Para Badminton
The Beach Reporter

Manhattan Beach Badminton Club offering abundant opportunities to Para Athletes

By: Srishty Sharon
Date: 31 Aug, 2018
Image Courtesy: The Beach Reporter

The Manhattan Beach Badminton Club has a vast history and it has been serving many families from the past 82 years. The latest news on Manhattan Beach Badminton Club 2018 is quite an enthralling one. The club is located in a residential neighborhood, below the American Martyrs Catholic Church with high-end facilities including swimming pool and it is more of a social club, where people from all the nearby communities visit.


The club has been fostering its Junior Foundation program for several years. The club is non-profit, and it provides and fulfills the needs of the children who are suffering from any kind of disability. The club also serves the Para-athletes throughout the year and provide them with necessary training. The club is organizing a grand fundraising event which is known as Pub at the Club, on Sept 9. 


Through the fundraising program, one of the athlete, Miles Krajewski reaped huge benefits. He spent five days in coaching with the trainers; Dean Schoppe and Yuko Kawasaki. He also competed with other members of the youth program. 


Miles is an athlete who hails from South Dakota. He is short-statured and participates in the tournaments all over the world as a Para athlete. For nearly two years, he has played in professional badminton tour. While an international tournament was going on, Kawasaki and Schoppe met Miles and for distinguished training, they offered him to pay a visit to the Manhattan Beach.


13-year-old Miles has a strong desire to compete in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.


As quoted to the Beach Reporter, Kawasaki told, “We wanted to have Miles come out because we have a really busy junior program. We knew we could get involved in playing more matches. Right now, we see Miles at tournaments internationally and it's difficult under those conditions to coach."


Miles enjoyed his stay and was extremely focused on the game. When he was inquired about what he likes in badminton the most, he answered, “you get to be active and you don't have to be sitting and playing video games like other kids.”


During the flying career of the Para-badminton player, he has already travelled around the globe. His favourite locations include England, Ireland and South Korea. Miles worked with both of the coaches for the betterment of specific techniques during the 5-day training at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club.


 “Here we have more time to work with him on certain things we've been seeing in tournaments, certain shots and how he covers the court,” Kawasaki said. “It was nice his parents agreed to bring him out for five days.”


However, Miles is not the only player who was bestowed with the benefits of the club. The Junior Foundation is also involved in providing better opportunities to the younger people who suffer from disabilities. The foundation is helping them through Mychal’s Learning Place, which is an after-school learning program. Schoppe stated that the real reward of helping these kids can be gauged in their improvement in the game.


As cited in the Beach Reporter “Some of them had a hard time walking in a straight line,” Schoppe said. “After months of work, they are doing complex things like hitting a bird and moving backwards.”


In the youth program, kids can meet the para-athletes. Schoppe also told that he brings school students to the club so that can work with para-athletes.


 “It gives them a great appreciation of all the opportunities they have,” said Schoppe.


Miles saw this program as a great opportunity. “I got to see so many countries and so many things,” he said. “I only got to do that because I was playing badminton. I met so many incredible people. And so, I love that Miles gets to go to different places and he has friends all over the world now.”


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