I hope everyone is having a good winter at the club as we get set for our second session of junior lessons.  

About two years ago in evaluating the junior program I realized we needed some outside coaching help to bring our technique and lessons up to national and international standards.  This was just before the Beijing Summer Olympics.  Following the Olympics we were very fortunate to have Raju Rai head up our lesson program, and then Huaiwen Xu not long after.  Both of these coaches have worked extremely well with all our established coaches to bring up the level of professionalism of our classes.  In addition, I have noticed even the youngest juniors are being taught to develop proper technique.  Our classes are now at the highest level of any program in the country.

As you may have already heard, Huaiwen is heading back to Europe to coach the Dutch national team starting in April.  As you can see, we were very fortunate to have her be a part of our program even if only for a short amount of time, we wish her the best and thank her for the time here.

Paz Ben-Sira will now take over the management of the badminton programming at the Club effective March 1, 2011.  Paz has been the steady hand at the Club for the past five years and is responsible to a large degree for the success of the junior program.  He has developed into an excellent coach in all the areas that are so important to heading  up a large junior athletic program, such as the Bellevue Badminton Clubs junior badminton program.   Please welcome Paz in his new role as Head Badminton Pro of the Bellevue Badminton Club.

Paz and myself will begin the interview process for another high performance coach as we expand our programs into the next year.  Our level of coaching will remain the best our state has ever had and will continue to develop National Champions into the future.

We thank all our players and their families for their support.

See you on the courts!

Geoff Stensland
Principal