It's not that we believe in spoiling our kids. What really happened was, two days before Chinese New Year, Andre's badminton shoes tore. It couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time. He had intensive training lined up and it was right smack in the middle of the zonal inter-school badminton tournament. With shops closing for the CNY holidays, it was a race against time.So began a desperate hunt for a pair of replacement shoes and it was a frustrating one. Andre's feet are at an awkward size now, too large for junior sizes and too small for adult sizes. We also realised that compared to say, tennis shoes or running shoes where a myriad of brands and choices await, badminton shoes are annoyingly limited.
After several calls, we finally found a shop which had something to offer - this eye-catching crimson pair at a whopping $140 (discounted from $189!) Even then, the shopkeeper didn't have them on stock and had to collect them from the Yonex store. Apparently, this is the model Taufik Hidayat wears.
In case you're not aware, Taufik (right pic) is an Indonesia badminton player and former Olympic champion. As at Feb 2011, he's ranked the World no. 2, just behind Malaysian Lee Chong Wei. In fact, Yonex also carries the pair that Lee wears but it costs an additional $5 and I was adamant about not parting with any more cash."At $140, you better start playing like Taufik or I'm returning them!" threatened this very demanding mother. Andre was undaunted. He loved his red shoes and proclaimed that they helped him jump higher, run faster, even feel taller.
Astonishingly, at the very next badminton match, Andre played like a demon, impressing even the coach. He still lost the match (he met some extremely formidable opponents this year) but it's nice to see that he can hold his own against some of the stronger players in his cohort.
So was it the shoes? I'm sure it's more psychological than miracle but at least he's earned the right to wear them for now.
Oooh, we have a pair of "last-minute" shoes too. We bought him a pair of boots for a winter trip 3 weeks before the trip. On the morning of the trip as we were running out to catch the taxi, he complained it ached (1st time wearing). Apparently, it was too small by then! We had to buy a new pair of shoes at the airport - a pair of Nikes! He outgrew them within the next few months too. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteThat's Murphy's Law for you. We sure hope these last more than a few months!
ReplyDeletei was surprised too at the limited range of badminton shoes when we were hunting for a pair for our P2 dd last year at the numerous sports shops at Queenstown shopping centre. After more than an hour, we finally found a yellow pair (that's the only colour and size left!) for her. I think we'll have to start hunting again end of this year for a bigger pair, provided the shoes don't give way now that she has 3x weekly training sessions.
ReplyDeleteMrs Cheng: Not only are the range and sizes limited, some of them are rather poor quality. Andre's shoes before this pair was Apacs, it only lasted 3 months! His friend bought a pair by Victor, also broke in no time. If your dd has intensive training, I think Yonex is still your best bet. One of Andre's earlier pairs was a Yonex and it lasted till he outgrew it.
ReplyDeleteCome talk to my hubby and he'll tell you all about what 'magic' an excellent and 'worn by sportman' shoe doe to a sports person...sigh! Think it's a guy thing!
ReplyDeleteHappy CNY,
Sarah CHAN
Happy CNY to you too, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteWaaah, the shoes look very saaat leh hahaha. Totally fits Andre's personality, not that he's fiery but that he's so bold! And it's true mah, you pay peanuts you'll get monkey results, you want him to perform well, you have to fork out the dough for brand-name products lah :D
ReplyDeleteLilian: You know lah, the vain pot is so conscious about his looks! But whether it works or not, if this pair doesn't last long, he's going back to the cheapo ones, haha.
ReplyDeletehaha ... I bought a pair of Nike shoes for my kid's NAPFA test. She claimed that it was a pair of miracle shoes, bcos it helped her pass her always-failed item ie. inclined flexed arm-hang (can't remember the exact name) and helped her get her desired award (Bronze). She said she could run faster, jump higher too! What miracles a pair of shoes can do!
ReplyDeletePatricia: Lol, isn't it amazing how shoes can affect the inclined flex arm-hang?? Haha, well, whatever works!
ReplyDelete