Badminton Great Carlson Elected To Rockville HS Hall Of Fame

VERNON, CT — Robert B. Carlson, who coached the Rockville High School girls badminton program to two state championships in a decade-long career, is the fifth announced 2021 inductee into the RHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

Committee chairman Scott Smith, a member of the RHS Class of 1988, announced the selection.

Carlson, who served as head coach between 1979 and 1988, is the second individual associated with the girls badminton program to gain induction, following Dianne Schaefer Smith, a member of the Class of '88 who was inducted in in 2015. In 1987, Schaefer Smith became the program's first state singles champion and Bonnie Ross and Nancy Schaefer became the program's first state doubles champions when the Rams won their second Connecticut Interscholastic Badminton League title following an unbeaten (13-0) regular season.

The eighth RHS Hall of Fame social and induction ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 19 at the high school. A 1 p.m. social will be followed by the 2 p.m. ceremonies. Tickets are priced at $20 and can be reserved by contacting Scott Smith at smithsc33sbcglobal.net or at 860-604-6618.

Previously-announced members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2021 are former boys and girls cross-country and boys track & field coach David W. Smith; former left-handed power baseball pitcher Jason M. Metzger (2000); former football interior lineman Brian J. Arnold (1991), and the late former head baseball coach Ronald A. Kozuch, who led the Rams to back-to-back state championship game appearances in the early 1960s as part of a nine-year head baseball coaching career.

Having been a competitive player for the Match Point Badminton Club Team out of Farmington, as well as an attendee of national clinics, Carlson was frequently invited to attend the RHS team practices of head coach Beverly Krut to share drills and work with each player's stroke techniques. Following the 1978 season, Krut suggested that Carlson take over the program as head coach and the East Hartford native was hired soon after by Dick Tingley, RHS's director of athletics at the time.

After compiling a 34-12 CIBL record in Carlson’s first four years – punctuated by a second place finish in the 1980 state championship tournament -- the Rams entered the 1983 season with a deep roster led by upperclassmen Melissa Haney, Beth Graver and Carolyn Brush. That trio led the Rams to new heights — finishing with a 12-2 record and accumulating the most team points in the state tournament to capture the school’s first-ever state championship title of any kind.

In 1984, the sport’s popularity was growing as an influx of young talent — including Dianne Schaefer Smith — joined the program. Over the next three years, Carlson continued the development of a deep team with dominant singles players and doubles combinations resulting in one second-place and two third-place finishes in the state tournament and a combined record of 31-6.

A 1971 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, where he was a three-year member of the swim program, Carlson was committed to the RHS badminton program from the onset. He staged competitive practices and focused on individual skill development and head-to-head challenges for coveted team slots (number 1/2/3/4 singles player or on a doubles team). He was also one of the first area coaches to incorporate male athletes onto the team to add to the competitiveness and aid in the comradery of the group. The comprehensive result was higher fitness levels for all players and a more cohesive team chemistry.

One season after posting his second state championship, Carlson stepped down after the 1988 campaign to focus his energy on his new school counselor position at RHS, which he held until retiring in 2007 after 35 years in the Vernon school system.

Carlson and wife Linda reside in Vernon and have two adult sons.