Jillie Cooper, 21, is training with the Great Britain Badminton Squad with high hopes of competing in the Olympics in London 2012. She’s also an OU student...
How did you get a place in the GB badminton squad?
The GB badminton squad was set up in 2007 with different levels of entry. There is the podium group, international player and talent pool. Currently I am sitting on international player. I got on the programme when it first started and I managed this because I had met the set criteria for my specific age. I did this by gaining certain level of results in specific tournaments. The more I progress and the older I get, the harder the criteria gets.
You’re 21, playing badminton at international level and also studying for a degree. How do you fit it all in?
I have to be well organised and plan ahead with my schedule. It is difficult at times but I always make time to see my best friends and family. I do have a social life, sometimes it’s not as often as I would like and is definitely not as regular as most normal 21-year-olds but that’s just the way it is and I suppose I have become used to it.
I have become used to missing big events because of my sport and because I have done it for so long I guess it’s just normally now. For example, I spent my 21st birthday in China representing Scotland at the world team championships. At the time it was difficult not being with my friends and family on the big day but at the same time the badminton team is also like my family and to represent my country on my 21st birthday was an honour. I also enjoy my studies and I know that badminton will not last forever so it’s important to have something to fall back on when it does all come to an end.
How important is it to make social time in between your sporting and studying commitments?
Very important. At times you can get bogged down in all of it and although I am focussed and dedicated to my sport I do think it’s very important to be able to have some free time and relax with friends and family. When I am with them I can fully switch off and be free from badminton and studying for that period. For me to perform at my best I need to be relaxed and chilled and I do this by spending time with my friends, otherwise you can just get wrapped up in it all and not switch off which I find hampers my performance.
What’s the best and worst thing about studying with the OU?
The best thing is that I can fit it in around my sport, without a doubt, and study when and where I want with all the materials. I wouldn’t be able to study if it wasn´t for the OU, or it would mean not being able to train full time at the national centre. My tutors have always been very flexible and understanding because if I have a heavy competition period whereby I haven´t been able to study much and will struggle to get an assignment in, they have always granted me an extension. For this alone I am extremely grateful. The worst thing is that I would like to attend lectures and meet my fellow students in person but then again I understand you can´t have everything so I am grateful to be able to play my sport full time while also gaining a degree.
Are the things you’re learning through OU study helping with your badminton?
Yeah, definitely. I have just finished a topic on communication within the workplace and I have found it very useful. I can relate a lot to the topics I have studied but I suppose they are just a bit more in depth in certain areas.
There are other OU students also competing at international level. Do you know them? Do you share study tips?
Yeah, there are three other badminton players on the GB programme who are also studying with the OU. They are all also Scottish and are my team mates so yes I know them very well. We don´t share study tips as we all just do it in our spare time. Being athletes we have to be quite organised with our life anyway so we all have no problem in fitting it in even though sometimes we do find ourselves leaving it to the last minute!
How easy is it for people to get into badminton?
Very easy. Badminton is a sport that most people will play growing up but it is mainly played at club level and not many people know that you can play the sport professionally. By contacting their National Governing body they will be able to provide a list of clubs which will be in their area. Most local leisure centres also offer badminton coaching groups.
Would you recommend sport as a way to stay fit? What are the added benefits?
Of course anything that raises your heart rate will help keep you get fit and sport certainly does that! There is a very big social aspect and I have met a lot of my best friends through playing badminton. As a junior I think this is why I liked badminton so much as I was always travelling up and down the country with a group of people the same age. Now, as an international player, I have travelled the world and been to places I would never have gone to if I had not played badminton.
What are your plans for two years time, fives years time, 10 years time and 20 years time?
In two years I will hopefully have competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games for Scotland and be on team GB for 2012. In five years I am hoping to win a Commonwealth Games medal in Glasgow and hopefully be a well established world class player with aspirations of medalling in the 2016 Olympics. I also hope to have gained my degree by this time. In 10 years time I might still be playing but I suppose it all depends on how my body holds up and how my career results have been to that date. Hopefully I’ll be be engaged too! In 20 years… I don´t really want to think that far ahead as I will be 41! But I guess I will definitely be in the real world working, hopefully working in the sporting sector or business in a job that takes me places around the world. I am so used to travelling I think I would get bored staying in the same place all the time. I would also hope to be settled with a family.
