Although Mike Beres doesn’t play badminton much these days after retiring from the sport over 16 years ago, his national and international accomplishments reflect his relentless dedication and passion for it during his time on the court.
Beres, who grew up playing baseball and hockey like most local children, soon gravitated to badminton.
“I grew up on a tobacco farm in the Mount Pleasant area and did all the normal sports, like baseball…and I went to Burford to play hockey; when I was in Grade four, I was introduced to badminton through a teachers’ two sons,” he recalled. “I was then introduced to Edith Hayman, the coach of the Brantford Junior Badminton Club; I found that I liked the sport so much, I just started playing at that club [which] slowly led to me getting better [and] playing bigger tournaments in Toronto and across Ontario.”
Beres explained the importance that Hayman had in his badminton career early on.
“There’s so many things that need to happen for you to be successful [which includes having a] mentor and coach like Edith Hayman, who also shares the passion of the sport,” he said. “If you don’t have someone who’s a good coach, a good motivator, a good speaker, [or] someone who can drive you in the right direction [it’s going to be hard to] follow through with the sport. So, she was all of that for me…if it wasn’t for her, [especially] in my early years of playing badminton, I probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with the sport [and] continue with it.”
After finishing high school, Beres made the decision to move to Calgary in 1992, where the national team was situated and gave him a chance to compete internationally.
“It was definitely daunting to think that I was going to move away from home…but my family was very supportive and they knew…by moving to Calgary, it was the natural progression to make the team [and] what I needed to do to succeed,” he said. “It was very exciting and stressful to go to a different place…[but] it wasn’t just me doing it on my own [along with my family] there was a lot of help from the community too.”
Despite going on to win eight Canadian National Championships including four in doubles and competing in three Olympics, Beres recalled several losses in his career, which he was quick to learn from.
“The funny thing about getting significant wins is that you have a lot of [take] significant losses before then. I remember the first time I ever played in a tournament…I was just new, and I think I lost 15-0 and 15-0…I wasn’t sure of the rules, [and] so I got mixed up on the lines. Every time the person served to me, I would let it drop in between the back two lines, which is in singles, but I was mixing it up with doubles, and I kept calling it out. My brother, who was watching the game, accused me of cheating, which I was inadvertently; but it didn’t matter, it was a game I was destined to lose. From that game, I learned that I had to keep persevering, and I would [eventually] get better and better,” Beres said.
Beres, who was enshrined into the Brantford and Area Sports Hall of Recognition in 2015, would also gain insight during another major badminton event and what it takes to win.
“When I went to my first national championships, I lost every game [including my] first round in singles and doubles…and I lost my first games in consolation as well. During consolations…I lost the first round, and even though it was two out of three, I didn’t even win a game, let alone the match. There were many things I learned from that national championship [like] if you don’t win, you learn from the losses. By the next year, I won the consolation, which was a huge improvement [and] the year after that, I came in second in Canada,” Beres explained. “It’s very gratifying to put in a lot of work and to get those results. And that’s what I like about badminton. It wasn’t just the physical [or] tactical aspects…there was a lot of mental acuity you needed as well, like mental toughness [in order] to succeed.”
Nevertheless, Beres, who would become a three-time Pan American Games medalist, was committed to the process despite the exhaustive traveling and training.
“I tried making it to the 1996 Olympics [and] it was more like a trial run, because there were players who were better than me in Canada at the time, and it would have taken a miracle for me to get past them. But I still tried and battled…it was a grueling process, and I tried my best, but I wasn’t ready for those Olympics. And I learned how to build my ranking…what I needed to do, [and] what it takes to qualify.” Beres reflected. “It was very tiring [and] taxing during those Olympic qualifying years, and in 1999 I had to build my ranking…I had to go to 20 plus international tournaments…and so all of that travel [while] trying to peak at every single tournament [was] really difficult.”
While Beres’ excelled as a singles player, he found a lot of success with Jodi Patrick, who would become his mixed partner for several years, after his previous partner retired.
“We weren’t mixed players long before we started to qualify for the 2004 Olympics. We went to the Pan Am Games, which was during the Olympic qualifying period, “he noted. “At the Pan Am Games we won silver…[after our success there] we decided to try for the Olympics as well…both our past singles experience [helped us] when we came together as partners [along with having] a good compatibility.”
Along with many of his singles and mixed doubles success, Beres reflects on his achievements including the 2007 Pan Am Games and his last year being a competitive badminton player in 2008
“I was fortunate enough to have excellent results at the 2007 Pan Am Games. I won the singles, doubles, and came second in the mixed. And in 2008, I knew that those Olympics would be my last major tournament as a full-time badminton athlete, so I could feel the end was coming…so combined with the strong results at Pan Am Games and being appreciative of [the career I had], it was a very special moment for me,” Beres said.
When he retired in 2008, Beres quickly adjusted to family life, settling in Ottawa and into a new job.
“Things happened really quickly for me. After a week of coming home from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, I had applied for and got a job with TD. And even during my training, I was still jet lagged. The year before, in 2007 I got married, and in 2009 I had my first son…so, I went from being a full-time athlete, traveling the world to working at a job and being a dad,” he said. “Playing also became hard, because as soon as I wasn’t training full time…my feet were bleeding because I had lost the calluses…and my arms and knees hurt after the sessions…so, not being able to do what I could do just made me focus on family more.”
Beres has helped coach his own children, but looks to maybe one day share his badminton knowledge like his mentor Edith Hayman several decades before.
“I have [helped] coach my kids in hockey for years now, so that’s what I’ve become passionate about…unfortunately, I haven’t been able to use my badminton skills to progress anyone to where I’ve been. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll introduce some people to the sport,” he said.
