NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Talons badminton players Raquel Waldbauer, Mackenzie Duchscherer, Aiden Heller, Triston Duchscherer and Lexie Waldbauer stand together following a practice at Eagle Butte High School on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. The five players will compete at the Alberta Schools Athletic Association championships starting Friday in Calgary.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
In 17 years of coaching, Eagle Butte’s Sheldon Wihnan has seen a lot, but taking a pair of sibling squads to the Alberta Schools Athletic Association provincial badminton championships is a first.
Grade 12 Talons Triston Duchscherer and Lexie Waldbauer have been battling together as a mixed doubles squad for the past three seasons, but this year they’ll be joined by their Grade 10 sisters Mackenzie Duchscherer and Raquel Waldbauer on the provincial stage. Wihnan says reaching the ASAA championship level is a feat upon itself, making the rare sibling set-up all the more astonishing.
“I always tell my kids it’s an honour to just make it to provincials,” said Wihnan, whose Talons open provincials Friday in Calgary. “They’re going to be facing players who play badminton 12 months of the year, a lot of club players. We start in February, so basically we go about three months and once badminton is done a lot of our kids are doing other sports. So to make it there is a pretty big feat.”
This year’s championship will be Triston and Lexie’s third kick at the provincial can after finishing fifth in both 2017 and 2018. But with time comes chemistry, and Lexie says they’ll be entering their final provincial championship with confidence after hammering down a playing style that best suits their abilities.
“At first when we started in Grade 10 we were really unsure about who was going to get the birdie. Now we just have a set system, he’s primarily back and I’m primarily front,” said Lexie. “I mostly just yell at him, I guess, if I can’t get it and I tell him to go. We try to split when things are hit high and we’re trying to defend. We both mostly just have to just stay confident and always pipe each other up.”
Triston added he’s thrilled for the chance to finally crack the Albertan podium in his final season as a Talon.
“I’m pretty excited. I’m also excited we don’t have to drive 12 hours like last year (in Grimshaw),” he said, adding they’ve seen different competition all three years.
“This year the team that won zones for mixed was two provincial singles players that combined, so this was the first time we ever played them. They’re always super tight games, they usually go to three. It’s good to have lots of competition.”
Triston and Lexie added they’re excited to see what their younger siblings will be able to accomplish in their first trip to the provincial stage, but competing in the same gymnasium can come with some confusion.
“It’s not a very common thing that two sets of siblings get to go to provincials, let alone two sets of siblings that play together,” said Lexie. “It’s really weird when we go to tournaments, if we don’t hear what category is called, we’ll hear “Duchscherer and Waldbauer -”
“And then we’ll run out on the court and it’ll be two girls and we’ll be like that’s not us,” added Triston.
While both Triston’s sister Mackenzie and Lexie’s sister Raquel played badminton in previous years, this year marked the first time they’ve had the chance to play alongside each other – and the first year Mackenzie has tried her hand in doubles play.
“It was really hard for me to start playing doubles but Raquel was really fun to play with so I liked it,” said Mackenzie. “I guess we just assumed we were going to play together because our siblings play together. I mean, we are pretty close friends.”
Raquel added, just like their older siblings, she and Mackenzie quickly began building chemistry a pair and now sit poised to close out their first year as a team with some hardware around their necks.
“It’s really exciting, especially to be your first time to get to go to provincials, it’s a really exciting experience,” said Raquel. “It’s different to play with a new partner but we’re adjusting and playing really well together now.”
Rounding out Eagle Butte’s provincial badminton roster is singles player Aiden Heller, and his story is no less noteworthy. The Grade 11 has been on the court with a racket in hand since Grade 6, but Friday will mark his first trip to the provincial championship.
“I’m just excited about it. I’m just going to go out there and have fun, there’s no pressure or anything,” said Heller, adding it’s nice to have some teammates making the trip to compete alongside him. “It just makes you feel more comfortable when there’s people around you that you know. If you go to this huge school with a lot of different people you don’t know, it can make you lot more anxious and nervous, but going with a group of people makes it a lot easier.”
