Speech: My Badminton Journey
Hello, ladies and gentleman, I am Vera.It is a great honor to be able to stand there.
(Smile and wave hand, and spin around like a top).
Tonight, I would like to share my favorite sports hobby - badminton.
I started playing when I was very young. I remember holding a big racket made me feel like a superhero. I learned how to play from dad. Despite my weak strokes, he would try to keep every game going even a bit longer. Till this day, my muscle memory still remind me that he is a professional player and, in my eyes, there was no one who could play better than him.
As I grew older, I played with more people and naturally my skills got improved. I became overconfident in my level. I felt dissatisfied playing with less skilled players. And even indirectly or directly refused to play with them. However, my pride was at the beginning of the fall.
When coming to Singapore, I wanted to have a new badminton group to play during weekends. And got one labeled as “intermediate level” from meetup. Among these group of strangers, I know there are some professional players.
I thought, “How hard could this be?”
So I went to the group session. After a few miss shots and tactical mistakes which cost me the game, my level is only a “beginner”. The organizer called me aside when I was playing, and said, “you are not qualified to play there. How can u join this group? U can leave now if u want” and subsequently removed me from the group on WhatsApp!
I felt like a shame! It felt like being kicked off a reality TV show.
How could this happen?
I cannot imagine, the day that I GET DECLINED BY BADMINTON GROUP!
It was a blow to my ego.
Determined to improve, I joined another training session and found a practice buddy.
An energetic 8-year-old boy.
Young but talented, Playing with kids is cool. No pressure, no judgment. We practised a lot of swings together. This helped me regain the confidence a little. At that time, I did not have courage to play with adults, especially those who came with a big racket bag to carry several expensive rackets in it.
During that period of training, I met a new badminton player. One day, I tentatively asked him,
“do you join any group for playing badminton?”
He answered, “Yes, I have a large group badminton friends, and we played it regularly every Sunday”
“Could u count me in next time”
“It would be no problem. But it is a big group. And u may not know anyone”
“It is fine..”
However, on Sunday, I chickened out. I was afraid to join the group because I don’t want to be rejected by the group again. What if they are unsatisfied with my shots, what if they talked about me behind my back. Furthermore, the group plays double games. Pairs of 2 players would play against another 2 players. I don’t know any of them, how can we cooperate with each other?
After another 1 to 2 month without playing in a group, my close friend introduced me join another group of badminton players. And she said, I am the organizer and we are lacking of players this time.
It seems like a good force to drive me. And I was pretty eagerly to join a group. During the sessions, I still struggled to deliver skillful hits and failed to make impressive plays as usual. I felt embarrassed and would apologized to the teammates for mistakes at end of the game, thinking my skill should be much better so I can play with them or else, it would waste their time or let them down. However, one of them said, “few girls can be good as u and it is not bad. Will u join us next time?”. It cheered me on a lot.
My fellow Toastmasters, members and customers, remember, not let urself opinion stop you. It is stupid to allow the self-imposed judgments or doubts that cloud your own perception of the potential, and become obstacles that stop u to become the one that u want. It’s okay to miss in court if u are in the right community. Or else keep looking for it. you’ll discover that there would be a place for you to stay, make mistakes and accept ur imperfections. There would be place that inspire you to be brave to fail, to be confident in yourself and ultimately let u become a better person.
Moreover, maybe playing badminton is more than just whether to be able to hit a shuttlecock. It’s a real-life journey filled with love, embarrassment, determination, and unwavering support. With partners, and group friends, We can foster a sense of tolerance and support. In this environment, we make each other feel comfortable to learn, compete, or get improved here. This makes me enjoy the game more.
In conclusion, my experience in badminton taught me important lessons about staying strong, the power of having friends who support you, and the confidence to try what you love, even if you’re not good at it. I hope this story can encourage you to find the strength within you and trust your own potential to be fearless, regardless of the circumstances.
