“I call upon the youth of the world, to gather four years from now, in Beijing, China,” were the words of the International Olympic President Jacques Rogge heard all over the world during the close of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

One individual who wished to be a part of the event this year was Junior Meghan DeLoera but she is currently working towards being a part of that calling in 2012. She has been playing badminton for two years and is currently in the first seat on the varsity team.

“I have always wanted to have the opportunity to represent my country and play with the best,” DeLoera said.

Recently she was given contact information for local “Badminton Guru,” Guy Chadwick, by Head Badminton Coach Heather McDonald.

He is known for holding many badminton camps all over Arizona as well as previously being a coach for mens and womens badminton at Arizona State University from 1988-1993.

“I really don’t know how I could help with taking her to the next level, so I hope Guy can help her,” McDonald said.

Chadwick will come and watch matches near the end of the season and hopefully help guide DeLoera in the right direction towards playing after high school. What first sparked her interest in the sport was the “old people in sweaters playing in their backyards” stereotype. DeLoera thought it was “interesting” and wanted to try it out. Freshman year she did just that and has been working on climbing up in rankings on the varsity team ever since.

Even through the humorous first thought of the game, DeLoera takes the sport very seriously.

“I respect the sport and how difficult certain aspects of it can be. Things like shots and strategy take some time to get down,” DeLoera said.

Although she has great confidence and pride in her accomplishments, DeLoera normally feels bad for her opponents when she beats them.

“I got the comment last year a lot like ‘Oh, you’re just a silly sophomore on varsity, you don’t know anything’, and it’s hard to hurt their feelings when I’ve been playing for such a short time and they’ve been playing for so much longer,” DeLoera said

Over the past two years, injuries like a torn rotator cuff, developing “runner’s knee” and numerous sprained ankles have piled up and limited DeLoera from working out with the rest of the team.

Instead of doing activities like suicides and lifting, she works out on the bicycle in the weight room.

A plan on maybe hiring a personal trainer to help in the future “is something in consideration,” DeLoera added.

When asked if she had a personal philosophy or favorite quote to play by, she just smirked and said, “If you’re not first you’re last.”