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Bob Malaythong: Olympian
Making a Difference in the Northeast
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Just barely four months after
moving to Marblehead, MA, to become the head coach of the Marblehead Youth
Badminton, Bob Malaythong is now a major influence in bringing up the enthusiasm
in badminton training as well as the skill and play level among the youth and
adults in Marblehead. In the recently concluded 2008 MidAtlantic Junior Open,
Bob led the Marblehead Juniors to win the Team Championship Trophy.
Bob migrated to Maryland from Laos at the age of nine and
worked his way to receive the training that got him to reach the quarterfinals
in men’s doubles with Howard Bach at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And after years
of training in the West Coast, this Olympian decided to do what no other
badminton Olympian has done, that is to move to the East Coast to share his
skills, despite the attraction of more than a dozen big badminton clubs recently
built in the West.
A badminton junior parent once
remarked,” Bob has the exceptional skill to make a non-badminton player become a
good player in a very short time”. Sure enough, his presence is being felt in
the Northeast with players purposely traveling to Marblehead to be coached.
This include outstanding players like Rahul Talari (2008 MAJO U17 BS Champion)
from New Hampshire, Gabriel Mirabal from Florida as well as the top seeded MD
duo from Maryland, Sameera Gunatileka and Vincent Nguy.
During this Winter Holiday
break, Bob cut short his vacation for a hectic coaching schedule including being
part of Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley’s winter sports festival promoting Olympic
sports in support of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid, training Sam and Vincent in
preparation for the USA Badminton Team Trials and conducting a Junior Winter
Camp involving more than two dozen juniors from Maugus Club, Marblehead and
Maryland. Bob has a sharp focus in supporting top players from the Region in
National competitions.
Remember the NPR feature on
“Could badminton be the next NASCAR?” Well, if it does, you can be sure that
Bob did play a major role.
The Marblehead Youth Badminton
Team, with Bob a coach, wins the 2008 MAJO Team Championship.
Bob conducts a Junior Winter
Camp at the Maugus Club in MA.
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