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PCC’s badminton team is already hard at work preparing for the upcoming season with coach Bill Sanchez’s goal to “play well, work hard.”

“We’re pretty young,” said Sanchez. “Experience in competing may be a big challenge, but give us a month.”

Sanchez is in his seventh season coaching the Lancers badminton team is excited to see his team improve weekly as they become closer as a team.

Alejandra Palacios is returning for her second year on the team and is enthusiastic about the upcoming season.

“I’ve been playing for six years, ” Palacios said. “This year my goals are to make to top three in doubles and just to have fun!”

Palacios understands that a successful season comes with hard work and dedication.

“People think it’s easy and not a sport, but I like when I’m challenged,” Palacios said.

Yinghong Lin is eager for her first year on the team. Though she was concerned with the difficulty at first, she is looking forward to being able to travel with her teammates.

“I think it’s fun to play doubles,” Lin said. “Rotation [is key], if you can play well you can win.”

Running drills last week, the team looked energized, enthusiastic and ready to work hard.

Sanchez recognizes there is a challenge among players to balance academics and badminton, especially since the team has had one of the highest GPAs on campus for the past seven years, according to Sanchez.

The Lancer badminton team has five consecutive South Coast Conference Titles (2009-2013) under Sanchez, and is hoping to make it six this year.

“We just get better as the season goes,” Sanchez said. “It’s great to see at the end of the year how much we’ve improved.”

This Friday, the badminton team travels to Grossmont College for the Grossmont individual tournament in El Cajon to open the season.

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