Dynamic duo primed for Ontario Winter Games

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Bill Freeman

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EMC Sports -Norwood These are heady days for Jenna Baptie and Alana Reed. The dynamic Norwood District High School Knights badminton duo capped an undefeated junior season last year with a COSSA gold medal and now they're taking it up a notch after earning a spot in the Ontario Winter Games in March.

The pair, both in Grade 11 and readying for their first high school senior season with the goal of reaching the OFSAA tourney, will be part of the 12-member Central Ontario Badminton Association team at the winter games in Collingwood-Midland March 8-11.

It was NDHS coach Jeff Winslow who convinced the pair to "go after the next level" and join The Ridges Badminton Club in Millbrook where they worked with Naomi Aichi, one the province's best coaches, and competed against more experienced and older players.

From there "the word got out" and they caught the attention of Jolyon Thompson of the COBA who invited them to try out for the winter games team.

"They complement each other's games pretty well. They may smile a lot but they're very competitive," Winslow says.

"They had already beaten most of the best for their age in high school so they said 'let's see what we can do in the club scene.'"

Part of that training is the work they do with the school's own after-school club.

"That's where they discovered their love of the game and they wanted to take it to the next level," said Winslow.

The pair is following the footsteps of Mike Loucks and Sarah Widdis, two-time OFSAA competitors and medallists in 2011. Their goal is to be the first NDHS girls' pair to reach OFSAA and if they do it as Grade 11 students they'll top Loucks and Widdis by one year.

"To sort of establish their own legacy," said Winslow. "We could potentially have them for three years which is exciting."

"We play together and that's one of the best things about the sport," says Jenna, a multi-sport athlete at NDHS. "It's really fun and you meet a lot of new people and the fact that we play something we're good at."

Going club and playing and losing to better players was a key step to take, she says.

"Whether you win or lose it's a better experience when you're going up against better people. They're kind of teaching you the things to improve on."

Jenna's strength is her short serve which complements Alana's back court play.

"I'm better on the back part of it. I can't short serve at all, I either hit the net or they smash it in my face," Alana admits. She's working hard to overcome that.

"You get better playing someone who is better than you," she says.

Alana loves the sport and says they've made new friends from other schools and other clubs.

The club experience has boosted their self-confi-dence.

"The older players are there and if they beat us our goal that night is to try and beat them."







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