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Underpromise and overdeliver.
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It worked for Mark Barton and Ella Koch.
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The Stratford District secondary school duo finished their first and only mixed doubles badminton season together by earning antique bronze in the ‘B’ flight at provincials in Barrie. With no expectations, Barton and Koch won six of nine games over three days and settled into a groove after entering the tournament as Huron-Perth and Western Ontario champions.
“It helped so much,” Barton said. “Going into WOSSAA, there was some pressure on us to win. We played tense. Going to OFSAA, after our first few games, there was no pressure. Go out and have fun and do your best.”
Barton and Koch built their rapport on the court as partners at the Stratford Badminton Club. With Koch taking care of the net and Barton’s strength at the backcourt, the pair quickly clicked in the high school season.
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“I think we have a really good form of communication and working together and adapting as we go,” Koch said. “It’s really unreal. I wasn’t expecting (to medal at OFSAA) going into it, but it feels good to have made it there in the first place.”
Koch realized it might be a special season in the WOSSAA semifinal when the pair knocked off an Oakridge team that won the provincial ‘C’ flight.
“I realized they were a really good team,” she said, “but we were also really good, and that showed our true potential and adapting to other players to play with them.”
The Golden Bears’ OFSAA run ended with a loss to an Oshawa school in the consolation final for third place.
“Even getting beat is still fun because you get to see so many players you wouldn’t get to see play when you’re just here, and (it’s) something I never expected to do,” Koch said.
“When we got there I had no expectation,” Barton added. “Just go and have fun and play the best we could. We played really great together and it was awesome.”
While Barton, 18, is set to graduate next month, Koch, 16, figures she’ll play singles in the 2025 badminton season.
“We kind of got to the point I never expected to get here,” she said. “I feel like I’ve completed my goal.”
cosmith@postmedia.com
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