Despite being single and 55 years of age, Pat McCarrick admits she falls victim to an occasional maternal instinct or two.

Take her retirement from the physical education department and her duties as the badminton coach at Miller Place High (Miller Place, N.Y.) in 1996. When looking for a coaching successor, McCarrick wanted someone who was close to the program to take a genuine interest, to maintain what she and her players had established.

	The Miller Place High badminton team owns a 430-match winning streak.

After all, in 27 years and 389 matches at the Suffolk County (Long Island) school, McCarrick's teams never lost. The Panthers, who own the longest winning streak in the history of scholastic sports, developed into a juggernaut under McCarrick, the founder of the program. But instead of allowing the glory days, which started in 1969, to subside, the coach wanted someone who could handle and respect the whistle she was about to pass on.

"You create this monster that you have to keep feeding," says McCarrick, explaining her philosophy on the streak. "It gets tense. One or two undefeated seasons is OK, but to keep doing it is difficult."

She didn't want an outsider to assume control of the team. McCarrick wondered if any of her former players would come back to Miller Place to teach the sport. That's when Patrick Murphy stepped forward. It seemed like a natural fit.

Murphy was a standout player under McCarrick. He even left the school to attend the Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Mich., in hopes of making the U.S. national badminton team. However, due to a knee injury, those dreams were dashed and Murphy went off to school at Towson University (Md.) to earn a degree in physical education. After graduating, Murphy moved back to Long Island and began student teaching. He soon expressed an interest in getting back into badminton, and the rest is, well, history still in the making.

"My biggest fear when I retired was the program going downhill," says McCarrick, who now resides in Scranton, Pa., and follows Miller Place's fortunes through the Internet and random newspaper clippings her former players and parents of former players mail to her. "Timing is everything. He was working in our district. " I was always hoping in my mind that a kid would come back and coach."

	Danielle Korshak shows off her forehand.

The Miller Place badminton team hasn't missed a beat under the 27-year-old Murphy, who also goes by "Pat." The streak, as of May 10, is at 430 wins. According to Murphy, the Panthers haven't been tested this season, and the last time an area team could boast of challenging Miller Place was before his tenure. A 28th consecutive Suffolk County title is a virtual lock.

But while the beat goes on, so, too, does the pressure. Murphy, respectful of the streak, believes there are enough kids in place in the district to keep the record alive. Thanks to the Miller Place Badminton Club, which was founded by McCarrick and is now led by Murphy, there are currently second- and third-graders playing the sport. In addition, a mandatory in-school physical education program led by Murphy teaches seventh-grade students badminton for 20 weeks of the school year.

"Because of the club and the curriculum, I'm teaching more advanced strategy and aspects of badminton to keep kids on the varsity interested in the sport,? says Murphy. "We have some competition, in the form of volleyball, track, baseball and softball, but part of our success is keeping the younger kids with the older kids. They get a feel for what the streak is about and they don't want to be the ones to break the record. It's a challenge."

According to the coach, the allure of the streak is driving more and more kids to play badminton. The sport is respected and embraced in the community, which is a far cry from when McCarrick was in control.

"I could have fielded two separate teams before because back then, scholarships were given to women," says McCarrick. "But then the NCAA streamlined things, and badminton got axed. Its popularity faded a bit, and then they added boys. Initially, everyone thought boys were going to take the sport over, but it never happened."

What has happened, at least at Miller Place, is an unbelievable love affair with a sport few people understand.

"The kids are so supportive," says Murphy. "I think the students who don't play can appreciate the sport at this level. I think they realize how good these kids are. It's unfortunate for the kids, though, that the sport doesn't get the recognition it should."