton is a great game wether it is played competetively or just for fun. although it is not likely that i will go out for football or wrestling next school year, i am sure that i will still be playing badminton everyday after school.
Agree 120%. To put everything aside, I have a different take on this issue. I look at it as a blessing at this time since given the pure # of fine athletes in USA and north america, If they all played badminton then there will be hardly any glory left for those that cant make it big in "popular" sports. As a badminton coach for a high school in USA for many years before, I would say most of the players that come out for team try-outs have never played badminton or only played it for fun. Most (95%+) in my opinion are not athletic or physically built for the major sports such as basketball, football, swimming... etc. In a sense, badminton's advantage is that it offers a great alternative as mentioned. In North America, this current state may be unfortunate for badminton but it is unlikely to change unless major forces are involved to change it.
It happens in China as well. People may have tried different sports before settling on those that they excel in. I remember the Olympic diving gold medallist Fu Ming Xia. In fact, she was in a gymnastics class and was thought she cannot make the grade.....the diving coach took Fu under her wings. Fu is now in Olympic history.
Well, this would explain why badminton is so popular in Asia(no offense there are many great players of diverse backgrounds). Another factor that I think is worth mentioning is that the guys don't get to show off how much testosterone they have. Most people perceive badminton to be a "woman's sport" or not even a sport. I'm not ashamed to say but some of my fellow peers stated to me, "Imagine that you are at a sports meating. 'i play soccer' 'i play basketball' 'i play hockey' and i say 'i play badminton'".
IBF needs to put in more effort to make badminton a more popular sport.As badminton is now an Olympic Sport,it will make their job easier.Since the world championship will be held in Anaheim,USA this August,it is imperative that massive publisity stunts be unleased to promote the sport in USA.Prize money for badminton needs to be increase.Otherwise badminton will always be the last choice of sportsmen .
Californian, I think the atheletes look at what sports might offer them down the road. I would guess the following: 1. Professional career 2. Olympic glory - leading to professional career 3. College scholorship 4. Fun & Enjoyment I know one athelete who was extra-ordinary at Baseball, basketball and tennis - he ended up choosing Tennis because it was the best scholorship he was offered - once got into college he had to give up the other sports to stay competitive in tennis. He played at wimbeledon - got blown out in the first round....never reached the upper levels - but is now a teaching pro. In North America - badminton is not known - most people don't know anything about the sport - even many of the physical education teachers do not know how to introduce the sport. CM
For any sport, striking a balance between career, money, fame, and enjoyment is always difficult, and subjective. Some people can train so hard and work up the career ladder for the sport, but are they really enjoying it? On the other hand, some people just love the sport and do it only to satisfy one's eager. Money and fame are all lower priorities. Of course, these people often also end up taking that sport up as a career. I guess people from richer countries may take up a particular sport more for career and money reason, hence they go for the popular ones. And I guess people from less well-off countries might do the sport because of passion - passion over that sport and passion to become a champion of that sport. Thinking less of other factors. My point is - the starting point is very important. What makes one starts taking up a sport? And taking that sport up seriuosly, persevere with training, etc... That continues to explain why some sports are making $$$$$$$$ and popular, and some are still seen as a back yard game. Not very good at expressing myself. Hope you guys understand what I'm trying to say.
So, basically, what you're saying is that Badminton is just a second choice, a rebound for washout athletes in the US. That's sad. A very harsh truth indeed. No wonder no Americans are on the top players in badminton. If this continues, then the US will never produce players who are passionate about the sport. Badminton is still young in our country. However, I can see that it's continuously progressing. The perception that it's just a backyard game before has now been changed. Athlete's are starting to excel in this sport. The only thing we're lacking is funding from our government. But hopefully, in the near future, this will change.
I agree with the observation that badminton is not the first choice sport because it doesn't have first-rate popularity. That's probably the major factor. I'd like add to that and suggest that there is also the factor of the cost to play badminton. Basketball: the ball lasts a long time, even small free public parks have a few sets of hoops. Baseball: ball, bat, and glove all last a long time, most large public parks have a baseball diamond. Football: ball also lasts a long time, can be played on any grassy area. Badminton: shuttle does not last very long, rackets are relatively fragile (but do last and can be cheap), strings have wide lifetimes, and must be played indoors with proper nets. That last factor makes the major difference, since even if you get all the initial cost of the equipment, you still need to pay to play. Unlike the three other sports I listed as well as tennis, all of which don't care about the wind.
I can’t help but wonder how good Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Bret Farve, or Canadian Wayne Gretsky would have been at badminton if it had been their chosen sport. Do your experiences support this opinion? Feel free to disagree. I disagree with the people you referenced there. I don't think Michael Jordan or Bret Farve would be THAT good in badminton consider MJ did try to switch into Baseball but that didn't work out. Badminton is designed for small, agile people like asians thats why asian people like it so much. But no doubt if you give a black guy 1-5m dollar a year to play badminton, he'll own the sport.
