In education-based athletics, high school athletic administrators should be providing opportunities for as many students as possible, which would mean offering as many sports as possible. In doing this, it is also important to accommodate student interest. As a new and unique offering, athletic directors may want to consider adding badminton. It isn’t an expensive proposition, and it does provide an opportunity for some students who might not try out for any other sport.
Badminton is not a sport that will draw athletes away from or serve as a competitor to other teams. It is an offering that will appeal to young people with a special interest and also give them an opportunity to be part of a team. For these reasons, badminton is an important addition to an athletic program.
Since badminton is an indoor sport, you should analyze when you could best fit it into your seasonal offerings. More importantly, you would want to add it to a season when other schools offer the sport so that you can legitimately develop a schedule for competition.
To start a badminton team, the following logical steps should help in the process to add it to your program.
When one considers the minimal expense involved with fielding a badminton team, finding a good coach may be your greatest challenge. But once you have a coach in place and this individual starts recruiting players, you have another outstanding opportunity for students in your school. It really is a great addition to an athletic program.
Dr. David Hoch is a former athletic director at Loch Raven High School in Towson, Maryland (Baltimore County). He assumed this position in 2003 after nine years as director of athletics at Eastern Technological High School in Baltimore County. He has 24 years experience coaching basketball, including 14 years on the collegiate level. Hoch, who has a doctorate in sports management from Temple (Pennsylvania) University, is past president of the Maryland State Athletic Directors Association, and he formerly was president of the Maryland State Coaches Association. He has had more than 630 articles published in professional magazines and journals, as well as two textbook chapters. He is the author of a book entitled Blueprint for Better Coaching. Hoch is a member of the NFHS High School Today Publications Committee.