Often considered an illegitimate sport, badminton can be considered an outsider in the field of racquet sports. Although it promotes and strengthens agility, reflexes and stamina, most people see it as a pastime than an actual sport.

Enter senior Jonathon Shee.

Shee is nationally ranked amongst multiple divisions in Massachusetts Badminton League.

He has been playing badminton since he was eight years old, and started playing competitively two years later.

The start of Shee’s badminton career occurred at Sunday school, where he was presented a variety of activities, common games like basketball, drawing, tag and badminton were offered to the students.

“At that time I couldn’t even dribble so basketball was not an option for me. [When I heard about] badminton, I was kind of confused. I didn’t really know what it was and neither did my parents,” Shee recalls.

Shee’s curiosity piqued, and his interest to discover the activity lead him to a final decision.

“So I decided I wanted to try it,” Shee said.

Immediately, he found himself loving the sport more and more with every play.

Shee and his parents developed a bond with the coach through more private lessons, which gave the family access to the badminton community in Middlesex County.
“When my parents got to know him better, they were able to set up more formal training for me, which really only helped me get better at such a young age,” Shee said.

As a nationally ranked player by the National Badminton League, Shee would often practice up to six to eight hours a week to maintain his position. Balancing those hours with school was never an issue, according to Shee.

“To be honest, I didn’t have much going on outside of badminton. It really consumed up all my free time, and if I wasn’t playing badminton then I was focused on school work. There was nothing else in between,” Shee said.

Currently, Shee has discontinued his training because he no longer counts as a junior player in the USA Badmitten team, but he hopes to play recreationally and teach others how to play.

“I definitely want to continue playing in the future, it’s just that climbing the ranks as an adult is much harder. I’m currently [enrolled] into UMASS Amherst and, if I can that is, I want to play in their collegiate badminton club. If they have one. If not, then I’ll start one,” says Shee.

Shee started the badminton club at WA, however it was cut off as a club due to scheduling irregularities. 

Nevertheless, Shee does not give up hope for the club. He wants to show the school that badminton is a fun sport for all people.

“Obviously, the club needs people. And I know the interest is already there because they run classes in [Physical health and wellness],” Shee said.

Despite not currently training for competitive badminton, Shee’s adoration for the sport is infectious. He encourages new players to participate in the sport and hopefully find it just as exciting as he had back all those years ago at Sunday School. 

 “It’s just a friendly indoor sport and overall I just want people to discover and explore the game,” Shee said.