In January, he said visiting badminton coach Ji Wong Jong of South Korea conducted a training session for the NMI players. “The training was fairly about basics,” said Guerrero, the team captain. It was mainly about “footwork and striking the shuttle,” he added.
Nathan M. Guerrero sets up during an IT&E doubles tournament. Photo provided by Nathan M. Guerrero
Coach Ji’s primary objective was to evaluate the level of skill on Saipan. “He helped us improve our form for the basics,” Guerrero said.
The badminton coach was set to host another training session with the NMBA in April, but it was canceled due to the Covid-19 crisis. “It will still happen when all this clears up,” Guerrero said, adding that the NMI team wants to prepare well for the 2022 Pacific Mini Games.
Participating in the 2019 Pacific Games hosted by Samoa was also a learning opportunity for the NMI badminton players. “We are so fortunate and grateful to represent the CNMI in Samoa for the Pacific Games,” Guerrero said.
Nathan Camacho poses with relatives Brian Camacho, Jordan Pangelinan and Tony Salas during the 2019 CNMI Labor Day Softball Tournament in Oregon. Contributed photos
The Northern Marianas Badminton Association members who represented the CNMI in the 2019 Pacific Games hosted by Samoa. Photo provided by Nathan M. Guerrero
“It was an awesome experience and it also gave us a feel of what our competition would be like. I don’t feel we did too bad out there for a team, which had about four to five months of training only and with no coach. We relied on each other to better ourselves and we did. We learned to really help one another on things we picked up or know. I’m proud of our outcome in Samoa and the hard work we put in. I would also like to thank the team for having the honor of playing with them. I do believe that once we get proper coaching on top of hard work and dedication, our team is capable of great things.”
He said he and the other members of the team are also very grateful for the continued support of NMBA president Merlie Tolentino, the other members, and Tan Holdings Corp. president and chief executive officer Jerry Tan.
