Clarisse Domingo has played badminton since high school. Although she had no intention of joining the badminton team at Skyline College, she not only plays on the team but is considered a frontrunner.

“I just really like the game,” Domingo said. “It’s fast paced, I liked improving a lot, going against a lot of people.” Domingo has a healthy way of being competitive, balancing her acquired skills with the humility of understanding she is part of a team.

Registering in a badminton class for recreation, Domingo said, “I just wanted to play for fun. I was just in the class. (Coach) Jan (Fosberg) was pretty persuasive about (joining the team) and recruited me last year. So far, it’s been pretty good.”

“Clarisse is a team leader and helps keep the team motivated through her words and actions,” Coach Jan Fosberg said.

Domingo’s motivational words were much needed, since the season began with many injured players. Domingo herself was injured half of the season with her shoulder.

“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be able to continue but with the help of the trainer here I was able to strengthen and keep playing.” The pain was present with her swing which prevented her from hitting for an entire month. “I wanted to push myself, to continue to strengthen,” Domingo said. The payoff was when Skyline played City College and took a big win.

“One of the highlights of the season was when we (got) to bond on the away matches,” Domingo said. “The girls are great, especially when facing a tough opponent like DeAnza. When we win, we try to win as big as we can.”

This past Friday May 9 and Saturday May 10, the Skyline badminton team played in the State Championships and ended up tying for third place with City College of San Francisco. It was also Domingo’s first time going to the State Championships.

“We made it to finals which is pretty good for us,” Domingo said when reflecting on how both she and her partner were playing with injuries and providing each other with motivation to finish strong. At the end of the season, Skyline badminton finished with a 3-5 record.

Domingo placed first in doubles and third in the singles, which was a challenge because she was also nursing a shoulder injury. Working with the trainer helped Domingo regain some strength. She was able to play doubles in most of her matches and her focus and hard work paid off when she qualified for the State Championships in doubles.

“The fact that she was able to play with pain and still perform as well as she did was motivational to all other teammates,” Coach Fosberg said. “The season was fun and we had a very nice group. Unfortunately we had some key injuries that kept players out of matches.”

Domingo has stayed committed to the team all semester, rehabbed an injury, played with an injury, kept herself motivated and shared those motivational thoughts with her fellow teammates. On Wednesday May 14, the team enjoyed an awards ceremony and dinner where Domingo was awarded MVP.