Spring Break
A bird's eye view
Leonard Lai
Issue date: 10/26/09 Section: Sports
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The badminton club practices these shots at Spartan Complex 44A on Fridays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. where Michael Cabebe, a senior biological science major, is the club president.
"The club is open to anyone who enjoys the sport," Cabebe said. "You can be a beginner or expert and still have fun playing."
Badminton club adviser Gong Chen said the club originally started in 1994.
"Classes at that time didn't offer a lot of training time," kinesiology Professor Chen said. "So I told students that they should form a club and train there."
Cabebe said he loves to play badminton because of the people he has met.
"It's a fast sport - keeps it from being boring," Cabebe said. "You need to be both fast and delicate."
Terry Wang, a graduate student in industrial systems engineering, said he enjoys playing in the club.
"People here are great," Wang said. "You get to play people of all skill levels. It's really fun."
He said he hopes to meet new people and improve his own skills through the club.
"The club has helped me improve my smashes and clears, shots that are sent to the back of the opponent's court," Wang said. "Playing here is more organized.
"Michael is very responsible and helpful, and I'm definitely going to be in the club next semester."
Cabebe said he has been playing badminton since high school, and has played on the club ever since he got to SJSU.
"I prefer to play men's singles," Cabebe said. "I've played it all through high school, and all my favorite international stars play singles as well."
Playing badminton has shaped his confidence he said.
"If I wasn't playing badminton and not meeting people, I would definitely be an introvert right now," Cabebe said.
He said any new expert player who joins the club will be matched up with other expert players if they are seeking a challenge.
The club is part of the Northern California Intercollegiate Badminton League, and it travels to other schools to compete, he said.
He said some of the schools the team competes against are UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz and Stanford.
Club fees are $20 per person, and the funds go toward buying feather birds, gas for travel, uniforms and insurance, he said.
Chen said he plays badminton, writes books about badminton and organizes tournaments.
Nothing has really changed since the club started, Chen said.
"It may be a different generation, but students are still students," he said.
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