York’s head badminton coach, Gena Fite, enters her last season

BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN

“I’m going to miss these kids. They’re incredibly wonderful.” – Gena Fite

“My dad always said a person has a responsibility to give back using their gifts,” said York head badminton coach, Gena Fite. “Sports were always easy for me. So, I knew from a young age that this [coaching] would be my way of giving back.”

Fite has been coaching and mentoring athletes younger than herself since she was in high school – a young age indeed. “I was dating a guy who thought it would be fun to coach together,” Fite recalled. “So we coached a little girls’ eight-year-old-and-under softball team. It was really fun!”

Fite’s long career began at her father’s behest to use her talents to their fullest. “I’m glad my dad gave me that advice early in life, because it really directed my career path.”

Now decades later, she’s heading into her last season of coaching the York varsity badminton team. And a new season of life – retirement.

But for Fite, the idea is a little surreal. Just like there’s a doctor’s doctor, Fite is the coach’s coach. It’s been a journey, and each stop along the way has been a paver in the road.

Fite played varsity tennis and badminton at Arlington Heights High School. While her tennis record was excellent, having won both conference and district titles, her badminton record was outstanding. After she won fourth and third places individually in the state tournament during her sophomore and junior years, respectively, the team took first in her senior year.

“My high school coach laid the foundation for my coaching,” said Fite. “She was the one who really instilled that sense of team and made us believe we had unlimited capabilities.”

“I’m going to miss these kids. They’re incredibly wonderful.”

— Gena Fite

Fite received a full badminton scholarship to Illinois State University (ISU). “It was great until ISU dropped all their minority sports -lacrosse, badminton, all JV sports teams – after my freshman year,” she remembered. Just as one door closed, however, another opened. “My coach was determined to get me in front of ASU, [Arizona State University].’ Little did I know their badminton team was first in the nation,” Fite smiled, as she recalled. The ASU badminton program had seen several alumni go on to play on Olympic teams.

The ASU coach agreed to let Fite play as a walk-on her sophomore year after seeing her almost beat the second seed in the National Junior Badminton Tournament that year. After she beat some of her teammates in tournaments, performing well at nationals, ASU offered her a full scholarship for her last two years. Senior year, the team won nationals. Timing was serendipitous, as badminton was unfortunately dropped from ASU’s athletic program the next year.

Over the past couple of decades, Fite’s name has become synonymous with York badminton. She first joined the Dukes in 2001 as head coach. When family life became more of a priority, she took a break in 2008. She returned to York in 2017 as the freshman coach and resumed her former position as head coach the following year, where she has been ever since.

Fite (bottom right) recalls that the Olympic Festivals were among her favorite memories.

While York has been the bulk of her career, the years before her arrival at the school were peppered with many exciting opportunities revolving around badminton. Fite finished in the top 5 in the U.S. adult rankings following college and first in the Midwest for both singles and doubles for seven years in a row. Tryouts for Team U.S.A. earned her a spot as an alternate.

“The Olympic Festivals were definitely some of my favorite memories,” said Fite. When the Olympic Games used to be held every four years, ‘Olympic Festivals’ were held in

rotating cities throughout the U.S. every non-Olympic year. The festivals brought high-level talent together for the possibility of being noticed for future Olympic competition. “Those were so much fun,” she remembered. “We had an opening and closing ceremony, an Olympic village – the whole works.” Fite served as a line officiator at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

She has also competed internationally. “I played in the International Friendship Tournament in Japan in my early 40s,” she recounted. “My team finished third out of 39 teams – the highest a U.S. team has ever placed.”

Fite competing at the International Friendship Tournament in Japan.

And there’s been so much more! Having served as President of the Illinois Girls Coaches Association, Fite enjoyed teaching coaches how to coach through hosting clinics. She’s organized camps and tournaments and taught private lessons. She even strung badminton rackets for other area schools. All because she loved it.

When you’ve been at it as long as Fite, the idea of hanging up the racket takes some getting used to. But with a new grandchild on the way this summer, the timing seems right.

“I’m going to miss these kids,” said Fite. “They’re incredibly wonderful.” But after having coached for so long and having also taught tennis at Courts Plus for the past 25 years, she’ll be around town. What advice does she leave the York community? “Badminton competition has evolved over the years. Always bring your A game.”