Text by BWF
Humans of Shuttle Time: Jose Francisco Alcantara Cortes
Badminton Federation of Mexico
I was born in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. When I was three years old we moved to Veracruz where I was involved in sports. I practised gymnastics, basketball and soccer. I also took karate and swimming lessons. At school I also practiced volleyball. But my favourite sports were always football, baseball and basketball. I went on to play football professionally. I had a happy childhood overall.
I was 13 when I came across badminton for the first time. A PE teacher visited my school to invite us to play. When I played it for the first time I loved it and I continued training to attend national competitions representing the state of Veracruz for three consecutive years and winning medals. Unfortunately in the last year we lost contact with our coach and lost touch with badminton.
Impressions on Badminton
I really liked how fun it was, its complexity and competitiveness and how fast it was. I was impressed with the technique of players from the state of Mexico and Mexico City. Playing against them motivated me to improve.
I lost touch with badminton when I was 16, and remained disconnected for a long time. But I returned to it when I was 29 when I was studying my degree in physical activity sciences and sports practice, when I ventured to start badminton in the state of Morelos where this sport had never been played. I started teaching my fellow students and from there I looked for schools to teach children. Since then I have been deeply involved with badminton in my country.
Memorable Events
My first national tournament as a player in 1997 in Aguascalientes, where I met players from other states. I felt it was a very nice experience. I was national coach in the Pan American Junior Acapulco 2021 where I met coaches and players from other countries and could learn from them.
What Badminton Means
Badminton is very important as my life has changed for the better, both personally and professionally. It has helped me grow and meet many admirable and very nice people. I feel really lucky in these moments to live all the things that I have so far. Being a Tutor of Shuttle Time and being able to transmit the knowledge acquired is something that excites me.
I have known many sports. Football in this country is a very popular sport, but badminton caught me by the fact of being able to change the mentality of children and young people to give them another experience and to live what I lived as a player.
Seeing children, young people and adults have fun was something very satisfying for me. The kids loved it when they saw badminton for the first time and would have a lot of fun.
Impact of Shuttle Time
Shuttle Time has been a very powerful tool so that teachers who do not have any knowledge of the sport can learn easily and thus be able to teach their students. Thanks to the courses that were given in the state of Morelos, the number of coaches, clubs and most importantly the number of players are growing.
