Badminton player on path to success
Southland’s No 1 female badminton player knows to reach the elite level a move overseas is required within two or three years.
Ella Smith, 17, and her coaches believe a stint of training and playing overseas in one of the top performing badminton countries would be of immense value to her.
China and Indonesia or a stay in Europe are being looked at.
‘‘The idea of moving away is hard but it’s something I’ve been coming to terms with,’’ Ella said.
She has attended national training camps for several years through being in the New Zealand under-19 and under-15 teams.
‘‘I’ve been in the [under-19] squad since I was 13 and I’m in my second year in the team,’’ she said.
Two years ago Ella gained overseas experience training in Malaysia for six weeks.
‘‘I learned so much . . . we trained twice a day, every day.’’
Ella takes school work with her when away overseas or on North Island trips.
One of her subjects at Southland Girls’ High School – physics – is done by correspondence.
More overseas trips are coming up for the teenager.
She is in New Zealand team competing at the Asia-Pacific Under-19 Team Championships (September 9-12) and Australian Junior International (September 13-16) in Perth.
Ella will then join the New Zealand senior team for the Sydney International (September 19-23).
In November, she represents New Zealand at the World Junior Badminton Championships in Canada.
Ella will study at Waikato University next year which will be beneficial as a lot of the country’s top badminton players live in Hamilton.
She is looking forward to training with them on a regular basis.
One of her Invercargill coaches, Nigel Skelt, said Ella had an extremely bright future.
‘‘She’s the most exciting prospect we’ve had [in Southland] at her age.’’
Advice and coaching received from Academy Southland has also contributed to her development as a player.
Ella has won the past four Southland open titles.
Her goals are to be a regular member of a New Zealand team and to play at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, in 2022.
‘‘That’s very achievable,’’ Skelt said.
‘‘The idea of moving away is hard but it’s something I’ve been coming to terms with.’’ Ella Smith, Southland’s No 1 female badminton player
When was the last time you’ve taken comfort in the accomplishment of having done something? I’m not talking about graduating from study or buying a house – I mean enjoying the satisfaction of the small things in life.
I’ve come to realise of late that accomplishment, in a personal sense, doesn’t have to mean you’ve achieved anything particularly major or significant – it just has to mean something to you.
There’s a lot pressure on us in life. From work, social engagements, financial considerations, what we expect from ourselves – things can mount up.
By no means am I an expert in how to alleviate pressure, but I know what works for me. And that is, in between the bigger projects in life, finding accomplishment in the little things.
Cooking is one of those small joys in life for me.
Spurred on by having watched Julie & Julia on my flight home from the Celine Dion concert (which was amazing by the way and I 100 per cent cried multiple times), the idea of turning my hand at Child’s infamous boeuf bourguignon was nibbling away at me like a bad earworm of a song (Baby Shark, anyone?).
So, the next weekend, I toddled off to the supermarket to gather the bits and pieces I’d need to master this icon of French cuisine.
Surprisingly, there’s not a complicated ingredients list; you just need time, patience and an ungodly amount of butter up your sleeve.
From browning the beef and ruining my top with splatters of hot oil to spending the longest amount of time I’ve saute´ ed mushrooms in my life, the entire process took about four hours.
But it was four hours that my mind was occupied only by what was in front of me – garlic, bacon, red wine, beef stock. I suppose the kitchen is my therapy.
As we sat down to eat my afternoon’s labours for dinner that evening, Mother Dearest looked at me pointedly and for a confused moment I thought she was asking me to say grace, before realising she was waiting for me to proclaim ‘‘bon appetit’’ in my best Julia Child voice.
I must confess, I’ve never actually seen a video of Child cooking or heard her voice. I simply imitated Meryl Streep’s performance of her on the assumption her skill as an actress had captured the essence of Child’s mannerisms. Mother Dearest still laughed.
It was a delicious meal made tastier by the fact that, as small as it may seem, I’d set out to perfect boeuf bourguignon that weekend and had done just that.
Cooking a meal is insignificant; it’s something many of us do every day.
But whether it’s a meal, sewing that button back onto that shirt you’ve been meaning to do for months or even finally clearing that last bit of clutter off your kitchen table (*cough* Mother Dearest *cough*), you wouldn’t be silly for enjoying those little victories.
One of my oldest friends frequently snapchats me with a video of her kitchen, usually captioned something along the lines of ‘‘look at that tidy bench’’.
With three young children, I’m glad she’s recognised the importance of celebrating small victories, even if it’s just with a glass of wine once the kids are in bed.
The thing is when you have small but constant achievements, no matter how trivial, it puts you in a good mental space where you’re able to go on to bigger achievements.
When I came to work on Monday, we were all cheerily greeted with questions of our weekend activities.
‘‘How was your weekend, Briar? What did you get up to?’’
I made Julia Child’s boeuf bourguignon; it was sublime, and I am satisfied with that small achievement.
Perhaps a towering croquembouche will be next on the menu.