Written By: John Short

At a certain time some years ago, many youngsters were presented with a common theme: The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same.

Today, that age-old lesson clearly applies to the NAIT Ooks and the ongoing success of their title-tested badminton program which will be on display during the national college championships at the nearby home of the Concordia Thunder, who provide major competition for the Ooks, year after year. The Ooks will lead a provincial team that includes Concordia, the King's Eagles and Olds Broncos.

Head coach Sinead Cheah and her 11-member NAIT squad recently captured their school's 17th Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship in succession. In addition, NAIT athletes have collected 19 individual titles at the national level, where no single institution is ever defined as a national titlist.

Traditionally, the parent conference – ACAC in NAIT's case – receives the championship banner. Coach Cheah, quiet and modest except on the sidelines or dealing with her team, said she believes this year's ACAC team, which also includes members from Concordia, King's and Olds, is in position to win another one.

"I'm sure we're going to be first or second as a province," she said. "Ontario is always very good, too, but I've made it clear to our athletes that their priorities at this time must be this tournament."

Cheah has first-hand knowledge of the pressure. As a player, she won gold and silver medals in mixed and female doubles in the 2010 and 2012 finals. Her predecessor as coach, current NAIT athletics manager Jordan Richey, also added three individual

titles in previous years. "We intend to add more medals this time," Cheah said."

Among NAIT's leaders is Imran Wadia, recently named as the ACAC's top player for 2017-18. In conversation, Cheah had to be reminded that she received the top league coaching honour, which certainly suggests she is a candidate for national recognition.

To step almost directly from the court to the bench posed a few problems, said the coach, who earned certificates in architectural technology and interior design – "the courses are related" – and has worked with both skills in addition to her coaching duties.

Even now, she recalls being recruited by Richey and the joy of playing with international stars Dan Kai and Sun Yeng, whose careers are still among the happiest memories for badminton fans throughout the province.

"They came to NAIT partly because a great coach, Wang Wen, ()spelling?), recognized the quality of the program. He still runs a badminton school in the west end of Edmonton. Nobody talks about him very much anymore, but he has been a great builder of this game."

To coach Cheah, badminton features one major benefit: "It's a diverse sport." The stress of competition and the need to treat each student-athlete player as an individual has, she said, broadened her perspective in and out of sport.

A look at her team roster makes clear that new Canadians and immigrant families are part of NAIT's sport history. "Our players probably rank among the top dozen or so in their events, and we all share in that success.

"We're close together as a team. We cheer for each other during competition and we work with each other to prepare for competition."

These attributes have been applied with NAIT teams for many successful years in many sports.

ACAC playoffs are soon to reach high gear in many sports. For now, it's time for badminton to demonstrate again the accuracy of the old cliche that is a perfect fit for the team, the coach and their sport.