Today, Ms. Summer Huang is here to share how she discovered badminton as her lifelong passion at the age of 35. She shows us, with the excellent example of herself, that we can “become anything we want at any moment.”
"You can do – and become anything you want!"
Ms. Summer used to say this when I was in elementary school. Energetic and passionate, she never seemed bored teaching the 25 (often too simple and naïve) children in the classroom. Her tirelessly positive attitude was my inspiration throughout my later life.
Here, we are pleased to invite and interview our elementary English teacher, Ms. Summer Huang, to share her other passions besides being an English teacher. What motivates her when she's not in the classroom, and what keeps her healthy and fit? Today, she is here to share how she discovered badminton as her lifelong passion at the age of 35. She shows us, with the excellent example of herself, that we can “become anything we want at any moment.”
“I first got in touch with badminton in 2019, when I was 35 years old. It all started with several colleagues at school wanting to play. After a casual play with my co-workers, I realized that badminton wasn’t hard to pursue. Yes, it has its challenges, but it’s not like doing gymnastics or figure skating. To do this sport successfully, one must be ambitious. I keep telling myself I can be better and I WILL be better. Being a person, we show our humble side, but wanting to pursue an athletic goal in the field, one needs to be confident and firm. I have that ambition in my bone becoming a respectful badminton player.”
After Ms. Summer started pursuing badminton, she found herself increasingly addicted to this sport and started building up her stamina and adjusting her weaknesses accordingly.
“In the beginning phase, there were many times I missed the hit or I couldn’t hit it right or far enough, therefore, many situations in the games became really passive to me and so I got smashed a lot. The moment I realized that I told myself: ‘I’ve got to make some change.’ Then, I started going to the gym to build up some muscles and I kept watching lots of badminton videos on how to do some hit and shots. I practiced the way I held the racket, how I should use my forearm, fingers, strength, and how to observe where my opponents moved.”
As time went on, Ms. Summer got better and better at badminton as she trained tirelessly, practicing frequently with a regular basis of five times a week, solely determined to ace the sport.
“I’m proud that I am able to move quickly with strong and agile footwork and reflexes and hit the shuttlecocks with high percentage of precisions, so the birdie goes to where I want it to be. I can play with some male players and still get excellent results.”
And now, it seems – Ms. Summer’s love for badminton is immaculately inborn. It’s from her inner passion and love for this sport.
“I just can’t help,” Ms. Summer said.
And when it comes to her life, she indicated that badminton has always been one of her top priorities.
“Even on my birthday, several friends of mine wanted to have a meal and celebrate my birthday. I told them I couldn’t be there because I had badminton that evening. I never really cancel my badminton for anything. Only one time I canceled it because my previous students came to visit me in Shanghai from the USA.”
In the end, Ms. Summer admitted that she'll continue to compete in various contests. She also volunteered to be a school badminton coach and taught the students how to play badminton. Age shouldn’t be an obstacle as well as her occupation of being a teacher – amateur competitions are her choice.
“The most precious lesson I’ve learned over these years is that I’ll just need to keep practicing. There’s no shortcut to it, but practicing through hours of hours of play. Through the play, I video myself and check my body/hand/feet movements of where they need to be corrected and improved.”
From the Writer: It is heartwarming to see the English teacher I had in elementary school is also a fervent amateur female athlete. We see a vibrant, passionate woman who pushes forward her interest in badminton with rigor. It is truly touching to see Ms. Summer’s passion spilling out of her classroom. This energy will continue to influence me, and Ms. Summer will always be my role model. Thank you for sharing your story to inspire more of us that age is not a divide and telling us we can always start anything at this moment!
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