Dylan Darmohoetomo, former player and coach from Suriname, competed at the last Pan Am Games 2019 and was the flag bearer for his delegation. Now Dylan wants to train players who achieve better results than he achieved as a player and that badminton in his country continues to grow.
As a coach, Dylan led a local club and participated in some coaches courses to improve the badminton in Suriname, like the Coach Level 3 course held in our region last year.
“The course was very interesting and for sure, in my country I will seek to share the new knowledge with the other coaches so that we can improve badminton in Suriname.”
LIMA 2019
In Lima 2019, Dylan participated in his third Pan American Games, this time he also proudly carried the flag of his country at the Opening Ceremony, fulfilling the dreams he imagined when he started in our sport at age 8.
“I started playing badminton when I was 8 or 9 years old. This happened because my parents played badminton like me and then I continued playing badminton until now.”
Dylan participated in some international tournaments as Universiades and Regional Games. After a few years, he was able to share his experiences and knowledge with the youngest players in his country, starting like this, without realizing it, which would be his way as a coach.
“At the beginning I was only focused on being a player, on competing at an international level. 3 years ago the Federation asked me, based on my experience as a player, if I could become a coach. I said yes because two years earlier I started as a coach in my local club. ”
Although the sport is the same, being a player is different from being a coach. Not only are the functions different, but also the vision and goals in a match. This decision was not difficult for Dylan because he already enjoyed sharing his knowledge with his peers.
“Make the decision to be a coach was easy for me, because even as a player, the younger players look up to me for advice or how thay can improve something, so is nice to give them some guidelines. As a coach I can just give them more advice and help them more to improve their level.”
Now as a coach, dreams are different. Dylan is committed to our sport and the growth of it in Suriname, that is why he seeks that his players be better than him and will contribute everything he can to make it so.
“My dream is to lead the players I coach now to achieve better results than I did when I was a player. That they be better than me as players.”
Photo Credit: BPAC | Lima2019 Photo Service | SN
