'TOMMY Hepburn, who has died of cancer aged 67, was a favourite son of Scotland's badminton community in a career that spanned the development of the game from church-hall pastime to one of the most popular global participant sports. But he also influenced the formative years of some of Scotland's greatest players. He was born with spina bifida, which caused him to walk with a shuffle. Long before it became customary to describe disabilities as challenges, Hepburn confronted his own difficulties on a daily basis, and faced down every one. He was a useful club player, turning out regularly for Kenmure Parish Church, Bishopbriggs, in the popular Glasgow Churches Doubles League. Players who arrived confident of taking advantage of his lack of mobility were routinely sent homewards, undone by Hepburn's courtcraft and guile. But it was as a coach and mentor to the young that his great work was done. He was the first Scot to attend the Badminton Association of England's fledgling coaching school in 1958, and he returned north fired with ideas. Together with Douglas Hendry and Mac Henderson OBE, Hepburn devised and implemented Scotland's coaching framework, and revolutionised the way the game was taught and played. A particular initiative was the use of Inverclyde Sports Centre in Largs as a venue for residential badminton courses, inviting players and coaches from all over the world. Hepburn had an unbroken annual attendance record of almost 50 years at Inverclyde. At one of the early courses he lent Isabel Smith a badminton racquet. She kept the racquet, and also his heart. They married in 1967. Hepburn originally trained as a draughtsman, but in 1971 he combined career and badminton when he became Scottish sales director of Carlton Sports UK, a company which specialises in sports equipment. This gave him the chance to meet and coach players up and down the country. Thanks to Hepburn, Carlton Sports dominated the badminton market at every level, from club to international. Hepburn struck a rapport with most of the leading players, notably among them Dan Travers and Billy Gilliland, who won Commonwealth Games gold in men's doubles in 1986. They used his equipment and listened to his counsel, and then went on to coach a new generations themselves. Hepburn bestowed the same degree of attention on the hundreds of players he coached over the years. All he asked (in fact, demanded) was enthusiasm, love of the game, and the same no-excuses work ethic which served him so well in life. In recognition of his outstanding work with young people in sport, he was named sportscotland's coach of the year in 1997. He bore his illness with characteristic fortitude and grumpy good humour. He is survived by Isabel and their daughter, Alison.' By RONNIE CONWAY