Esteban Fuentes, coach and manager in Chile, who for some years has been monitoring the development of badminton in his country, has had the opportunity to explore other sports and now has the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience in favor of the massification of our sport.
“I started in badminton a little late because I was developing in another sport. For sport reasons I approached the federative part of badminton and started working with children. Today I work 100% in badminton, in different areas, administrative and technical, also at the massification level, learning more every day.”
As a coach, Esteban has clear objectives and is focused on the actions that will lead him to achieve those goals.
“My goal is not very different from that of the other coaches: to be better every day, to try to provide my athletes with tools so that they can develop and achieve their goals. And at the national level, try to contribute with ideas to an integral development of badminton .”
The constant training allows every professional to be updated in knowledge and to be able to know, through the experience of others, new possibilities to improve their work. Esteban recognizes how much more he could have done if he had learned everything he knows before.
“It is vital that the coaches, who are the workforce for development, can have adequate resources and at the right times to empower the players. I think that, after so much training, we have wasted time and many athletes for not having the knowledge indicated at the right time. And I think that is going to be corrected and if everything goes well, in a few years we can have a Pan-American concert with players in other facets. That is a great dream for everyone.”
“My biggest dream at the badminton level is to be able to offer resources and to be able to help those who intend to perform in this sport both competitively and administratively. I am very interested in being able to give someone, to the community, to give something of me so that someone can fulfill an objective or a goal in his/her life. That is my biggest dream and what summons me every day to continue working in the badminton, to contribute in the environment in which I work. ”
“The Shuttle Time University Program is a tremendously powerful methodological tool. I think it is a contribution to the development of badminton, in any country, extremely beneficial. I think there is a potential there as long as it is channeled in a structured way. There is a seed that can be sowing and with the necessary patience and effort, many development benefits can be obtained in each country. ”
Chile, through the Shuttle Time University Program, has managed to certify several local universities in the teaching of our sport. But what strategy did they use?
“In Chile we established a direct path and we looked for teachers who were teaching subjects that are related to badminton (Racket sports, emerging sports, etc.). Teachers that we could contact and invited to train in badminton. Based on that, we were able to establish the criteria to apply this program in their universities. So in 2018 we incorporated 7 universities and in 2019 we did it with 6. ”
When asked about the limit in the diffusion of our sport, Esteban affirms that it is necessary to continue providing resources and opportunities to motivate development.
“I think there is no limit, every year we want to add more universities but at the same time we must give opportunities to those who have already developed. There are already professors who are doing internships and others who need more knowledge. In that sense, the projection is incalculable. We know that will grow, but we don’t know how much. And we should train them more.”
We are sure that badminton will continue to grow in Chile and throughout our region.
Congratulations for the good work!
Photo Credit: BPAC | SN