Ohh, so the entire game of badminton was specifically designed for small and agile Asians. I guess that's why the English invented the game. But actually, it's also completely obvious that black people will totally dominate the sport that was specifically designed for small and agile Asians. Makes sense, since all the gold medals won in the last Olympics have gone to black people. Oh wait, none of that makes any sense.
I sort of agree and disagree with you Californian. I'm not trying to boast or anything but I'm pretty decent in sports generally (any type) but I didn't choose badminton because I didn't do well in other sports. I chose badminton just to try something new and it stuck with me and I'm pretty sure some to most people out there have had the same experience. However, it being not a very populated game I can agree with.
Wow, this thread was dug up from wayyy back. I believe most kids go into sports that their environment is surrounded by. Whatever they grew up with will be the sports that they were exposed to. You can't expect a Wisconsin teenager or child to pick up badminton easily when there are no gyms around or peers to play with. However, a teenager or child from San Francisco might pick up badminton much more easier because of higher possibility of exposure to the sport. And that exposure is the main key to getting badminton as a mainstream sport. With exposure of the sport, people will grow to like it, and there will be paving the way to allow the 'glory', 'money' and 'fame' you were talking about that were preventing even more talented people from choosing badminton as their sport. Why is there a disproportionate amount of Asians playing badminton in the United States? It's because Asians receive more exposure to the sport than say Caucasians or African-Americans. Currently in the situation with the United States, professional badminton players who have received constant coached training have one thing in common: They are all rich. I don't mean they're all filthy rich, but they are all at least upper-middle class. They can afford taking 300 dollar lessons per week or month and still be fine. (Or even more in the case of OCBC students). There is a monetary barrier for people who want to get better and receive better coaching. I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet you get some sort of proper badminton coaching for much less in Indonesia, China, Korea, Malaysia or Japan. Heck, you might even learn proper footwork during PE rather than being just given a racket and told to hit around in the court. People can't afford those type of lessons (despite United States being an economic giant, yes, we do have low income families) Those that don't have enough money to afford proper training usually join their high school teams. Depending on how good their coaches are, some will be lucky (b/c of their circumstances) and get good training. Otherwise, we'd be stuck at around C to B+ level badminton players on average. The only way to truly produce those A to Pro players are through private coaching. Do you see the cycle that we're stuck in now? We're limiting the pool of talent we can have. The pool of players we are picking from are from upper-middle class people. If we expand our pool of talents to choose from and eliminate this monetary barrier, I think we'll find and nourish more great talents into the sport. (Note: when I say C to B+ players, I mean C to B+ level in say... China or Indonesia. The C to B+ players in the United States probably fall around on slightly lower catagories in China or Indonesia. ) And of course, I don't think that this is the whole problem (exposure plus the monetary problem), but it's the majority of it. Well that's my theory, lol. It's sort of like hhwoot's but more expanded.
hahahaah. I'm just saying that not everyone can excel in badminton. It's true, you got to be quick and agile. Also, badminton wasn't invented in England. They changed the game. It was invented in Greece or India. Also, what the English change, it's totally different from now. The game evolves. Also, if you haven't noticed, badminton use mainly small muscles, not big muscles which is more capable for asian. When I say black people, it's just average. Majority. But who knows, they got the abilities but you got to have heart to play badminton. Just ask those players who train for 7-12 hours/day.
Badminton was first played by English Army officers in Pune, India. The first rules were printed in Karachi in 1877, four years after the sport was named 'badminton'.
I did choose Badminton, because it has very pure competition conditions. Many other major sports are some kind of "dirty", "blurred" through direct body interaction with opponent and often are team sports with nature of dissolve individual performance. In badminton it's on your own to win or lose (except doubles) and it's always highly challenging for body and mind. In last 12 years I have also tried this individual sports (every one at least few months, some few years): swimming, table tennis, darts, chess, pool, table soccer, go-cart, archery, body building, wing chun. They do fun and are very challenging for particular aspects of human skills, but no one can match the mix of power and speed, accuracy and tactics, physical and mental control, lightness and exertion you have to master in badminton.
Very old thread, but it is absolute correct. The best atheles in US will pick American football and basketball first. Then sports have good professional leagues in US like baseball and ice hockey. The third tie would go for soccer plus some individual sports like track/field, swimming, tennis and golf. The left over would go sports like badminton etc. It is better be this way, otherwise, US could take over these sports in no time. Apart from professional leagues, for NCAA (US college sports that most US Olympians belong to), only American football and man basketball can make money. The money generated from that 2 sports support all other sports programs for NCAA. This is just a sad truth. I am my son's soccer team head coach. Before 4th/5th grade, soccer is very very popular in US school. Why US is not on top of soccer (to qualify, US man soccer is ranked around 20+ in FIFA, not that bad)? All the best athelets will leave for American football after 4th/5th grade and leave soccer with 2nd tie players. My son wants to play football, too. I tried to teach my son badminton, wow, this was way down in his list. Kids like team sport first since they can play with other kids at the same age. It is fun. Individual sport is a bit boring for young kids and pricy for parents.
