I'm in a absolutely wonderful mood today because of training. The coach made the girls play against the boys, everyone was playing a match except me because I had played with many of them before and beaten the guys, and the really advanced guys who would have thrashed me were already in a doubles game. So the coach trained me while they were playing a game. It was about 1 hour, just the coach and I and I found I actually learnt and improved in that 1 hour more then I would have in a 2 hour group lesson!(Sorry for the 4 I's) :)

I'm thinking that maybe I SHOULD take up individual lessons, much more worth it. What do you all think? I tried seaching for a thread like mine but couldn't come up with a thread like this. Sorry for such a weird post, I'm just in a too great mood since that badminton session. :)

If the opportunity's there, take it, Joanne. You won't play as many games as you'd like, and some of the drills will seem boring after a while, but your technique can now be closely monitored and improved. The quality of your movement and strokes will take a huge leap! :)

On the other hand, you may be discouraged when you find that there aren't any of your friends around to compete against...I always find that I can work WITH my friends, even if I play against them. Also, it's good to have someone you dislike on the other side of the net...thrashing them in a vigorous game always seems to be of paramount importance! (Sorry if that sounds slightly evil - I suppose this kind of motivation brings about a guilty pleasure.)

So find out which environment you prefer before you decide. It is worth the effort if you really want to succeed.

Aleik.

But it's quite expensive.. and I'm thinking about the long term. Will I continue to like badminton if I've no friends or competition? Or should I like, continue with my group lesson and only have individual lessons when I'm free? It's paying by the hour you see.

Keep to the group and have 1 hour of single lesson for a set period (say 1 month with 1 single lesson 1-2 times per week) see the progress adn how you like it. If it makes too much of a change stop.

Originally posted by Dill
Keep to the group and have 1 hour of single lesson for a set period (say 1 month with 1 single lesson 1-2 times per week) see the progress adn how you like it. If it makes too much of a change stop.

What about once a fortnight? And what do you mean about too much of a change?

if the single lesson is too expensive, what i would consider is just what Dill said. But even if that's too much, maybe just try limiting the signle lessons to once a month.

After you've done a single lesson (like you mentioned, you've learned a ton more), take what you learned in the single lesson and try to improve upon it in the group lesson.
For example, if the coach tells you to do a certain shot (how to improve it, etc)..try to do it in the group lesson, improve it during ur free time, etc.

It's not always necessary to take so many group lessons as the coach can only tell you so much. You can coach yourself with drills..ask friends to feed you shuttles if they're that dedicated, etc.

But you see, in my group lesson I'm trained with other girls and no guys as there are enough girls to make a group. So the skill levels are really different. The training we do as a group will never be as tough as the training I took in today's lesson. I guess my coach knows I can do it and really pushed me, only rested about 1 minute for each exercise, and I repeated each one 2 or 3 times. Lol. What I liked was my coach said "prepare to die under me" when I asked her who I was going to be playing against. I didn't die under her...

So the thing is, in a group lesson the coach will kind of correct certain things only, they won't pay very close attention to everything. :(

What i can suggest is (and this is what i tend to do sometimes) that after the group lesson, if there's some spare time, ask the coach to point out some things he/she noticed that you were doing wrong. Hopefully he/she will be able to point some things out.

For your single lessons, what sort of drills do you do? If they're pretty simple (as in it only involves a few people to operate), then you can get other friends to help you do them in a spare gym, etc.

Yes, but it's not very often my coach remembers my mistakes after training several others.

But if I ask my friends to help me, they won't know my mistakes. And I don't think they'll be good at hitting the shuttles where I want them to be hit, some of my friends can barely serve!

Oh yeah, just incase I forgot thanks you all for your replies so far! :)

Well what I meant was that you said that you may be concerned about losing friends so beggining the single lessons at a slow level and see how much progress you make, if you feel yourself pulling away from your group see how you feel with regards to keeping your friends.

This is a decision that many players have to make, when they get to a certain level the people that they train with fall away and are not able to keep up with the level of ability and you have to make the decision to keep going and maybe move on to another group or to stop progressing to remain with your friends.

