Congratulations to High Performance Coach of the Year, Darryl Yung!

Darryl Yung has been a valuable asset to badminton in British Columbia for over 16 years, most notably for his role in building a badminton-specific training centre in Richmond offering athletes an affordable place to train. Darryl has helped produce an Olympian, international and national level athletes, as well as over 60 provincial champions.

He leads by example promoting etiquette and fair play amongst his athletes, and encourages them to deepen their badminton knowledge and develop leadership skills through ongoing coach education. His contribution to the local community transcends borders as he regularly attracts experts from all over the world to teach his coaches and athletes new skills, putting Richmond on the global map for badminton.

Darryl is the winner of the 2018 Bob Bearpark Coach of the Year award in the category of high performance. We reached out to Darryl to find out more about his passion and what this award means to him.

viaSport: What inspired you to get into coaching?

Darryl: “I have always had a vision to grow the sport of badminton in North America. In keeping in line with this vision and growth of the sport, I felt it has to start from the grassroots and develop upwards. The bigger the base and popularity, the better the chance to grow a respectively unknown sport in North America.

I was approached by many parents after the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta to help their children and in responding to these requests, I fell in love with building the young generation of players with the aim to give them as much knowledge and experience as I had from International travel and inspire them to take the sport more seriously. Having the vision to open a warehouse badminton centre called ClearOne Badminton Centre was the foundation of this vision to coach develop young players.” 

viaSport: What has been the greatest reward that coaching has provided to date?

Darryl: “I would have to say from starting a warehouse badminton centre from the beginning and opening it to anyone to come play, not having any government support, and being able to qualify an Olympic Player, Toby Ng, to the Olympic stage in London 2012, where he competed in mixed doubles. He was just a young boy when he started with me, but flourished throughout the years and developed into a top level international player. This was a highlight for me along with developing numerous Provincial and National champions, in proving that if you build it they will come and hence the inception of ClearOne Badminton Centres in Richmond, BC., Calgary, AB and Orlando, FL. and the development of Toby Ng and many badminton talents.”

viaSport: What does it mean to you to receive the Coach of the Year award this year?

Darryl: “To receive an award such as this simply confirms that my ambition, passion, and vision are moving in the right direction for the sport of badminton. To be recognized for my efforts in producing students who simply want to play recreationally to developing players who want to compete provincially, nationally or even internationally is a tremendous satisfaction for me. Anytime a person is recognized for their efforts, it only fuels them to forge ahead and continue to push the boundaries further and not be discouraged when faced with adversity. This is exactly what this award means to me and I thank the board for this tremendous honor and recognition.”

On behalf of viaSport and the Bob Bearpark Foundation, congratulations, Darryl!