Spring Break
Like father, like son
Shane Evans/Staff Reporter
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Sports
Ben Hussey trusts his trainer's technique and skills.
He knows it works because he knows his trainer real well.
Ben's trainer is his dad.
Ben has been playing badminton with his father, Kevin Hussey since he was 10 years old.
"It took about five years before I was able to beat my dad at badminton," Ben said.
"Badminton camp gave me another output, but most came from my dad. I learned some tips from touring, but my style from my dad."
Ben said his style is to keep the birdie in play as long as possible to wear his opponents down.
The style he uses is primarily defensive.
Ben would watch his dad play at tournaments when he was younger and played with him between matches when no one was on the court.
Ben's father, however, was not the first in the family to pick up the game of badminton.
Ben's grandfather started playing badminton in college and when he came to Eastern he started the Eastern Illinois Badminton Club for anybody to join.
The club meets Tuesday and Thursday nights and players are welcome to pay to play only one session or can pay a set fee to play all semester.
The fee pays for the shuttles.
Ben practices eight hours a week on the court and occasionally runs, but he has no set schedule for cross training.
"I do weights Tuesday and Thursday," Ben said. "I mostly focus on my legs, I need more leg strength."
Although Ben dedicates a lot of his time to badminton, he still attends classes as a physical education major with the intent of becoming a physical education teacher and coaching badminton.
"Hopefully it ends up working out where I can keep playing," he said.
Being at such a high skill level, Ben often has difficulties finding someone to train with that can challenge him to improve his skills.
When Ben trains locally he usually plays two on one.
In high school Ben was forced to become a badminton player playing tennis because his high school didn't have a badminton team.
He knows it works because he knows his trainer real well.
Ben's trainer is his dad.
Ben has been playing badminton with his father, Kevin Hussey since he was 10 years old.
"It took about five years before I was able to beat my dad at badminton," Ben said.
"Badminton camp gave me another output, but most came from my dad. I learned some tips from touring, but my style from my dad."
Ben said his style is to keep the birdie in play as long as possible to wear his opponents down.
The style he uses is primarily defensive.
Ben would watch his dad play at tournaments when he was younger and played with him between matches when no one was on the court.
Ben's father, however, was not the first in the family to pick up the game of badminton.
Ben's grandfather started playing badminton in college and when he came to Eastern he started the Eastern Illinois Badminton Club for anybody to join.
The club meets Tuesday and Thursday nights and players are welcome to pay to play only one session or can pay a set fee to play all semester.
The fee pays for the shuttles.
Ben practices eight hours a week on the court and occasionally runs, but he has no set schedule for cross training.
"I do weights Tuesday and Thursday," Ben said. "I mostly focus on my legs, I need more leg strength."
Although Ben dedicates a lot of his time to badminton, he still attends classes as a physical education major with the intent of becoming a physical education teacher and coaching badminton.
"Hopefully it ends up working out where I can keep playing," he said.
Being at such a high skill level, Ben often has difficulties finding someone to train with that can challenge him to improve his skills.
When Ben trains locally he usually plays two on one.
In high school Ben was forced to become a badminton player playing tennis because his high school didn't have a badminton team.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Eric Pontow
posted 3/05/08 @ 4:41 PM CST
its eric pontow. Great story i enjoy listening to badminton stories from my dad they are very exciting and i always like to here more. Yours is great just keep working hard and train the poop out of your legs. (Continued…)
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