Quite difficult, but you only have the issue of single coaching to consider at the moment. Take it slowly to see how you feel with your progression.

I've been playing just over a year and soon started playing in our local leagues. Last week I had my first ever coaching session. It was a one on one for an hour and was absolutely brilliant.

Yes it was expensive, but as well as getting badminton coaching I got an absolutely fantastic fitness workout! I was exhausted afterwards.

Thoroughly looking forward to next week. Whilst it may in the future mean I have to look for a better club as my standard goes up that is something I am willing to accept. It's a bit of a shame if I have to move from playing with my mates at my existing club, but if I am after improving my game I can't have it both ways.

Originally posted by Dill
This is a decision that many players have to make, when they get to a certain level the people that they train with fall away and are not able to keep up with the level of ability and you have to make the decision to keep going and maybe move on to another group or to stop progressing to remain with your friends.. So true

Advantages of private coaching?
1) rate of learning is very high
2) intensity is better
3) fitness training is better
4) better confidence when playing tournaments

Disadvantages of private coaching?
1) lack of social interaction with ones peers
2) you may not like the strenuous training (but the results depend on the effort you put in - not the money:D)
3) cost
4) people have higher expectations when you do play tournaments so if you lose, they say "why did you lose?"
5) how to find the right coach?

How to get around the disadvantages?
1) there is nothing to stop you playing with your friends AND getting private coaching during the same week for a period of time just to try it out.
2) some people get a sense of well being from training hard. you might be that sort of person
3) V important! One strategy I've used is to share the lesson with one other person and split the cost.
i) makes it cheaper
ii) the coach can alternate one-on-one with both of you. then each person gets a little break to rest, think about the technique. work out how to perform better
iii) still have some social interaction with a friend
iv) both players do not have to be the same level since the coach can alternate training between the two players
4) nobody can win forever!
5) subject of another discussion



Overall, my view is that private coaching helps an immense amount but the player has to be prepared to put the effort in as well. Otherwise, it's a waste of cash.

Group coaching ie more than 4 people to one coach gives me a sense of dissatisfaction (as the player) because not enough time with the coach.

How much is the hourly rate for a coach in Taman Megah?

Thanks for your replies. :)

Dill, you mean if I stop my group lessons completely then only I'll lose my friends? So if I continue with it and a inidividual lesson once in a while it'll still be okay?

Woop., did your coach go easy on you as it was your first time? Did you rest a lot?

Cheung, will I improve as much if I train with a friend? After all, it'll only be about 30 minutes of training then. And it won't be so tiring.

Hourly rate in Taman Megah is RM50. Not sure about splitting the cost with a friend though, I asked my coach and he said I've got to ask the tauke(Michael) incharge.

Originally posted by Joanne
Cheung, will I improve as much if I train with a friend? After all, it'll only be about 30 minutes of training then. And it won't be so tiring.

Hourly rate in Taman Megah is RM50. Not sure about splitting the cost with a friend though, I asked my coach and he said I've got to ask the tauke(Michael) incharge. Yes, 25 RM for an hour will sound nicer to your parents;) Myself I used to do two hours, split with another person, twice a week and go to my group for badminton. Two hours is good but the cost becomes quite high.

If you can persuade you parents to do let you have lessons twice per week during the holidays, plus your regular weekly sessions, you will see the difference.

50RM per hour is not expensive;) split between two is 25 RM each. A meal for four at the hawker stall might be 20RM now....:rolleyes:

Since you enjoyed the session so much, I'd say just try it out for about 8 sessions over 4 weeks and see how it goes. Maybe when school finishes at the end of the year and there's the long break.

Are you on a weeks holiday now??

No Joanne, if you do your group and private lessons (assuming you learn and put into practice what you are taught in your private lesson) you should notice yourself getting better than those in the group session.

If this is true, then you will become better and need other training partners at the same level to push you forward because your group cannot push you because they are not at the same level because they have not been putting in the extra work or getting extra coaching.

