Southridge’s Kashem, Palmetto’s Slazas named Badminton Players of the Year
Arman Kashem knew all about his family’s badminton lineage when he showed up for the GMAC Badminton tournament at Goleman High School.
The senior from Miami Southridge, who had to settle for runner-up finishes in the tournament as a freshman and junior while having his sophomore season washed out to COVID, had one final chance to win the boys singles title.
Winning a singles title was something both his uncle and his father, Mark did while attending Southridge back in the early 1990s so this was his last chance to match it. And he did just that, defeating Coral Park’s Ian Merchan 21-12, 21-10 in the final to bring home the trophy.
The win not only earned him the first place trophy but also Miami Herald Badminton Boys Player of the Year honors as well as he finished his season with a perfect 15-0 record.
Palmetto freshman Katarina Slazas, who won the girls singles title and her coach Dave Zarco won Girls Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors, respectively.
“The pressure was there this year as I knew I had to perform a little better than the previous two times I made the final,” said Kashem who takes honors courses, keeps a weighted GPA of 3.5 and has been accepted to the University of Iowa. “Plus the fact that both my dad and my uncle won it when they were in school was in the back of my mind as well. I wanted to win it for my family name and am honored to be named the Herald’s Player of the Year, a great way to close out my high school career.”
Southridge coach Juan Andion said: “Arman has been an outstanding badminton player during his high school career and we are very proud to see him go out as a Spartan champion. He has a great future ahead of him.”
Even though just a freshman, Slazas is a multi-sport player at Palmetto. In addition to volleyball in the fall, she also played on the soccer team this past winter and was part of the Panthers GMAC championship team back in January.
“Winning Player of the Year is really wonderful and a real honor but when you do something like that, you do it because of having so much support around you from family, teammates and coaches,” said Slazas, who defeated Goleman’s Anabelle Calles 21-17, 21-13 in the singles final. “Badminton is really a big part of my life but I just love playing all kinds of sports and staying active. Competing is fun, something I love to do and want to keep doing.”
COACH OF THE YEAR
The fact that each year, regardless of whether his boys and girls teams win the GMAC championship or not, Zarco takes his kids to Walls Old Fashioned Ice Cream in South Miami speaks volumes about his coaching style.
“The most important thing in my mind when you coach high school kids is to make sure, win or lose, that you create an atmosphere where it’s fun for them,” Zarco said. “If they win, great. If not, that’s okay as well. I just want my group to enjoy what they are doing and enjoy being around each other and that’s what I managed to do this year.”
Zarco pointed to his team posing with their GMAC trophy as he said that. Soon they would be off to their annual trip to Walls to order their favorite flavor having just won their sixth GMAC championship in program history and third since Zarco took over the program in 2010.
For that, Zarco was the Herald’s slam dunk choice for Badminton Coach of the Year.
“Awards and success are nice but enjoying the journey along the way is what’s most important,” Zarco said. “These kids this season might’ve been the best group I’ve ever been around. Not necessarily because they won GMAC which was great, but that they were all very close and enjoyed being around each other. As a coach, that’s what you really love to see.”