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JEDBURGH BADMINTON CLUB - ESTABLISHED 12TH DECEMBER 1974 |
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following articles have been extracted from Internet sources and are
worthy of listing. This information might be useful to anyone
coaching/assisting with coaching, especially the first article if
working with children. There are useful tips too if you simply want
to play badminton. There's a wealth of information open to us all
and the following text has been extracted and adapted
for inclusion here. |
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COACHING YOUNG
CHILDREN
Coaching
young children can be a rich and satisfying experience. It is
also a tremendous responsibility. The children being coached are the
next generation of sports men and women. The attitudes they learn
from coaching can affect every aspect of their lives. Coaching can
help to give them confidence. If not done correctly, it can also
undermine what little confidence they do have. Above all, it is
important to remember the following:
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Children
come first, winning comes second
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Sport should
be fun
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Reward
effort as well as achievement
Some people
expect too much physically from youngsters. It is important to
realise the following when dealing with children in sport:
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children do
not tolerate exercise as well as adults and are much less aware of
their own limits
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because
children breathe more quickly than adults, they dehydrate more
quickly, so children doing sport need to make sure they drink
plenty of water
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In general, some younger players
have problems in the following skill areas: |
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Under 9 players and beginners - co-ordination between
shuttle and racket can be a problem. Start with bouncing games,
shuttles or soft balls, short rackets, just aiming to make
contact. |
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Under 12 players -strength
from the back of the court. Work on correct grip, contact point,
side on position and follow through. |
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Under 14 players -weak
backhands.
Teach them 'round the head,
good footwork, position on court or a backhand drop shot (less
power required). |
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Under 16 players -weak
movement to the rear forehand corner. Developing a bit of power
so perhaps they begin to get lazy and rely on their strength. No
substitute for good footwork and being in the correct position
to make a stroke. |
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Under 18 players -poor
forecourt coverage, both defending against fast drops and taking
the shuttle high at the net and doing something useful with it.
Perhaps they need a reminder on stroke technique, base position
on court and attack, attack, attack. |
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COACHING
BEGINNERS
When Coaching
new players, one approach to work
on is getting them to make clears. The clear is the most fundamental
shot in badminton. This shot consists of the basic over head
movement and most importantly it consists of footwork and of course
the correct grip. The clear is the building block for all the major
movements in badminton i.e. wrist movement, arm rotation, shifting
body weight and footwork. From the clear moving to playing drops and
smashes is then an easy progression and beginners then have the
ability to move opponents around the court and have fun playing a
game!
Polishing the strokes can come
later, what
is very important to beginners is that they can have a rally. If at
the end of the first coaching session you have 2 people who can play
a clear to each other and have a very basic rally, their is a sense
of achievement on their part which will only encourage them to
continue in badminton.
Many say that you can't play badminton if you don't have good
footwork and in an ideal world footwork and fitness training should
be introduced at an early stage. Pushing fitness and footwork too
early may deter some from continuing to play Badminton. Footwork training is necessary but try and
vary it and make it fun and interesting if possible, make it into a
game with points or something to achieve within the routine.
COACHING - OBSERVATION / WHAT TO DEVELOP:
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checking that correct grips are used
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working through existing strokes to achieve
consistency and better performance
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add in new strokes
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correct footwork
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improve tactics
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advise on positioning
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condition games
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add deception to strokes
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COACHING BOYS
'v' GIRLS
Could it be that girls have more trouble than boys when playing over
head shots?
Most young boys have lots of experience throwing objects be it balls
or stones and there is a possibility this makes it easier for them
to play clears correctly as they have the basics on arm movement
above their heads. We can all picture girls trying to throw a stone,
its more of a lob than a powerful targeted whip of the arm (no
offence girls).
For girls, teaching them the clear/smash/drop is problematic. I work
around this by getting them practising throwing the shuttle. I have
one person stand at the net and another at the back line. I have the
person at the back line throw the shuttle as high as possible to the
person at the net. I then have them to run to retrieve the shuttle
and move back to the back line and repeat. This helps them get the
footwork needed to move correctly. From this lesson they learn how
to use their arm and feet correctly when making an overhead shot
also they learn how to reach with a lunge (they have to lunge to
retrieve shuttle from person at the net) and they learn how to move
correctly back to make the next throw at the back of the court.
