by Ryan Smith | AHL On The Beat
Professional hockey players have a longstanding history of possessing an athletic pedigree within their family trees.
Not surprisingly, such connections ordinarily manifest within the game of hockey. But in other instances, a player’s roots could have ties to baseball (e.g., Jeff Petry), basketball (Seth and Caleb Jones), or even football (J.T. Brown).
For current Springfield Thunderbirds forward Sam Bitten and his brother, former Thunderbird and fellow fan-favorite Will Bitten, their lineage comes from a much more unexpected athletic source – badminton.
Indeed, before the brothers ever laced up skates, the Bitten family’s early memories were shaped by the lightning-quick racket sport, whose origins date back to the 19th century. Long before Sam and Will began their journey on the ice, their parents Michael and Doris achieved something few athletes ever experience: the chance to compete on the world’s grandest stage.
The 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona marked badminton’s official debut as an Olympic sport. Among the 30 pairs competing in the inaugural men’s doubles tournament were two Canadian duos, one of which featured Michael Bitten, who had earned the honor of being among the first athletes to represent Canada in Olympic badminton.
But Michael wasn’t alone in chasing Olympic dreams. His journey was intertwined with Doris Piché, whom he had first met eight years earlier at a tournament in their native Canada. Doris, a Quebec native who grew up speaking only French, and Michael, the son of a military family who traveled extensively, initially bridged their language barrier through handwritten letters.
In Barcelona, Doris not only became one of the first two women to ever don the Canadian colors in women’s singles at the Olympics, but she advanced all the way to the round of 16. She would also compete in the women’s doubles competition in Barcelona before ending her Olympic career in Atlanta in 1996 in the singles and mixed doubles tournaments.
Although Will and Sam weren’t born until 1998 and 2000, respectively, their parents’ achievements left a lasting legacy.
“We grew up playing badminton even before hockey,” Sam recalls of his childhood in Ottawa. “We had a racket in our hands from the time we were little kids. There are pictures of me and Will hitting birdies at each other.”
Badminton wasn’t just a pastime – it was ingrained in the Bitten brothers’ upbringing. Their first jobs? Helping out at Michael’s summer badminton camps as counselors.
“The camps had around 60 kids a week, and new groups each week,” Sam remembers. “When we were really young, we attended the camps and loved it; it kept us active and fit playing sports. It’s probably why we’re always buzzing around (to this day).”
In an alternate timeline, Sam Bitten the hockey player may never have existed, he admits.
“We grew up playing multiple sports, and they always wanted us to see what we excelled in and what we liked, and I really loved badminton,” he said. “If it was more popular in North America, you would probably never see me play hockey. I like the individual aspect and the mindset of training on your own.”
While he may have turned professional in a different sport than his parents, Sam still is quick to point out the parallels between singles badminton and the tougher side of hockey.
“I like that competitive, one-on-one, ‘who wants it more?’ element,” Bitten said of his role as a physical presence on the ice. “Badminton has a lot of that as well.”
Bitten also takes note of other intangibles that are shared skills between the vastly different sports.
“There are lots of stops and starts, plus hand-eye coordination. Fans have seen [Will] score goals out of mid-air before, but I haven’t gotten the luxury of doing that yet, but maybe one day. [Badminton] is an intense and fun sport, and sometimes it gets a bad rep or people think it’s easy, but it’s just so fast and people don’t understand the speed until you see two elite players play.”
Raised by two Olympic athletes, the Bitten brothers grew up surrounded by the relentless drive of elite competitors. Every four years, when the Olympic torch is lit, it offers a moment of reflection for Sam and his family.
“When the Olympics roll around, I think about all the hours my parents and the athletes trained. You put so much into it to train and perform at your best on a nightly basis.”
Ever the competitor with his brother, Sam adamantly points out that while Will may have reached the NHL first in their hockey careers, there is one athletic endeavor where the younger Sam holds a definitive edge.
“I still play badminton a lot, and I’ve got the one-up on Will in that sport, for sure,” he chuckles. “And he knows it, too.”