Childhood Days
I was a very shy child, born in 1995. I never played around with other kids in the open because I suffer from a rare genetic disease called Erythropoietic Protoporphyria that doesn’t let me stay out in the sun for more than 5-15 minutes, and it was only diagnosed when I was 16. Nonetheless I was very lucky during my childhood because my parents made me try a lot of very different sports.

Tryst with badminton
I saw badminton for the first time in a totally random way. I was on holiday in Paris with my parents. We were going to see the infrastructure that hosts the Roland Garros, but in the subway I saw a poster for the 2010 Badminton World Championships. Safe to say, we didn’t have much time left for Roland Garros.

First impressions
The one thing that struck me when I first saw badminton was the fast movements of the players. Also, the trajectory of the shuttlecock is something that captivated me and will always fascinate me.

Relationship with badminton
A couple of years later I switched from tennis to badminton. I started learning more and more and I even switched university: from Computer Engineering in Politecnico Di Milano to Sport Science in Università Di Milano. I devoted my life to this wonderful sport and itsdevelopment.

Great mentor
When I started being interested in coaching badminton I was lucky to find my mentor and role model, Fabio Morino, during the first Italian equivalent of “Level 1 Coach Education Courses” he held. He’s a tireless and creative people motivator, who gave me the foundation on which to build all my knowledge of badminton. He gave me not a “Bible” to follow, but instruments with which I could learn more. I admire his tenacity and wilfulness, and I cannever thank him enough for making my love for badminton blossom.

What makes badminton different
In my opinion badminton is both an individual and a team sport, both an easy and an extremely difficult sport. For these reasons it is able to attract all types of crowds, while keeping them connected, because ultimately they are still playing the same sport, no matter the skill level. The result is a very powerful social instrument with different “knobs” to adjust to various requirements.

Developing badminton in the community
One of the things I like most when I teach people is how new and different perspectives are brought up for discussion because of different life experiences of the participants to the courses. I cherish these moments because I learn alongside them and I always take home new lessons that might help me become a better version of myself.

Impact of Shuttle Time
Shuttle Time has helped badminton reach many more new schools and kids, all the while delivering much needed rackets and shuttles to help teachers. It helps achieve a high influx of kids in the clubs that are near schools. That translates to healthier clubs that in turn helpsraise the level of competitions in Italy in the long run.

Lessons from Shuttle Time
Shuttle Time is teaching me the value of cooperation between trainers and between higher and lower levels of the Italian federation, which translates to better efficiency and a better image and offer for aspiring teachers, tutors, trainers, coaches and pupils alike.