From this they now have a basis where I can get them to understand
the footwork and the arm movement to making a clear effective.
Sometimes coaching can get you down when you don't see any
improvement in the players but stick with it. My favourite part of
badminton now is seeing people I helped coach playing and enjoying
the game I love.
In any event... using encouraging words is important as well. |
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SPLITTING UP LARGE NUMBERS / ABILITIES
What happened is that everyone warms up together as a group. Once
the warm up is over, the coach utilises the most experienced players
into teaching the new kids how to hold their rackets, how to hit the
shuttle properly, introduction to different strokes, backhands,
forehands, all the basic shots in the game.
This way the most experienced players get a chance to actually coach
themselves. Helps them build confidence, share their skills and gain
some responsibility. But this is always done under the watchful eye
of the assistant coach.
In the meantime the coach has some time to concentrate on a few of
the intermediate players, possibly teaching them footwork, court
positioning for doubles, tactics and strategy etc. All intermediates
would take part in the same training.
With the intermediates set with their own training program the coach
sets up the program for the most experienced, mainly focussing on
individuals, usually they would play games and the coach would
watch, take note and give advice on what they needed work on and so
forth.
The assistant by this time would be watching over the young newbies
play little games. All experienced players would be playing their
own games at this point and no longer assisting the newbies.
So you have three groups be taught at the same time but on different
levels. The only time you would have any group mix with the other is
when the coach decides to use the more experienced player to assist
in teaching the newcomers.
This worked well for us, usually we had in the region of 10-15
newcomers, 7 intermediates and 2-3 experienced players. Maximum of
25 players made up of kids and young adults. We also had 4 courts to
play on so plenty of space.
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FOR THE PLAYER - KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
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Warm up
- Always warm up and stretch before starting to play. Badminton is
a very hard sport on the joints and muscles and long term injuries
can be easily gained if the body is not prepared.
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Knock up with a purpose
- When knocking
up before playing a match you should use this time to practice
your shots rather than tiring yourself out with some frantic
singles. Get into a routine of clears, smash/blocks, slow drops,
fast drops, drives, net kills and serves with your partner before
playing.
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The serve
- The serve is the most important shot in
badminton. You can only score points on your serve so it's no good
if it goes into the net or if high enough for an easy kill. This
is often the most under practiced shot in badminton! Work on your
tight short serve and you will win more games than you ever
imagined.
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Maintain attack
- The most effective way to play badminton is to be
on the attack. This means hitting the shuttle downwards so it's
below the height of the net when the opponent hits their return.
This gives them less time to get to the shuttle and less
opportunity to win the point from their return. Maintain the
attack and you will win far more points than you lose.
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Racket carriage
- As you move around the court have your racket
held up and away from your body. This means you are ready to hit
the shuttle early as you do not have to lift it from around your
feet. You will also be able to react to fast shots coming towards
you as your racket will already be up in preparation.
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Prepare for your shots
- It is only
possible to consistently hit good shots if you are in a good
position to do so. Move to your shot quickly and maintain good
balance as you strike the shuttle.
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Hit the shuttle early
- If you strike the shuttle early you will give your opponents
less time to recover from their previous shot. By striking early
you will also give yourself a better chance to attack the shuttle
downwards and win the point earlier.
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Recovery
- After every shot return to your base position in preparation for
all the possible shots by the opposition. Think to yourself 'do I
know where they might return the shuttle?' and 'Can I get there
easily and with balance to play my next shot?'
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WHEN COACHING, REMIND YOURSELF AND STUDENTS . . .
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Always provide a safe environment
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when playing sides, the
forehand player takes the middle court shots.
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never look behind to your
partner when they are about to hit the bird in your direction
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call their shot so the racquets
do not contact
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use protective eye wear if
needed
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always stretch and warm up
properly prior to practice, cool down later
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never walk onto another
badminton court while a match is in progress
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while lunging for the bird,
they need to land with their toe pointing in the direction of the
lunge
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keep their racquet up in front
of their face while they play the net in doubles
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