Grace was first trained by her father Dr. Gao and started competing when the family moved to Canada in 2004. She has had the privilege of being coached by legendary Kim Don Moon. Grace has won many national and international titles, eventually paving a way for her to proudly represent Canada at the 2012 London Olympics. Her goal is to use her competitive experiences to inspire and train badminton enthusiasts of all ages, with a focus in producing high performance athletes.

Grace Gao

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Olympian

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Junior High Performance Director

Coaching Specialization:

• Junior high performance

• Tournament coaching

• Advanced technique

Dr. Jordan Gao

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SmashCity and Gao Badminton Tao Founder

Dr. Gao is a former professional geologist with a doctorate degree in geoscience where he completed more than 100 professional projects throughout his career. In addition, he has a passion for coaching badminton. Coach Gao has a keen eye in seeking out players’ strengths, and a keen mind in developing players according to their abilities. He has been developing many young, talented athletes since 2009, taking them from beginners to provincial champions. 

Coaching Specialization:

• Fundamentals

• Power and strength 

• Tactics and strategy

Abigail Wei

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Senior Coach

Coaching Specialization:

• Junior high performance

• Doubles tactics and strategy

• Advanced technique

• Accuracy and consistency

Abby’s competitive experience include a number of major Chinese national level events, namely the 2017 Chinese National Championships, and the 2019 Chinese National Games, placing fifth and fourth in team events respectively. She understands what it takes to be an elite athlete and knows how to get there, both from a technical and psychological perspective.

• Former Guangxi Provincial Team member

• 12 years of training and competition experience

• Chinese National Games quarter-finalist.

Imran​ Wadia

Senior Coach

Coachin​g Specialization:

• Junior high performance

• Advanced technique

• Strength and conditioning

• Speed and agility

With over a decade of provincial, national, and international competition experience, Imran strives to help junior high performance athletes realize their potential. His teaching methods are derived from his time training under the legendary Kim Dong Moon. Imran continues to refine the advanced techniques of our best junior athletes.

• Highest national MS ranking #2

• Elite Series and Canada Winter Games champion

• Canada Nationals bronze medalist

Kevin Barkman

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Senior Coach

Coaching Specialization:

• Junior high performance

• Advanced technique

• Strength and conditioning

• Accuracy and consistency 

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Kevin is a Manitoba native who has trained under Li Mao, former coach of the South Korean and Chinese national teams. Kevin continues to compete nationally and internationally with gold medals in the WA Open and Provincial Championships. Kevin is a vital member of our high performance coaching team.

• Highest national MS ranking #4

• Washington Open Champion

• Canada Winter Games semi-finalist

Danny Pham

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Senior Coach

Danny is our longest standing coach who has progressed many of our beginners to the high performance level. With his education and extensive competition and coaching experience, he has a well-rounded knowledge in technique, sport psychology, fitness, and teaching techniques. Danny can also be seen tournament coaching in provincial-level competitions.

• NCCP Competition Certified

• 6 years of coaching experience

• Bachelor's in Health & Physical Education

Coaching Specialization:

• Junior high performance

• High school competitive

• Strength and conditioning

• Fundamentals

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• Provincial U17 GD and XD rank #1

• Provincial U17 GS rank #5

• B-Active AJC U17 GD champion

• Multiple AJC titles

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• National U11 BS rank #8

• National U11 BD rank #2

• Pan American Games U11 BD semi-finalist

• Provincials U11 BD champion

• Multiple AJC titles

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• National U17 BS and BD rank #1

• Pan American Games U17 BS semi-finalist

• Alberta Junior Elite BS champion

• Nationals U17 BS semi-finalist

• Junior National Team member

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• National U11 BS rank #4

• National U11 BD rank #2

• Pan American Games U11 BS champion

• Provincials U11 triple crown

• Multiple AJC titles

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• National U13 BS rank #1

• Pan American Games quarter-finalist

• B-Active AJC U15 XD champion

• Provincials U15 BS Champion

• Multiple Junior Elite medals

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• National U17 XD rank #9

• Provincial U15 BS rank #9

• Provincial U17 XD rank #3

• B-Active AJC U17 BS champion

• Multiple AJC titles

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• National U17 BD rank #2

• Provincial U19 BS rank #4

• U15 Team Alberta Athlete

• B-Active and Glencoe AJC U19 BD finalist

• Provincial U15 BS champion

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• Provincial U17 BD rank #8

• B-Active AJC U17 XD finalist

• Provincials U17 BD finalist

• Edison and Airdie AJC U17 BD champion

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• Provincial U17 GS rank #1

• Provincial U19 GD rank #4

• Airdrie AJC U19 GD champion

• Three U17 AJC GS champion titles

• Provincials U19 GD semi-finalist

• Provincials U17 GS & GD finalist

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• Provincial U17 GS, GD, and XD rank #1

• Glencoe AJC GS champion

• Provincial U17 GD champion

• Alberta Junior Elite U17 GD champion

• Multiple AJC medals

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• Provincial U19 BS rank #6

• Provincial U19 BD rank #10

• Edison AJC U19 XD champion

• Alberta Junior Elite U17 BS quarter-finalist

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• Provincial U15 BS rank #4

• Provincial U15 BD rank #5

• B-Active AJC U15 BS finalist

• Provincial U15 BD quarter-finalist

• Two AJC (Silver Tier) double crowns

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• Provincial U17 BS rank #6

• Provincial U17 BD rank #5

• Edison and Airdrie AJC U17 BD champion

• B-Active AJC U17 BS finalist

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