St. Paul Johnson High School's Long Tradition Of Badminton

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Edina hockey. Cretin-Derham Hall baseball. Eden Prairie football.

Tradition-rich programs that have made a habit out of winning.

But there's another team that has just as much right to be on that list. If you don't know about St. Paul Johnson badminton, let's go ahead and change that.

"It's really a special program," said coach Mark Fischbach.

When you join the St. Paul Johnson badminton team, there's a sense of pride that comes with wearing that uniform. And a responsibility.

"It's a lot of pressure," junior Khao Nou said. "Because we've won consecutively so many years. And having that pressure on us, we have to make sure that we win and keep this tradition going on."

It's an idea that runs deep through the program.

"It's a thing we pass down to one another, encouraging one another to step it up to keep it going," senior Yeng Yang said. "It's a thing that we want to hold on to."

Johnson has won five out of the last six state titles -- and once again the defending champions. The one year they didn't win it, they had an undefeated regular season and lost in the state semifinals.

"That one still burns," Fischbach said with a laugh.

Fischbach has been here for all of it, as an assistant since 2007, and now going into his fifth season as head coach.

"Our program is kind of built on the belief that you come here every day, and you play every birdie like it's deciding the match," he said. "We push ourselves every play, every second we're out there."

It's a culture they've created where success breeds success, and kids who want to be a part of that. Which means a deeper talent pool.

"We have 50-75 girls come out each year, and it's great," Fischbach said. "These girls want to play a competitive sport."

The state tournament is next Saturday. And once again, Johnson is expecting nothing less of itself than another title.

"Yeah, we're expecting to get first place this year so hopefully we do," senior Jenifer Lee said. "Because I think we do really want it."