Having a lot of fun winning

At the end of season party for the Lawrence High School badminton team, teachers got a taste of what the 13-1 and Conference V champion squad meted out to opponents throughout the season; the girls smoked them.
From their first match until the last, where Elmont exacted some revenge for an April 9 loss, the Golden Tornadoes defeated the opposition through a combination of talent, camaraderie and singing songs from the movie “Frozen” during road matches.
Pat Leary, a Lawrence High physical education teacher, who also coaches the varsity boys’ soccer and girls’ basketball teams was looking to coach a spring sport about eight years ago. “I feel into this by accident and it’s absolutely fantastic,” said Leary, whose wife, Karin, is the longtime girls hoops coach at East Rockaway High. I get to know a group of kids under typical circumstances I wouldn’t teach or coach.”
There are 50 girls on the roster and 11 take part in the singles and doubles matches. There is a role for every player, said Leary, who enjoys watching the development of players who might begin as freshmen and by their junior and/or senior years are in the top 11 scoring players. “I want the girls to be active and have fun,” said the coach who looks for athletes he knows will fit in well together.
One of those so-called recruits is senior Jocelyn Jimenez, a soccer player, Leary thought would be good at badminton. She was, posting a 103 record as second singles. “I like it, it is physical and you run around a lot,” Jimenez said. “We won because wee were organized and supportive of each other.”

Another “recruit” was Andie Baum, a volleyball player, who had Leary as her first grade teacher at the Number Five School. Baum, who played two seasons, went 14-0 this year as third singles. “I liked it because it was fun and even the hard work was not hard to do,” she said. “I will remember all the jokes [coach] tried to make.”
When he began coaching the sport, Leary learned badminton from his players, online research and speaking with other coaches. He learned that on the court communication is vital to help ensure success. Leary keeps friends and sisters together as doubles teams. This season he had two sets of twins: the first doubles team of Huda and Huma Quanungo and the fourth doubles team of Ivette and Janice Estrada.
Huda started off in softball and Huma ran track, but the senior siblings wanted a sport they could share together and found badminton. “We know each other, trust each other and can rely on each other,” Huda said, in explaining their success. “It is a stress reliever and we have fun playing together,” said Huma, who in unison with her twin, said stress reliever.
Tennis player Lucia Malroni was introduced to the sport through her older sister Ivana. Exchanging one racket for another in the spring — tennis is a fall sport — Malroni served as team captain and was first singles. Competitive to a fault, she said she felt pressure to win the last match, but didn’t “that’s why we lost” Malroni said. However despite that defeat she enjoyed the season. “This was my favorite year,” she said. “We had a good group of girls and we always had fun singing from the ‘Frozen’ soundtrack.”
From 9-5 in 2013 to nearly undefeated and conference champs in ’14 that is music to anyone’s ears.