With the seasons quickly cycling, it is finally time for badminton to make its return to the hardwood. Although the sport is not as popular as the major high school sports like football, soccer, basketball and baseball, it is one of the most globally-renowned sports and is one of the most exciting and physical sports for young athletes. Many of the competitors in the district are extremely passionate about badminton and have been preparing rigorously for the start of the spring season.

During the 2019 season, many of the Cavalier badminton players participated in either doubles or singles matches against multiple schools. The structure of the sport of badminton is often compared to that of tennis. However, the sport of badminton is quite different. The matches usually consist of tri-matches, where three schools get together at the same time and each group would play the groups from the two other schools.

After the long and rigorous season, the Coral Gables Cavaliers placed third in the district. The Cavaliers even saw senior Nicolas Saliamonas reach the Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC) in the singles quarter-final match.

This upcoming season, senior Julianna Goldfarb, who has been with the team since her sophomore year, and senior Alejandro Vazquez are taking over the captain positions. As leaders of the team, they are looking forward to teach and share their knowledge to the relatively new and young team put around them.

“There are many new faces on this year’s team and it is taking some time to get used to. Despite that, I see a lot of potential in the underclassmen and the new players,” senior Alejandro Vazquez said.

During their first official practice of the preseason, returning Cavaliers were put in scrimmages against other returning players, while newcomers practiced swinging their rackets and their stance against the backboard.

After learning from experience, captain Goldfarb is working to teach badminton players the importance of footwork. Form and footwork are the most important parts of the sport according to Goldfarb, and she hopes to capture the in-game feel during practice to better prepare the athletes.

The badminton captains are working together and look to make an immense amount of progress within the coming weeks as the next practices will be focused on learning the best possible strategies for winning, along with scrimmages to help the new players adapt to the feeling of playing an intense back-and-forth game.

While the badminton players will refuse to back down and shy away from their competitive spirits, their true goal is to really capture the spirit and pride that comes with this fast-paced and fiery sport.