What I was trying to get at is to take the private lessons slowly at the start to see if there is a gap opening up between you and your friends at the group session, if there is not then you are not progressing enough and have nothing to worry about in terms of losing your friends at group session. BUT if the first statement is true then you will need to find players or a session on YOUR level due to you getting better from the coaching. That is why you should take it (private lessons)slowly, and if you do this then you will get the best of both worlds.

Longer exposure to your group because you do not pull away in level too fast, only one or two lessons per month keep the cost down, you will not be pushed too hard for too long (ie) longer recovery time.

Did my coach go easy on me Joanne? I would say not really. From what I am told she used to play for the country so she is pretty good and I guess pretty expensive. However I believe as well as getting someone who is capable of teaching the badminton I am getting someone that is watching how hard I work and importantly how much I am pushing myself and adjusting the coaching to push me at the right rate.

Make no mistake, I was absolutely dead at the end and really couldn't play the last few shots of the last drill. I think this proved that a) I was pushing myself to my limits and determined not to quit and b) the coach was (hopefully) keeping an eye on me and pushing me just enough.

Half way through she asked if I was ok and I said not too bad, my legs were hurting a bit though. She replied that she'd normally done most people in by now in their first session. That pleased me!!

But it was just fantastic. As someone who is still relatively new to the sport but is willing to really put the effort in I came out with such a buzz!!!

Cheung, I just thought of this. My friend and I train for 2 hours, we'll pay RM50 each. I'm sure I'll enjoy this more then training alone? I'll definitely benefit more right? Yeah, I'm on holiday now but only for a week, exams on the 29th Sep. But I'm looking forward to the end of the year though! :D

Dill, I'll consider that, but what I've got to worry about is whether I've time for both. I'm in afternoon school you see, so there's not much time to spend on weekdays, if you know what I mean.

Woop., what did you learn? What kind of workouts? My coach made me do tapping, net, cross smashing, in other words nearly everything, I had to run criss-cross everywhere around the court. I loved it! :) Plus the fact that my coach praised me sometimes, guess that's what coaches do to keep us going! :D

Unfortunately the first thing I was told was that I was holding the damn racquet wrong! So we started with forehand and backhand grips and just played some clears to try and get me comfortable. Then it was overhead drops from the back of the court to different positions in the receivers court. Then lots of nets shots, running behind a box at the service 't' to alternate between backhand and forehand sides.

There must have been some other stuff too but I remember to finish it was just 5 sets of returning the shuttle with whatever shot I chose from wherever on the court it was put.

It was just a first lesson so the emphasis was probably on testing me a bit, giving me a chance to adapt to the new grip, and definitely footwork and body position (especially on the net shots). We talked quite a bit about technique on the overheads as well.

Oh I see. You mean you started from the very basics? I had the impression that since you've been playing badminton for a while she would have started other stuff already. Excuse me for thinking otherwise. :) Remember to tell me how the 2nd lesson goes, she might be really tough on you! ;)

You two went through a lot in in just an hour. For my first 'proper' lesson, I got taught footwork to move to the back two corners and footwork to move to the front two corners and play netshots.

Only shadow clears.
No clears, no drops, just netshots when we did the front corners.

I think that was all for the first 3 to 4 lessons because my coordination was so bad!!! Legs kept getting confused.

Joanne, IMHO, training with the coach in the holidays is just as good if you do more sessions (ie twice a week at least)

Say you train with coach 2 or 3 times a week for 1 month and then stop training (not stop playing) for two months. Compare that with training over 3 months but only once per week (same total number of sessions). For the first option you will get more improvement.

Good luck.

well I guess every coach approaches things a little differently. The fundamental for me is shifting to the new grip because it does feel really odd at the moment. I am a bit worried about a club night tonight because I may just make a fool of myself by hitting tonnes of fluffed shots!

Regarding the footwork I think my coach felt it was at least reasonable so that was something we didn't go over in that lesson.

