Sports
Whitman Badminton: Seriously In Contention
Both the boys and girls badminton teams are poised to make a run at a County finals appearance this spring.
The players on the Whitman boys and girls badminton team find themselves frequently defending their sport against their peers.
"I had a coach in school once tell me that it is a backyard sport, and if I want, he’ll bring a barbeque and he’ll grill up for us during one of our practices," said Zack Barrotta, a senior who is in the first doubles pairing on the boys team.
Freshman Carrie Simone, the girls' first singles player, faces similar comments. "They don't take it seriously," she said. "They always think they can beat me. I play it off cool, and challenge them. Then they're surprised."
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Their peers aren't the only people that the boys and girls teams are beating these days. Last year, the girls team reached the county championships. This year, the two teams are both 8-2 in League II badminton play entering today's matches at Smithtown West. If they can maintain that position, they will each reach the County finals.
The team’s tryouts are the most widely attended at Whitman. (“More people get cut from badminton than every other sport combined,” said Levy.) And the talent pool isn’t weak, either. The team has seen future Division I basketball players play on it during their off-seasons, while other top athletes forgo playing for other spring sports team in favor of playing for the badminton program.
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“We’ll get kids that can start on the softball team or the lacrosse team,” said coach Wolff. Not every school gets the caliber and the stability that we get. Every girl out here could play on any team at Whitman, and they chose badminton.”
One of those athletes is boys first singles player Jesse Levy, a senior. Levy, who also ran cross country and played volleyball at Whitman, quit track to join the badminton team as a sophomore.
“I used to have a badminton court in my front yard,” he said. “I used to always play, and I loved it. When I didn’t want to run anymore, I decided to do badminton. It’s the best choice I ever made.”
Barrotta had the “easy sport” impression when he first joined as a freshman, but he found a game he started to love soon after he realized its true nature.
“At first, I just played because it was an easy sport, something that was just fun,” said Barrotta. “Once I started playing, I got more and more competitive. I started to really enjoy it, and worked my way up to first doubles.”
Simone, who joined the team as a seventh grader, was introduced through her brother Matt, who won the county championship in boys singles a year ago. She plays on a travel team during the summers.
“I just love the independence on the court,” she said. “[It’s great to] go out and do what you love.”
The Whitman badminton teams play at Smithtown West today at 4pm. More info on today's match can be found .
