That Sudbury Sports Guy: Young badminton talent prospering in North

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The up-and-comers in Sudbury and area youth badminton were on full display on the weekend at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, the venue serving as host of the Northern Ontario Badminton Association-sanctioned Sudbury Junior Badminton Invitational.

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Turns out that even some of the elite out-of-towners who competed and thrived enjoy strong ties to the Nickel City.

A 14-year-old Grade 9 student at Ecole secondaire catholique Algonquin in North Bay, Alexie Carre completed an impressive triple sweep, earning gold in singles play in the U19 division and partnering with Nathan Hussell in the same age bracket to finish first in the mixed doubles event.

It was only in the girls doubles bracket where the middle of three athletic children dropped down, so to speak, combining with Lauryn Anderson to capture the crown in the U17 segment.

The daughter of former Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats captain Justin Carre and his wife, Lindsey, Alexie is also the granddaughter of retired Sudbury parks and recreation director Rheal Carre.

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She is also one heck of a badminton player, picking up the sport after dabbling in both gymnastics and dance at various times in her youth.

“The whole concept of the sport is different — and special,” Carre said. “And training with your friends, having tournaments with your team is a lot of fun.”

Bypassing competition in the U15 grouping, as well as most of her U17 adversaries, Carre needs to play a slightly different style of badminton at a tournament such as this.

“I often play with older kids and they are usually taller and stronger, so I have to use my energy more and think about the technical stuff. If I try and win with power, that will never work. If they are taller and it is easier for them to kill the bird, so I want to move them around more.”

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While she acknowledged a general preference towards singles play, Carre was quick to add that there are elements of each discipline that tend to be attractive to players of her age.

“I like singles because it is more individual; if you make a mistake, it’s about you,” she said.

“But doubles and mixed is fun, too, because you can have different people to play with and it can be more fun playing with a partner, because you get to experience your happiness and the losses together,” noted the young lady who represents KTP Racquet Club at tournaments both across the north but also elsewhere in the province.

“Down south, the games are harder,” Carre admitted. “But even if I am not winning games, I get the experience and get to see how really good players play and what I might be able to use in my game.”

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Lucas Lytle of the Sudbury Junior Badminton Club is also used to competing as an underager, his little brother Skyler even more so. And yet it was the two siblings who topped the charts in the U13 boys singles event, placing first and second, while also taking part as a tandem in the U15 doubles playdown.

Currently 11 years of age and attending Ecole St. Pierre in Minnow Lake, Lucas shares many a sentiment that was expressed by Alexie Carre when it comes to favouring one particular bracket of play on weekends such as this.

“I like singles more than doubles,” he said. “I feel like I have more control; every shot is mine. And I don’t have to worry about smacking racquets.”

Now in his second year of competitive badminton, the eldest of the Lytle lads made note of a couple of areas of primary focus this year in both practice and game settings, including his desire to further develop his backhand.

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“It’s good — but it’s awkward,” said Lucas, explaining that there is a specific form that seems to work best. “It’s called the towel whip. You squish your racquet and then double grip. That’s what gives it a snap. I can almost do a smash on my backhand.”

Beyond that comes the fundamentals that are engrained in pretty much every athlete who wants to excel in badminton.

“I think when I play — and I focus on my footwork,” said Lytle. “I understand the footwork, but it’s hard to do it.

“I have a whole gym at my camp that I can work on that.”

And like Carre, this talkative youngster knows that the best way to keep an opponent on their heels is simply to keep them moving.

“If it’s a stronger player, I make sure to move the birdie around: backhand corner and forehand corner,” Lytle said. “It’s the farthest part of the court which makes them run a lot and get tired.”

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Following is a complete listing of all remaining divisional champions:

U19

– Boys singles: Nathan Hussell (KTP)

– Boys doubles: Ethan Simon (SBY) / Colin Evans (KTP)

– Girls doubles: Lillian Li (KTP) / Emilie-Ann Ingram (KTP)

U17

– Boys singles: Cody Lefebvre (KTP)

– Girls singles: Dania Lalonde (KTP)

– Boys doubles: Francis Morneau (KTP) / Cody Lefebvre (KTP)

– Mixed doubles: Francis Morneau (KTP) / Lauryn Anderson (KTP)

U15

– Boys singles: Oliver Ashfield (KTP)

– Girls singles: Diya Rakhesh (KTP)

– Boys doubles: Oliver Ashfield (KTP) / Evan Bowes (KTP)

– Girls doubles: Diya Rakesh (KTP) / Sana Pradeepan (KTP)

– Mixed doubles: Mathew Iounatananov (KTP) / Diya Rakhesh (KTP)

U13

– Girls singles: Ellie Tremblay (KTP)

Randy Pascal is That Sudbury Sports Guy. You can read his columns regularly in The Sudbury Star.

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