Steve

Steve and a friend once joined me during breakfast, one morning in the cafeteria. I had no idea who his friend was but we all had breakfast together and engaged in your usual breakfast banter. Somewhere along the line, Steve mentioned that we know each other from the Queen's badminton club. His friend then asked me, "Are you better than Steve?" to which I laughed and replied, "Of course not." You see, Steve was once ranked something like 7th in all of Canada and had been training since he was 4. However, it was this junction that Steve shrugged and added, "We're not that far apart... Jon's probably the second or third best player in the club." To this day, I remember that conversation being the point in my life when I started to enjoy the sport to the extent that I do today.

Steve was one of those super-star kids back in school who was athletic, good-looking, smart, and had good taste in music and culture. The most significant thing about him, though, is that he manages to be all that while remaining friendly and level-headed. I've never known Steve to get mad at his partner on court, which is a lot harder than it sounds when you've made all the plays you're supposed to make, but find yourself losing games because of shoddy play from said partner. He'll lend his stuff out to people who forget to bring their own equipment and isn't an elitist about needing to use "his" racquet or playing with perfect shuttles.

I've always tried to emulate Steve's attitude towards the game because it's a style that maximizes the amount of fun he gets out of it. Playing with less than optimal equipment or playing under less than optimal environments never frustrates him - he just adjusts his shots accordingly and to be able to do that is something that I admire about him. Of course, the fact that he is able to make these adjustments so easily is a tribute to how good he is at the sport. To get to where he is must have taken years of practice and dedication and that is always something to respect in someone.