To Joanne, I've been playing a year and I'm 28. I took badminton up after deciding not to return to footy after an ankle injury. After a couple of months I was playing at three clubs a week and after about six had made it into two of league teams and so was upto about five times a week.

As well as the frequency of play I wasn't afraid to ask people for advice and tips, and often asked what they thought I was doing wrong or how I should try and position myself in a certain cirumstance. This helped a lot, but when it comes to now beginning coaching I'll leave that to the professional. Whilst I have a league standard game I am more than happy to start with very basic drills. If the basics can be made better then it can only make me a better player.

Cheung, I probably went through a lot for that lesson because it wasn't my first! Lol, I know what you mean. For my first lesson I didn't even learn the 4 corners, the coach sort of made me run back and forth on the centre line, throwing a shuttle when I went back. For the 2nd 1st lesson(sounds weird, because I started in a new academy, didn't tell my coach I trained for 3 years already, and decided to let the coach train me to his style, turns out footwork and stuff was quite different from my previous academy. Wow, was my coach suprised I could hit the shuttle and serve! :D I was in the beginner's class for 2 weeks I think, quite a record), my coach taught me all 4 corners though.

Anyway, I'm planning to try that during the holidays and thanks a lot for your advice! :)

woop., is your coach younger and older then you? Strange question but I'm just wondering. :)

Originally posted by woop.
well I guess every coach approaches things a little differently. The fundamental for me is shifting to the new grip because it does feel really odd at the moment. I am a bit worried about a club night tonight because I may just make a fool of myself by hitting tonnes of fluffed shots!

Regarding the footwork I think my coach felt it was at least reasonable so that was something we didn't go over in that lesson.
Hey, woop, don't feel embarassed about mishits whilst you are still learning an adjusting to new ideas and techniques. This is quite normal. In fact, many people unfortunately reduce their own capacity to improve by this very fear. i.e. Unwilling to learn a new technique because their game will go down a level temporarily. However, the room for improvement will be very great if you accept that there is always a learning curve for anything new.

Let us know how the rest of your lessons go!

Just to let you know how my lessons were structured, my coach works on footwork quite a bit. It was only after two years he said "OK your footwork is pretty solid. Now to learn some techniques"!:eek: Granted that there were some periods in those two years when I couldn't train. Well, now we still do a lot of footwork drills - (I'm so bad at movement.:rolleyes:) This coach's approach, in initially emphasizing footwork patterns and then continual emphasis on footwork during shot making, is different from other coaches. This pointed out to me by another person who used to be in the HK badminton youth training scheme and who has experience of learning under a few different coaches.....

Originally posted by Cheung

Just to let you know how my lessons were structured, my coach works on footwork quite a bit. It was only after two years he said "OK your footwork is pretty solid. Now to learn some techniques"!:eek: Granted that there were some periods in those two years when I couldn't train. Well, now we still do a lot of footwork drills - (I'm so bad at movement.:rolleyes:) This coach's approach, in initially emphasizing footwork patterns and then continual emphasis on footwork during shot making, is different from other coaches. This pointed out to me by another person who used to be in the HK badminton youth training scheme and who has experience of learning under a few different coaches.....

You had me laughing there! :) You mean for every single lesson you did footwork and only after 2 years your coach was satisfied? Your coach must have very high standards. But then come to think of it, for every exercise I do it will surely involve footwork as my exercises usually involve all 4/6 corners.

Sometimes training under 2 different coaches can be really confusing. One of my coaches taught footwork as skipping everywhere, my other coach taught left leg first, then right leg. It's a good thing I stopped training under one coach already.

Oh no, we did strokes as well but only basic ones; he put a lot of emphasis on footwork. I only did the outside to inside spinning netshot after two years.

Furthermore, he would only correct one thing at a time during a routine. Say my overall movement and stroke was wrong, he wouldn't try to correct everything at once in one lesson because there would be just too many new things to assimilate for a slow learner like me. we'd go over the same things again, another lesson, with mxing in maybe one or two other techniques/footwork routines.

