MIRA COSTA BADMINTON COACHES ARE A MATCH ON AND OFF THE COURT

Coach Cindy Levin started playing badminton at 10 years old, at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club (MBBC). When she joined the Mira Costa High School Badminton Team, they won two CIF Southern Section Team Championships, in 1976 and 1978. She met her husband of 43 years David Levin, when she attended Arizona State University, winning two national Badminton Championships in 1980 and 1981. David coached the ASU Men’s and Women’s Badminton Teams to National Championships in 1978. A match was made.
 
“Cindy and I still play and compete in international age group tournaments where we regularly win gold in our age group,” says David. “Badminton is truly our life.”
 
David moved to Manhattan Beach in 1978 and became a Junior Instructor at the MBBC. In 1985 David coached the USA Maccabi Badminton Team to a silver medal while taking home silver in men’s singles. All team members were from MBBC.
 
When they both retired in 2015, they became the coaches of the Mira Costa Badminton Team.
“Mira Costa has a rich tradition in Badminton, largely due the training available at MBBC. But COVID devastated our program with only 12 kids joining in 2021,” Cindy recalls, “we needed to re-build, basically from scratch.”
 
While Mira Costa was building their new sports complex, David and Cindy were building back the badminton program at MBBC, but when the team was now able to train in the new Pavilion Gym on campus, the team exploded with interest from students. “Our core players will always come from MBBC, but being able to practice and play matches on campus is a big draw and integrates badminton into Costa sports,” David remarked.
 
The badminton season consists of matches against other high schools and tournaments with dozens of schools. This year Costa is succeeding in both formats, winning the bulk of their matches and taking top places in both Varsity and JV Tournaments.
 
“Badminton is the only coed sport in CIF”, says Cindy. “Our boys and girls practice together and compete together in mixed-doubles. David and I coach all of the kids but having both a male and female coach shows all our players that they can succeed.”
 
“To play badminton at the competitive level, you need agility, strength and aerobic fitness. As an athlete, you will be pushed to your athletic limits. But it’s also a lifetime sport. Cindy and I are two examples that you can play badminton forever!”
 
Follow Mira Costa Badminton on social media:  @miracostabadminton
Schedule and info are at: miracostabadminton.com