Shane Armstrong is entering a Cambrian College badminton program steeped in tradition. So rich is the history of this particular grouping of Golden Shield athletic talent, over the years, that it basically prohibited Armstrong from pursuing a career as an OCAA during his time at the New Sudbury campus early in the new millenium.

"What I learned in high school, I learned mostly on my own," noted the Lo-Ellen Park graduate who began his first season at the helm of the Cambrian badminton crew this fall. "When I got to Cambrian, the quality of badminton was phenomenal at the time - a lot of national champions, gold medal winners, bronze medallists."

"Straight out of high school, I had no chance of making that team," Armstrong acknowledged candidly. Yet he had definitely taken to this new sport. After trying out for the volleyball team at high-school, he migrated towards badmonton, following some friends who had decided to give it a try.

With the Knights fielding a team that numbered fifty or more high-schoolers, progress, as a player, was slow in coming for\ Armstrong. Still, he persevered, even as he realized that a spot on the Golden Shield roster was out of reach.

"Just because you don't make the team, you can't quit," noted Armstrong at a recent fun tournament staged at College Boreal. "You like to play what you like to play. Badminton was what I liked to play, so I didn't want to give up on it."

Armstrong forged ahead, joining a local club, looking to meet new people and remain active in badminton. Fortuitesly, he met former Cambrian badminton coach and current Athletic Director Tim Yu.

"He (Tim) took me under his wing and trained me," said Armstrong. "What I know now is all thanks to him." He began to serve as a practice player with the varsity team, providing much-needed opposition for young up and coming Cambrian student athletes.

Taking a couple of years away to spend time with his newborn son, Armstrong was approached by Yu about taking the reigns of a rebuilding program a few months back. With more and more players arriving on the post-secondary scene with only minimal guidance in the finer aspects of badminton, Armstrong and company are forced to take a step back.

"We try and teach them the basics," he said. "Their grip needs to be changed, their footwork needs to be re-done. Once you get the basics done, we can start teaching you the more advanced level."

Perhaps it is a sense of being able to identify with in-coming athletes not all that far removed from his own experience that leaves Armstrong so open to what he hopes to accomplish.

"If you're willing to listen, I will gladly put all my time into you, to make sure you get to a level where you are better than when you started," he said. "It's all about the attitude the players bring to the court."

What he was not able to glean as an OCAA athlete, Armstrong can takeaway as a coach. "The respect the players' give me is humbling," he stated. "I'm not the greatest player in the world, but I like to see my players succeed."

"It's nice to see the work you put in come out in them." Having competed at preliminary tournaments at Humber, Fanshawe and Redeemer, the Golden Shield break for exams and Christmas, head to Centennial in early January, and gear up for Regionals on February 7th.

"Regionals is what is all comes down to," said Armstrong. At that time, he and his team hope to carry on with the Cambrian tradition.