Badminton is very popular game and one of the primary sport in Asia, rather just recreational sport. Yet Asian parents (most of them) don't send their kids to formal training in USA for learning badminton, just wondering what could be reason? I noticed same parents send them to Skating, Swimming, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Karate but not Badminton Any thoughts ...?
I think he meant to say that asian parents who live in the US don't send their kids to badminton. My kids are in it but.... the reason many don't is because most kids want to go to lessons with their friends, many of whom are Caucasian so ya they go to swimming (important life skill), skating, soccer, karate, football, hockey... etc. Sports which are popular here.
not really true. here in N. California, there are TONS of Asian kids enrolled in badminton classes. there are around a dozen dedicated badminton gyms with hundreds of courts. and on every weekend I estimate half of those courts are used in training classes for kids. the culture here is very different though, 1/3 of the population in the bay area is Asian so I am guessing there are a lot more participation in badminton compared to the east coast. so if you want to see more kids going into badminton, just move here!
Ya for sure, the asian population definitely makes a difference. Richmond, BC is the same in Canada. Many dedicated badminton facilities available. Here in Edmonton you have the choice of clubs that play in gyms, 2 private clubs and only 1 public badminton dedicated facility.
One slight but important difference between Asian and Caucasian parents are the emphasis on education and career of their child. Whereas Western parents may encourage their child to pursue an athletic career if they're talented in their sport, however, Asian parents do not look upon athletics (nor arts for that matter) as a lifetime career to be worth pursuing. As a hobby perhaps, but not as a career.
*EXCEPT*... Asian parents really plans ahead and want their kids to excel at some extra-curricular activities so they can be ahead of other kids when it comes to college admission. after all colleges are sick of seeing (and discriminates against) a million applications from Asian kids with 4.5 GPA. if there is something that differentiate them the better. now not everyone has the talent for sports but even if they just squeeze their way into the school team will be a plus on their resume. I have seen a lot of the extra talented who played at the national junior level get into some of the best colleges in the country. I am sure their participation and achievements in junior national championship and national team helped.
There is no future in badminton especially in Singapore, what can you do after badminton lets say about 30 yrs old. Unless you are lucky to be like Derek after badminton work under Deloitte.
I am not sure that this is the answer to the OP's question as it was stated that other sports are preferred by Asian parents to badminton. To my mind, facilities are important. Lack of available courts is a big issue. e.g. an indoor facility might have badminton courts but it's no use if priority for booking is always given to basketball or volleyball with open hours for badminton at inconvenient times. What your peers and friends pick up is important. That's why you see a lot of West Coast facilities for badminton. It becomes a social hub. That leads on to this point and that is if you are a fairly new immigrant with children born in the US, you might want them to fit into local culture more. And badminton isn't a mainstream local culture sport in many parts of the USA.
Also because in America there are more money and opportunities in other sports like basketball, soccer, tennis , golf, baseball etc, so you'll see more parents investing in what they think could make a better living for the kids if they ever want to be serious in pursuing life from sport. Name any American that make a good living from badminton? Now name American athletes that make millions from basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, skating, swimming? See that's what I'm talking about.
actually, it depends on what you mean by good living. an decent badminton coach can easily earn US$100k a year. given they get at least $100/hour for big group lessons. that's not bad. but certainly not millions.
Unfortunately in our western society, someone saying they're a badminton coach just doesn't have the same ring to it as saying they're a tennis instructor or ski instructor or golf instructor etc... And I'm quite sure those instructors would make more? And btw don't forget that $100/h charge for the badminton coach hasn't taken into account his court fees yet.
I don't think this is a major factor. Namely because on the West Coast, badminton is far more popular. Would you say Asian parents on the West Coast have a different mentality to Asian parents in the rest of America?
I'm on the east coast of Canada and there are tons of Asians in my club (both adults and kids). I suspect that a lot of Asian people do play badminton, but living in Canada there are more sports options available perhaps. Like badminton isn't as popular here as in Asia so you're naturally going to have people playing other sports (like hockey) as well.
Asians who live in North America in, or near, large populations of Asians have a much higher chance of having their kids play "asian" type sports. For sure Asian parents in SF would be much more likely to have their kids in badminton vs say Asian parents in Iowa.... Kids will play whats popular in their particular area because that's what other kids are playing.... Honestly, I don't think it has anything to do with money or prestige.... etc. but much more to do with what's available and popular with their friends. Don't see much hockey played in Singapore do you?
Problem is badminton isn't really a sport recognized by universities, and it isn't a profitable sport either. Most universities will give you a scholarship if you're good at football, soccer, basketball, track, etc, but none for badminton. In Canada I have a hard time even finding people to play with, when I was in China it was just like step into a badminton court and it would be full of people waiting for games.
How badminton players are treated in US or Canada is still very different say with Indonesia or Malaysia. There was a Canadian national player who had to do fund raising project in BC a while back for competing. Meanwhile in Indonesia for all national players all the fee for attending tournaments from accommodation, ticket, food, salary are all covered by PBSI (they have full fledged facility in Cipayung ranging from nutritionist, trainer, massage therapist, etc, so covered that all they have to worry about is their game). Well of course there are many parents in America who has want their kids to be aspiring badminton players. But of course there will be more targeting other more prestigious sports, they want their kids to be like Tiger Woods, Jeremy Lin, Michelle Kwan, Apollo Anton Ohno and the likes. There's a saying, shoot for the moon if you fail you'll land among the stars. Even mediocre players in major basketball , baseball, soccer, golf, tennis league in America could pocket millions on their pay check but we haven't seen this for badminton in America.
That's probably just a handful of who were former national, Olympic or World Champions like Tony or Halim? If other sports are to be made comparison USD100k yearly is minimum wage at major basketball, baseball, football, soccer league in America. Certainly Asian parents in America are well aware of this, no?
Okay, I actually googled it out of curiosity, minimum yearly salary (usually rookie year) in NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB are all about USD 500,000 but MLS though is only USD 36,500.
just rough calculation. I know how much some places charge for group lesson. a big group is more profitable for the coach, despite what people think. a group of 15-20 students is not uncommon. say 15. each 2 hour group lesson charges around $30-40. say $30. that's $450 for 2 hours. some places split it with the coach. i think the coach will get pretty close to $100. as for why private is not profitable, it is hard for lesser known coaches to charge more than $60-70/hr. so they get less than that with profit sharing. and I am not talking about famous coaches like Tony/Halim/etc. but also not the assistant kid coach either, someone who has national level training experience.
