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Francis Lewis High School students gathered in the courtyard on Monday after 11th period to participate in the Badminton Club.

The continuous sounds of birdies smacking against rackets and students hollering out in cheers fills the courtyard, loud enough for people in neighboring areas to hear.  Students are wiping off their sweat with the back of their hands, but they don’t let that stop them from playing.  Almost everyone present has a look of youth and joy, a look that is harder to find nowadays due to the constant stress high schoolers are under.

“The thing that I enjoy most about badminton is that it’s a bunch of people from different grades and different schools that are playing together and I get to play with my friends and meet new people,” sophomore and Badminton Club member Vidhi Mehtaji said.

Adviser Mr. Schildkraut enjoys how accessible this sport is for all students.  

“The fact that everyone could play,” Mr. Schildkraut said. “You don’t have to be a super athlete. It’s the kind of sport where whether your strong, athletic or have great hand-eye coordination doesn’t matter too much. I feel like it’s the kind of sport that anyone that plays a little can succeed in, at least when playing with each other and have some fun.” 

High school tends to keep students away from their hobbies and friends, which is why many students joined Badminton Club to spend time doing something they enjoy. In fact, one of the reasons Badminton Club President Kelly Jiang started the club this school year was to give students the opportunity to interact with their peers while having fun. 

“I didn’t have the time to socialize with them so when the Badminton Club came around, everyone could speak to each other now instead of using technology,” Jiang said.  

“I’ve played ever since I was in elementary school,” Jiang added.  “After that, I started to get interested in the summer and I continued to play. During middle school, they had nothing to offer to play with. Then finally, high school came and I decided to create the club because I really enjoy it and I thought people would enjoy it as well.

The students are not the only ones that benefit from attending this club as Mr. Shildkraut, also gets to enjoy playing. 

“I played a little bit when I was a kid,” Mr. Schildkraut said, “but I probably play more as a teacher than I did as a kid. I don’t have any real badminton experience other than playing with friends.” 

The club currently has approximately 160 members, which demonstrates the level of interest the Badminton Club has generated. Despite the high volume of members, Jiang finds creative ways to keep the club going and for everyone to have a good time.

“When the club first started, I thought only a few would attend but actually 60 or 70 people joined when the posters came out,” Jiang said. “I was surprised because I could barely afford 10 people but the fact that 70 people joined on the first day, it showed me that people were really committed.”

Although students are getting increasingly busier as their high school years progress, the experience they are getting from joining the club makes them want to participate next year. 

“Definitely, I would,” Mehtaji said. “As I said, it’s a great place to hang out with friends when there is no other time in the day to see them since we’re all busy. It’ll be junior year next year and that will be our busiest year yet, but I think this club could be a great stress reliever for that time.”