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MAC Celebrates its 3-Time Champion
2016-06-07
Archbishop MacDonald's Cecilia Wolski has achieved a rare-feat, a three-peat at Provincials. Read on to see her story.
With 3 back to back provincial championships, Cecilia Wolski is now the best badminton player in Alberta. Wolski has been playing badminton since she was in the sixth grade after numerous coaches who saw immense potential scouted her. She now trains at the Derrick Club with some of the best badminton players within the province. When asked what made her want to play badminton initially, she replied “it wasn’t that I wanted to start playing, my coaches just found me, so I just stuck with it a while." Over the years, Cecilia went through not only physical training, but mental training. “Badminton is very much a mental game. You need to be able to cope with losses all the while remaining confident enough to get back on the court.”
Competitive badminton is more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. Her current coach at Mac, Mr. Steven Como, says Cecilia trains on average 5-6 days a week, and devotes many hours to training. After 8 years of coaching badminton, she is the only player he has helped lead to a provincial championship. Alongside two MAC badminton alumni, Daniel Leung and Terrence Wong, Como coached Cecilia through all 3 years of high school. “Cecilia is the most talented, hardworking player I have ever coached. She has one of the most competitive spirits, and that really made her stand out as a player,” Como praised. “She was always so open-minded and took criticism as an opportunity to improve, rather than taking it negatively. Cecilia was also a huge mentor to the younger players, and they all looked up to her”.
The road to provincials is never easy, but Cecilia knew many of her biggest competitors. “Many of my friends whom I train with at the club were going to be there and I knew they were going to be my biggest competition. They definitely pushed me to train harder and try and pick up some new techniques.” Describing how it felt to be a 3 time provincial champion, Cecilia’s first response was that it was a relief. “After competing in provincials for 3 years in a row and all my training has been building up to this moment, I’m so happy that I was able to bring the Mac name with me through all of this and bring it to fame.” A few of Cecilia’s tips to becoming a great athlete are: “Always stay humble, and remember confidence not cockiness. Train hard and believe in yourself.”
Although Cecilia is graduating this year, Mac has plenty of talent to look forward to in the coming years. Coach Como says, “We have amazingly talented grade tens and elevens this year that show great potential. They have to continue to train hard and their skill level has to rise as they grow. They have to continue to train hard but I believe they can be successful in the future.”
- Victoria Sech and Jenna Kaminski
Competitive badminton is more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle. Her current coach at Mac, Mr. Steven Como, says Cecilia trains on average 5-6 days a week, and devotes many hours to training. After 8 years of coaching badminton, she is the only player he has helped lead to a provincial championship. Alongside two MAC badminton alumni, Daniel Leung and Terrence Wong, Como coached Cecilia through all 3 years of high school. “Cecilia is the most talented, hardworking player I have ever coached. She has one of the most competitive spirits, and that really made her stand out as a player,” Como praised. “She was always so open-minded and took criticism as an opportunity to improve, rather than taking it negatively. Cecilia was also a huge mentor to the younger players, and they all looked up to her”.
The road to provincials is never easy, but Cecilia knew many of her biggest competitors. “Many of my friends whom I train with at the club were going to be there and I knew they were going to be my biggest competition. They definitely pushed me to train harder and try and pick up some new techniques.” Describing how it felt to be a 3 time provincial champion, Cecilia’s first response was that it was a relief. “After competing in provincials for 3 years in a row and all my training has been building up to this moment, I’m so happy that I was able to bring the Mac name with me through all of this and bring it to fame.” A few of Cecilia’s tips to becoming a great athlete are: “Always stay humble, and remember confidence not cockiness. Train hard and believe in yourself.”
Although Cecilia is graduating this year, Mac has plenty of talent to look forward to in the coming years. Coach Como says, “We have amazingly talented grade tens and elevens this year that show great potential. They have to continue to train hard and their skill level has to rise as they grow. They have to continue to train hard but I believe they can be successful in the future.”
- Victoria Sech and Jenna Kaminski