Somehow I don't think you're a slow learner... :D He only corrects one thing at a time? Maybe he believes slow and steady wins the race. :)

To answer a previous question Joanne I think my coach is older than me, but certainly not by a lot. I think she played for the country in ladies doubles in last years commonwealth games. Now at my age I am not going to be knocking on the door of any national squads but I do love sport, enjoy it and want to do as well as I can, so the opportunity to be coached by someone who has played at that level was too good to pass up.

Last nights club night wasn't too bad in the end. Yes there was a certain amount of odd shots in the heat of battle, but when I was catching things right they seemed to fly a lot sweeter than before.

Looking forward to tomorrows lesson. :)

i would go for it i had 10 lessons one 2 one it was great because she taught me loads and how to smash even harder than i used to i.e footwork, the general shots if u can find a good coach then go for it it's good because it's just you and him/her and u get all the coaching :)

Originally posted by Joanne
Somehow I don't think you're a slow learner... :D He only corrects one thing at a time? Maybe he believes slow and steady wins the race. :) Hi Joanne, but wanted to address this from a coach's perspective.

When looking to help or correct a student, different areas of correction or adjustment will take different amounts of time to fix. You may be very shocked but sometimes the correction willl be measured in years, not days or weeks.

Depending on what needs correction, some may be relatively quick, but some fundamentals such as footwork and stroke could take years to fix.

The reason is that these fundamentals turn into a something that is automatic in your body that is subconscious. You don't worry about your smash when you are about to do it. You want to smash, and your a body automatically knows how to do it. But now, think if you had to fix the smash since you learned a wrong stroke from the beginning and you have to re-think about it each time you hit. It takes a long time to fix that.

But the intensity and duration really depends on the individual and the amount of time you have with them.

woop., I know what you mean about looking forward to it. Sometimes I think I go through the entire week just for the Sunday training. :)

ttktom, how was the rates like? I find it a bit strange to just agree for 10 lessons?

badrad, isn't it up to the student himself then? The coach can just correct him/her and the student will have to be the one to remember it right? I mean, once you've taught your student the correct stroke, the student will have to be the one to change it, no matter how many sessions. I think. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Originally posted by Joanne
badrad, isn't it up to the student himself then? The coach can just correct him/her and the student will have to be the one to remember it right? I mean, once you've taught your student the correct stroke, the student will have to be the one to change it, no matter how many sessions. I think. Correct me if I'm wrong. Oh yes, it's really all up to the student. The role of the coach is to first identify the problem, assess the student's current level and determine a course of action.

But you have to also realize that not all corrections are that simple to fix or change. Some corrections may be in stages or need other fixes in order to get to the end result.

For instance footwork. To correct a simple problem of "not able to get to a drop shot in time" addresses a whole list of correction stages. The initial problem is to know the student's current situation - body ability and footwork. Each needs to be assessed to determine why this is a problem. If the student is not in shape, but has good footwork, well, that is one course of action. The student already has a superior physical strength and agility, then maybe he has awkward footwork - another course of action. Or - this is more important at high levels - there is a combination of moves that slowly force the student into such a situation. Each takes time to look over and then correct.

Another thing to note when learning, and Kwun summarized it in another thread:

There are 4 stages to learning:

1: Don't know that you don't know
2: Know that you don't know
3: Know that you know
4: Don't know that you know

Sometimes you will see this as a square boxes.

Usually people will bounce in the quadrants 2 and 3. Quadrant 4 means you have mastered it and it is part of you automatically/instinctively. That is what we all want to get to for all we do. And that is what takes time/

Now the downside to this is that it also applies to bad habits as well.... So that when you are pushed to the limit, old habits show up automatically. That is what a coach wants to eliminate.

Here's a simple example - as simple as breathing. Do you inhale when smashing or exhale or hold your breath? But usually you won't even think about it because your body automatically does it. But when you do, you can be sure you might wind up just momentarily wondering. It's those little hesitations you are eliminating.

Ya I agree with badrad, old habits starts to show when you are push to the limits.

