Prep badminton: New look Barbs set for new season

After coming off one of the best seasons in program history, the DeKalb badminton team expects great things this season.

With only two returning seniors on their roster, coach Zak Effler views this both as powerful and an obstacle to overcome.

The Barbs have 43 players of which 33 are sophomores and freshmen.

“I think one of our strengths is that we are so young," Effler said. "We have a lot of talent at the freshman and sophomore level. Those people are just going to keep getting better. By next year, we’ll be in a really good place to be contending for a lot of first place trophy type competition."

The leadership from the juniors and seniors will help these younger players grow, he said.

“I feel like our strength is also our weakness and that is our muse," Effler said. "It’s our weakness in that the less we have on the courts, the fewer opportunities we have to make decisions and that lack of experience we’ll have to overcome this year. There’s no easy way around that. It’s just working hard to practice."

DeKalb benefits from the experience of Abbey Brooks. She is the only player on the team who was in the IHSA Sectional Meet last year.

“She’s highly motivated. She picks things up really quickly," Effler said. "She learns very well by watching. That makes her very coachable. She works hard and encourages everyone around her to work hard."

The Barbs look for Ariana Pedraza and Andrea Trejo to fill more leadership roles. They both have three years of varsity experience. They will play both singles and a doubles this year.

“Ariana and Andrea have been there so long they know how the team works," Effler said. "They can function really well as player coaches. I can ask them to work with people. They are the athletes I trust most with that. From a playing perspective, they know more than anyone else on the team. They see space really well when they are playing which is very important for badminton. Their decision making on and off the courts is really great."

Like it is every year, Effler said the goal is to qualify at least went entry for the state tournament.

“I think it’s important for the respectability of the club," Effler said. "Every year at State, people at least hear your name."

Effler also wants to focus this year on growing the entire team instead of focusing on the top of the varsity roster.

“We had a lot of talent at the top and we saw the potential for a high degree of success at the Sectional and State level," Effler said. "We lost track of who we were as a team. I think our eyes got a little big. We focused on attaining the silverware instead of growing everyone as much as we should. We committed too many resources to developing the top of our varsity roster and dedicated a little bit less time to the people who were first years. I don’t want to suggest we neglected them. The choice was just to work with varsity so they could advance to State and it obviously worked, but I’m not entirely sure it was worth it."

The Barbs play their first meet at East Aurora on Tuesday.