There are some sporting events that my company schedules for us every week.
They are not required to show up but it is a fun way to meet people from other divisions and learn about them and their families.
Jill and I decided to try to go to the badminton event and see if we could make some new friends and hopefully not make fools out of ourselves.
Goal #1 was definitely accomplished, and goal #2 seems to have been partially accomplished depending on who you ask and which team Jill and I played with or against.
Honestly, I was surprised at how much playing tennis (thanks to my dad for the lessons!) and hand-eye coordination from years of juggling, helped out with badminton.
My co-workers, who might have just been sympathetic to my lack of real skills, seemed somewhat impressed and one of my close friends at work said he was actually quite happy with how I played considered that most of the others had been playing for many years and we were able to keep up with them most the time.
That may have been true, but I think it was more that David was so talented and saved me from my many mistakes.
This became more evident as I watched him play with the others that knew what they were doing and how fast the game moved, how quickly the positioned themselves on defense or offense, and how they could guess the strategy of the other team.
It was a great lesson in humility and learning. I value those as it allows me to remember to go slow when I teach people new things and when I work as a therapist as the concept and action may be easy for me to master, since I’ve been doing it for so long, but things that seem simple to me, could be incredibly difficult to beginners.
Anyway, Jill and I have both bought our own badminton racquets and a set of shuttlecocks to practice with at home. We will be more ready next time and I’m planning on reading up to learn more about the strategy and thought process while playing the game so it becomes more natural and I can react more quickly in the future.
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- I’m elegance in motion. So natural!
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- Jill is using all her powers of concentration to will the shuttlecock to go towards her partner!
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- Smash power at the ready!
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- Diving for the shot!
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- Jill about to waste a 7 year old with her smash power!
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- My best strategy: Hide and let David win it for us!
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- More of the pros at work.
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- The real pros in action.
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- A store across from where we ate after the badminton match. Smith Barney Modeling! Huh????