Badminton coach John Britton has great faith in this season’s eleven team members.

“We have a lot of athletic ability, most of the players excel in other sports, they just haven’t played the game of badminton,” Britton said.

The Warriors (1-1) are preparing to face Pasadena City College tomorrow after competing yesterday in a match against East L.A. College.

Wednesday’s match went as expected with East L.A. College, as EC won all of its singles and doubles matches.

Britton was not surprised; he even jokingly goes on to describe the practices as “Badminton 101”, stating that he has to teach the fundamentals of the game.

The women are optimistic and excited about the possibilities brought on by this season in a game that many of them are new to.

“I expect to do a lot better this season. We have a lot of strong players and a much bigger squad,” Iliana Gonzalez, the lone returning player, said.

The Warriors were also able to breath a little easier after capturing a win for their first match.

The team was scheduled for their first competition on the Feb. 27 but L.A. City College was forced to forfeit because it did not have enough players to compete.

L.A. City College, like some of the other teams in the South Coast Conference, cannot begin to compete until they have their full team.

Many of its players are still competing in state basketball playoffs.

“I was excited when I heard they were unable to play, they have some really hardcore badminton players and our team is still really new,” Gonzalez said.

Jamie Tribble, a new addition to the badminton team, felt differently about L.A. City forfeiting the match.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t get to play, I wanted to see how I would match up to their players because I’ve never played badminton competitively before,” Tribble said.

Britton, who is the coach of both women’s soccer and badminton, recruited Tribble, who also plays for the women’s soccer team.

After competing in its first match, the Warriors are looking forward to future competitions.

“Hopefully we do a little better than last season. As far as our performance, I think we will fall somewhere in the middle,” Gonzalez said.

“I think we will be pretty average this season,” Tribble said. “The other teams have a lot more experience.”

Britton would agree with his players.

“This will definitely be a learning experience,” Britton said. “With more practice and our athleticism, we will improve and hopefully by the end of the season I can turn [the team] into real badminton players.”