RG3 will never be able to get into the Olympics via badminton. Nor do I want him to attempt it, he will be the spotlight and badminton will be just be a backdrop and a joke. There will be no publicity, nothing for our sport to gain. He may be fast but that's just relative, compared to other NFL players.
I disagree, most US people see Badminton as their backyard sport (TT in their basement). If they see a top athlete trying to learn it, they might go to their local clubs and see how it's really played. Currently, Badminton gets no mass media at all. As Hollywood people say, don't care what you say about me as long as you spell my name correctly. With regards to the opening post - I was thinking what it would take a US athlete to make it to the US Olympic Badminton team - not about winning a medal.
One correction - I thought he was in the 6'4" - 6'6" range but he's only 6'2" - I would think there are Pro Badminton players in this range. Funny side note in looking at his background: He was born in Okinawa, Japan! [h=2][/h][TABLE] [TR] [TD]Height:[/TD] [TD]6-2 3/8[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Weight:[/TD] [TD]223[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Speed:[/TD] [TD]4.39[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="class: alt"]Arm:[/TD] [TD="class: alt"]32 1/4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Hand:[/TD] [TD]9 1/2[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Wingspan:[/TD] [TD]77 3/4[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Birthdate:[/TD] [TD]02/12/1990[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Hometown:[/TD] [TD]Copperas Cove, TX[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Grade:[/TD] [TD]6.70[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]
If he can solve the technical and physical parts of the equation, his best chance is to be a back court mens doubles specialist. In my opinion he's a gifted athlete but a poor decision maker, his decision making ability probably would excludes him of having any hope of playing singles, mix, or front court doubles at an Olympic level. If he can attach himself to a HS or LYD then he might have a chance, but I don't see anyone changing nationalities to help a star athlete that few outside the United States even knows exist and I am aware of no one in the US remotely close to the abilities of HS or LYD.
HS and LYD have coaches from last decade or the decade before that. A retired international doubles player I know told me Tony was a very, very smart player. Those players training under him in the US are very lucky.
I assumed singles is an easier game to learn than doubles - provided you have the physical ability to play it.
Tactically, you can get away with using less strategy in singles than doubles. In doubles, if you don't have the right tactics, it's game over, go home. Doubles is all-out aggression, and loose shots are taken care of quickly. In singles, you can maybe get away with some bad shots every once in a while, but there are still lots of tactical errors that would be insta-killed for RG3. Even with 3/7 years training, his backhand will still be exploitable by professional players. Overhead backhand shots are very difficult to master, and even if he attempted to get everything with an around the head, there will always be some shot that he needs to cover using an overhead bh. Net play is also crucial in high level men's singles these days. Can he develop a a professional level of touch in 7 years? I doubt it. This either means that he will always lose at the net, or he will always lift at the net, which limits the amount he can move his opponent. Singles definitely relies on having good physical fitness. But fitness is NOT 100% of the game, 50-60% maybe, but if you take LCW and LD as an example, LCW can run circles around LD, but LD has that natural talent/skill that makes him win. (Injuries/cramping controversies aside, can we at least agree that skill matters a lot?) Back on the original challenge: Can he qualify for the US Olympic team? Looking at the qualification procedure for the London 2012 Olympics: If qualification is based on your international ranking, RG3 would have to put in a lot of $$$ to go around playing in tournaments to even get enough points to be considered to qualify. He'd also have to compete against existing US badminton players who are probably not very good in the context of WORLD badminton, are still strong enough to beat him up after 5 years training. (Basically, I envision a current junior US player having better chances to qualify for 2016/2020 badminton Olympics than RG3) Also, back to the publicity part. Are you an American? We're really lazy LOL. I'm pretty sure just seeing RG3 doing something on TV isn't going to make the general public inclined to go hit at a club... The best I'd hope for is watch some more professional badminton online, but the pros make it look easier than it is.
I agree, net play would be the tough thing to learn. But in a case like this - I think singles is a better option. If you get a good enough doubles partner - I'm sure that player would be more interested in playing with a better partner to try and make the Olympic team. Unless you go out and hire the best doubles player in the USA (with a US passport). The USAB site reports around 200 elite badminton players in the US - not sure of their levels. I'm not American but I'm sure the kids at schools that have Badminton might give it second look - if they see an NFL star trying it.
I'm not sure to feel happy or sad about it. On one hand, if he was trying to publicize badminton, that's a good thing. But if he was thinking that badminton is a sport that would make him play in the Olympics, that's just utter ********. Personally, I think that he was looking down on badminton and ping pong and I'm really not happy with it. I mean, it is easy just to hit the shuttle over the net, but competitive badminton is very different. He's probably gonna be good in running since he's black, just like Usain Bolt lol
Badminton and TT are considered recreational sports in the USA & Canada. Majority of the people don't play it seriously. So I'm sure he meant it as joke. Bunch of Kids from TT Club - challenged him in Washington DC. I don't think he will be able to compete in Track as US Olympians in Track field are too strong. I don't think TT - because spins are too difficult to learn, unless you start at a very young age. I was thinking maybe Badminton, my thinking was if you can reach the shuttle you have a chance to hit it back in play.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But as mentioned above - I think most people will just bring him to the net and keep him there.
Forgot to mention if you want to understand the level of Badminton in the USA - go to youtube and do a search for livestrong badminton. After watching those videos, I was thinking - maybe I should try out for the US Olympic team!
that's what the clueless people think badminton is like. but on the competitive side, the level is actually quite good nowadays. the hotbed for badminton is mostly in the west coast. i have watched some of the juniors play and they are really extremely impressive. if their parent decides to let them go all the way to professional level, i think USA will be better in international circuits in 10-15 years' time.
No offense, I am certain there are a lot excellent players in the US. I would think mostly from other parts of the world. But Badminton is still an unknown sport for most of the people in USA.
Ah, I miss understood, there are some people that make it to the Olympics and I would not call them "Olympic level" as they are not on the level of the top 8/10/16/20 whatever. But can he just make it to the Olympics in badminton, i think there is a slight chance that this actually could be possible two ways: 1. As others said if he had a relative from a continent that is soft to qualify in, then trains full time under some top coaches for the next 8 years solid. 2. He could possibly make it qualifying for America if he paid lots of money to the CBA to go and train/learn full time there for the next 8 years.
For #1, he could probably qualify for Africa...I don't know what the badminton scene is there, I hope that's not a really generalizing remark, but I think badminton is even less popular in Africa than the US...Though I doubt he would discard his US citizenship just to play badminton to maybe make the Olympics. For #2, RG3 could buy his way into becoming the US's #1 player (if he just enters a lot of US tournaments and does relatively okay in them), but that won't guarantee him an Olympic spot! Qualifying for the Olympics relies on either your international ranking, or your continent's lack of players. (Just found out he has the option of being "invited" by the Tripartite Commission as well, but I don't think that should count, because it's not "Oh you're good enough for the Olympics", it's "We want to include everyone! Even though you aren't at our level!") IIRC, you'd have to be ranked 64 and above to be considered for the Olympics, and there's only 29 spots available. Even if he somehow squeaked into #64 (....though that's still awfully high), would he be allowed to compete just because he wants to be in the Olympics? I doubt it. Even if the US has NO players sent to the Olympics, that doesn't guarantee RG3 a ticket to the Olympics if he's US #1, because there's still Canada and Mexico and the rest of NA to consider. Canada's badminton is much stronger than the US (or so I've heard), and when push comes to shove, the Canadian may take the continental ticket (or have already qualified on their own) source