Cochrane badminton player Dawson Laye has powered through to provincials after winning gold at last weekend’s Alberta Schools Athletic Association south central zone championships.
Laye practised up to four times a week leading up to Saturday’s senior high tournament, which brought together players from around the region to Cochrane and Bow Valley high schools, along with Mitford Middle School.
Singles and doubles teams rallied, attacked and fired aces in nearly 900 games over the course of the busy day of badminton. Each player or duo logged up to seven games of their own, including Lay – who worked his way through the round-robin to the semi-finals, where he said the match against Scott Avery of Airdrie’s George McDougall High School proved to be the most challenging of the competition.
All three games were tight, with Laye taking the first with a score of 21-17 – but losing the second 21-19 – to force a third and final set to decide the winner.
“It was tough. We knew each other’s weaknesses and strengths,” he said, adding once he put Avery down, he felt confident heading into the gold medal contest.
“After that one, I just knew what to do,” he said.
In the final, Laye took it in two straight sets, besting Okotoks’ Ben Spilak from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School 21-15 in the first match and 21-18 in the second –earning him a spot in this Saturday’s upcoming ASAA provincial tournament in Red Deer.
Coach Jason Crawford said Laye will be squaring off against teens who play the sport year-round – which will be a higher level of competition than he’s faced before.
“He’s going to face some adversity. He’s going to play some kids that play 12 months a year. His patience will be tested this weekend,” said Crawford, adding because of the skill level of the opponents, Laye’s biggest advantage will be a steady mental game. “He’s so even-keeled … (He’ll need to) keep it cool – play it one point at a time.”
Laye said he will work to “forget about the rally and just think about going on and what your strategies are going to be.”
The athlete said he plays a lot of team sports, like football, hockey and baseball, so badminton gives him a different perspective on the game.
“It’s something different,” he said. “It’s kind of relying on yourself to do everything.”
Last weekend was Crawford’s third stint as co-host of the ASAA south central zones, with coach Eric Richard from Bow Valley High School coming on for the first time. In total, 10 staff from the two high schools worked together to organize the event.
“It ran smoothly. A lot of people commented on how quickly it went,” said Crawford. “I think that we were well-organized.”
In other match-ups, Cobras players Koby Brander and Keegan Phaneuf battled against a pair from Olds Koinonia Christian School and earned bronze medals in the junior men’s doubles category, while intermediate mixed doubles team Joseph Cline and Rosie Thorson lost to Sundre in their final match, finishing in fourth.
This weekend, as Laye heads to Red Deer for the ASAA provincials, Grade 9 players from across southern Alberta will head to Brooks for their zones tournament.
