Women's Badminton Flicks into Foothill

Former pro soccer player Tom Liner is the coach of Foothill’s newest team sport: women's badminton. Badminton is more than a yard game. This competitive sport is good for beginners and seasoned athletes alike. Foothill will be the sixth college in northern California to have an official team.

“People of all ages can play, and it’s a sport that people play in other parts of the world,” said Coach Liner. “It’s great to see different cultures blending in a class and I hope to bring that into a team as well.”

Coach Liner has previously served the college as the soccer coach for both men and women’s teams. He has worked for the college full-time since 2000. In his professional soccer career, Liner played in Austria for three years before being drafted by San Jose Clash (now the Earthquakes). He played with the team in their first major league game in 1996 and had the first shutout as a goalkeeper. His soccer career has taken him all over the world.

It may seem like badminton and soccer have little in common. But badminton is a great workout and helps with agility.

“Badminton is cross training for anyone working on footwork and hand eye coordination,” Coach Liner said. “It’s a great way to meet people, and it’s been proven that people who exercise do better in their academic classes.”

Students who are interested in joining the badminton team can sign up for the class or contact Coach Liner directly. “My classes are known for relationship building and giving students a sense of identity. And if anyone beats me, we’ll go to lunch.”