Badminton club

I found out that there was a badminton club on campus and inquired about playing with them.  I think they were a bit hesitant at first, but since I have been coming to the practices when I can and doing all the training (running, sprints, footwork drills, etc.), I think they can see that I am taking this as seriously as I can.  However, I could barely walk after the first practice.  I forgot what lunges can do to the glutes if you haven't done them in awhile...

I played badminton as a kid in England and then took a number of classes in college (one of the deans was a former Olympian), so I know my way around a birdie and racquet.  Also, when Joan was in grad school, I played with a large group of international folks on Friday nights and Sunday mornings.  I wasn't the worst player of the 30 or so people, but I was the only American.

Yet it has been seven years since I played serious, and wow, am I rusty!  It is really frustrating, but I think it will start to come back. I also realized that the strings on my racquet are also seven years old and have lost some of their 'snap.'  I took it to "Racquet Shop Fuji" over in Kichijoji on Friday and paid 2,200 yen (approx. $20) to have it restrung.  I am hoping that the new strings will compensate for everything else.

To help me remeber their names, I took photos of some of the guys with their names.  I am having the hardest time remember Japanese names, especially the men!  I put them in this entry just for the heck of it.  Aren't they a handsome lot?