Badminton – A cross-training sport

It was only last year that I saw four football players from a local high school in the Chicagoland area indulging themselves in a game a badminton. Intrigued, I took a seat next to their football coach who was watching intently. It was quite a sight to watch these phenomenal athletes trying to smash the badminton shuttle and fail miserably. A bunch of whiffs, huffs, puffs, sweat, and tears.

I checked with the coach - he happens to be the head badminton coach as well; after their friendly badminton match was called off because they had to make the gym available to the basketball team. He said he used badminton as a cross-training sport for some of his players especially running backs and linebackers. The players had a great time playing because it gave them a tremendous work out and improved their footwork and explosiveness. Badminton is the official cross-training sport of the US Olympic Fencing team.

Badminton is now one the fastest growing racquet sport in the US. There are three badminton-only clubs in Chicago. There were none a couple of years ago. There are over a dozen in the Bay Area in California and at least one in most of the major cities across the US. Then there are numerous badminton clubs that meet twice a week and play in high school gyms, local YMCAs, and churches.

So if you are an athlete looking for some cross-training sport or just would like to get fit, think badminton. It is quite inexpensive to play compared to some of the other racket sports as well.  For places to play badminton click on the link below:

http://worldbadminton.com/whereToPlay/unitedStates/index.html