Chelsea Kennedy had no lack of experience in soccer and badminton when she arrived at Cambrian College last fall.

The 20 year-old native of Sault Ste Marie had spent five years at Korah Collegiate immersed in an annual cycle that would see her tackle two of her favourite sports, as well as volleyball, keeping her active throughout the entirety of the school year.

Kennedy also knew full well that it was next to impossible to pursue all three of her passions at a varsity level in Sudbury.

Having reached out to Shield soccer coach Jason Garforth prior to her arrival in town, the Civil Engineering Technology major secured a spot on the team, manning the centerback position in her first year at Cambrian.

Quite condensed, that season was done by the end of October - too late to tryout for volleyball, but with six more months of post-secondary schooling still ahead.

"I wasn't sure when badminton ran during the season," acknowledged Kennedy, who advanced to the OCAA quarter-finals as a freshman with the team, tackling the more challenging women's singles game.

"I was friends with one of the girls who played last year so I tried out and realized that I had forgotten how much I liked playing."

Though she had not touched a racquet for some six months or so, the badminton base from high-school proved useful.

"At the start of the year, I was just getting back into it again; but once soccer ended and I could focus on badminton more, I started picking up the speed, getting it back again," said Kennedy.

All fine and dandy, until the next curve ball was thrown her way.

"I am definitely a doubles player," she exclaimed. "How I see the court, how I play, where I place the birdie - doubles is where it works for me. I like singles as well, but doubles the most."

In Nicole Yaworsky and Henin Rose-George, however, Shield coach Jofray Anto was already equipped with a more than component ladies doubles pairing.

"All of the girls (at Cambrian) were strong doubles players," said Kennedy. "I had a feeling I was not going to be in doubles (for provincials), so I had to really start working on the other two (singles and mixed doubles) a bit more."

"I was doing pretty well, considering it's not my strength."

Nor was the singles game an endeavour that played to her natural muscle memory.

"Some of the moves are the same, but the strategies are completely different," said Kennedy. "I always hit it in between the two lines on the outside. In high-school, that's where we were taught to hit it in doubles."

In doubles, that outside line marks the exterior parameters of the court. In singles play, that line is out of bounds.

"My coach sent me some videos to work on," said Kennedy. "There were certain things that we worked on specifically for singles."

The strategy worked.

Kennedy claimed victory in three of her five pool matches at the OCAA Championships in Kitchener, making it through to the final eight before losing a close battle to Mandy Ni, 21-16, 22-20.

"I was feeling pretty good (going into provincials)," stated Kennedy. "I had done pretty well the last two tournaments. I had played against some of the people in my bracket and knew how they played, so I was ready for some of it."

"And I know I could have beaten the person I lost to."

Despite her success, Kennedy did admit that the travel requirements of tackling two varsity sports, combined with the academic demands of her course proved challenging.

Still, it added another layer of experience that will likely benefit her in badminton, or soccer, or both come the 2025-2026 season.