High school sports can be seen as a stepping stone to collegiate athletics or just a hobby that students like to do to connect with their peers. In most cases, girls badminton has not been a cut sport in efforts to create a welcoming environment and to get more students involved.

Badminton, a sport that can be played either individually or with another person, shares many similarities with tennis and it seems as though this school year it has had to cut players. Due to strict space restrictions, coaches have to make sure there is enough space for every girl to be playing.

That’s where cuts come in. With having about 40 girls tryout and only having so much court space. Head Coach Hayley Pendergast talks about the struggle she has in making cuts.

“Making cuts is never an easy or fun thing to do for any coach. Our badminton program rarely has cuts, so to make so many this year was very difficult. The only positive thing about the idea of cuts is knowing so many individuals were interested in playing badminton,” Pedenrgast said.

It’s difficult for athletes to cope with the pressure of cuts when the sport has been a non-cut sport. Junior Elizabeth Strand Ladew talks about how she was stressed at the beginning of the season.

“I was more nervous about the issues regarding friendships because on JV last year, we were all pretty close, so being split up and practically fighting for our spots was hard,” Strand said.

Cuts can make the team dynamic different even between tryouts and the day practices start because of how tensions change. Coaches look for players who step and take the lead.

“This causes more of a dynamic shift in the team because you begin to see improvements in players quickly and see who continues to be passionate during the tougher part of the season, especially leading up to important events like conferences. This is something that coaches really look for, especially in younger players. I also see a bond form more during this time because of how much players spend time together,” Pendergast said.

A lot of the time, the reason unpopular sports like badminton are no-cut is because they want a sport for athletes to try when they maybe don’t make another sport but there is not much that can be done when there is not enough space to hold all the athletes.