Trinity Clark
Editor-In-Chief
Badminton, in general, is not the most well known sport in Arizona, but thanks to Coach Stafford and his stellar Girls’ Badminton Team the sport has become a topic of interest for Ironwood.
Coach Stafford himself was picked for distinctions this year. First, Coach Stafford was voted by the other coaches within Division II as Coach of the Year. Additionally, the National Federation of High School Sports, NFHS, recognized him as the Arizona Badminton Coach of the Year. Upon hearing of these honors Coach Stafford made clear that his accomplishments reflected his team by saying, “It is always an honor to be recognized by the other coaches…but I put in the time to make them shine and the girls pick it up and make me look good…when you get something like that it is a reflection of how good your team is.”
For the 2020 girl’s badminton season the Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona named three Ironwood students. Toni DeMarco, Kelly Grady and Xandra Rhodes were all recognized, as well as Savannah Hendrix who received an honorable mention. This is the first time Ironwood students have been recognized for this award. Toni DeMarco also became the Section Player of the Year for the second time and was the State Singles runner-up. Kelly Grady was recognized by All Arizona Academic Team with Toni DeMarco, Savannah Hendrix, Xandra Rhodes, Diana Ramirez and Juliana Rowen being honorable mentions. Truly, the accomplishments of these players are extremely impressive and deserve to be known as they have put Ironwood into the attention of future players.
The Eagle’s Eye Newspaper was able to secure interviews with two of these astonishing players. Xandra Rhodes stated, “I feel great that I was recognized in both Arizona Academic Team and All Arizona Girl’s Badminton Team because it shows that my hard work and determination paid off.” Rhodes started playing Badminton her freshman year and is now applying to multiple colleges. Toni DeMarco joined badminton after her sister, who was on Ironwood’s first ever Girls’ Badminton team, introduced her to the sport and has since been a great addition to the team. DeMarco also explained that Coach Stafford gifted her, as well as the other player, plaques to commemorate their achievements. In the coming years, DeMarco is planning to attend NAU on an academic scholarship.
Since the NFHS Coach of the Year award is a national award, many students have been given the chance to be exposed to Ironwood’s Girls’ Badminton Team through Stafford’s recognition. For those interested, it may be useful to know that on top of the spring program, there is a summer program available to get trained in the sport as well. Coach Stafford realizes that most coming into Girls’ Badminton may not have been exposed to it before and, therefore, experiencing it before the school year starts would be beneficial for many students. Dates for the summer program are coming soon, see Coach Stafford for details.
Thank you to all the wonderful Girls’ Badminton players here at Ironwood for putting in the hard work to be recognized on this level!
Image credit: Siora Photography on Unsplash
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