Community spotlight: local club inspiring the next generation
9 October, 2024
Chalfont Eagles Junior Badminton Club is shaping the lives of young people in more ways than one.
Not only is the Amersham-based club keeping youngsters between the ages of eight and 18 active, it’s also arming them with leadership skills to empower the next generation of players to take to the court.
Currently made up of over 90 members – the highest in the club’s 20-year history – with capacity for four weekly sessions for all abilities, Chalfont Eagles continue to champion the all-round benefits of staying active.
Simon Cartwright, the club chair, has been a mainstay for the last seven years, and as a former rugby player himself, he is personally invested in encouraging young people to embrace the power of sport.
He said: “It’s important we keep pushing youngsters to be involved in badminton and sport in general because it gives you a really good, rounded life.
“It keeps you active, sociable and competitive – a characteristic we like to nurture – and offers young people the chance to get to know others outside of their school.
“Badminton is an extremely sociable sport. The club camaraderie and the competition side of things is great, but even if you’re not competing, it’s a really good activity to do.”
Part of the club’s mission to impress the broader benefits of playing sport comes in the form of offering coaching sessions to older members, alongside paying them as coaching assistants for younger players.
Cartwright added: “I think that’s a great way for them to earn some pocket money and help the younger players improve.
“At the age of 16 young people are starting to grow up and acquire some maturity and responsibility, so promoting leadership opportunities through structured sessions is a great way to hone those skills.”
Cartwright himself completed his level one and two coaching awards after being inspired by his son’s pursuit of an official qualification and continues to admire the ambitious nature of all the club members.
He said: “The kids are polite, respectful and keen to learn and improve. I enjoy seeing them progress and I love keeping them occupied and out of trouble. We’re very lucky to have such great kids.
“We have a really good performance centre in High Wycombe too so if I can identify someone’s talent and push them onto the next level, then even better.”
Perhaps one of the most exciting prospects is that this drive to push young players to perform at their best is continuing to grow in reach, as the club opens its arms to record-breaking numbers year on year.
Cartwright continued: “If I look back and see how much the club has grown since 2017, we’ve already had to move from our first location at Emerson Park School because we had so many people wanting to join and we just couldn’t accommodate the numbers.
“After we made the move to Amersham, the uptake just exploded, especially because of the growth of badminton in the local community. We recently had a rota of 90 children and a waiting list of 90.
“I had to run trials this year for the first time in the club’s history because we want to open the doors to as many people as possible. It’s really exciting to see the sport and enthusiasm from players keep growing.”