You subconsciously revert back to the old habits. It happens to me a few times and I had to stop myself halfway thru the routine during training.
I was taught another way of footwork which involves skipping a step when moving back to the rear corners like 14 yrs back. My body subconsciously revert back to that when I gets too tired. I have to keep reminding myself and take note of it throughout a game sometimes or thru routine.

But I have a personal coach there to point out the mistakes and work with me thru it.
Personally I prefer a personal coach rather than group coaching.

Points aptly demonstrated from my first session.

First I had no idea I was holding my racquet wrong.

It was pointed out to me.

When I played at my wednesday club I had to force myself every point to check my and make sure I was doing it right.

One day I will have changed completely and not have to think about it anymore.

Okay, so since when we are really pushed, old habits will tend to creep up and show themselves, here is another little test while you are sitting on the sidelines watching other players - or analyze yourself if you like.

"When you are competing in sports your true character will show itself when pushed to the limits."

Check it out and let me know if it rings any truth in your circle of badminton.

There's a truth in that. But provided that your confident enought about your ability and tend not to be nervous in a match. I always have this attitude that i'm better or superior than everyone till proven otherwise, but i just keep it in my mind and be humble...

Last time while we're playing badminton a group from the other side of the court approached our group and ask if they could have a "friendly match" they told me that i could pick anypartner from my tribe/group :) seeing them play from time to time i was tempted to pick our instructor (Our Master, a 65 year old craftie) i told myself if it's not a sure win at least the score would close, but then i have a sudden change of heart and just pick a partner that i'm most comfortable with (comfortable in my dictionary means no record of racket clashes and body to body collisions, if you know what i mean ) :D

In short we won over a large margin 8-15, and my GF told me that me and my partner played really well and haven't seen us play that well and hard before. I guess the ones who challenged us were a bit surprised as well since i think they would scan first whom they are to challenge and I think they wouldnt embarrass themselves in front of their GF if they could forsee a 8-15 score. I guess what they fail to see is that back at our court when we play its just 60% competetiveness and 40% play, whereas when they challenged us it 100% competetiveness and 0% play...

Just be confident and the real you will emerge...

Originally posted by badrad
Okay, so since when we are really pushed, old habits will tend to creep up and show themselves, here is another little test while you are sitting on the sidelines watching other players - or analyze yourself if you like.

"When you are competing in sports your true character will show itself when pushed to the limits."

Check it out and let me know if it rings any truth in your circle of badminton.

I don't understand this part. When you are pushed to your limits, will your old habits show?? According to frictionman he played better when pushed to his limits. I know when I'm training and am really really tired I tend to miss the last few shuttles, if I'm exhausted that is. But sometimes I just want to prove to myself that I CAN do it and I'll be able to. So what actually happens when you push yourself to your limits?

Originally posted by frictionman
There's a truth in that. But provided that your confident enought about your ability and tend not to be nervous in a match. I always have this attitude that i'm better or superior than everyone till proven otherwise, but i just keep it in my mind and be humble...
And some people fall apart. Or they start screaming or show frustration, or some get colder and more precise and determined... Just take a look at how people react.

Joanne, this part I was not refering to habits or skill but rather how a person starts acting under pressure. Some people can handle it when normally you might think they would not, or other types. There are some players who, off court seem to be the nicest people, but once on-court they turn into the poorest most obnoxious players you could ever meet. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personal.

This is just something of interest I thought some of you BF'ers might like to observe and analyse in some of your buddies as they are playing. Just something extra for you to do while waiting for your court time...

End of lesson 2 (I play in my friday lunch hour, although it ends up way more than an hour). My legs are really gone again. Was great fun and of course hard work. Did the net drills again which was good. I think as much as anything it's a good way for her to ensure that I am using the new backhand and forehard grips that I have been taught and also that I am switching between them efficiently.

The hour seemed to go much quicker this time. There was probably a little less variety than last week, with each drill lasting a little longer and the coach really trying to push home all aspects of grip, stroke, body position and footwork for the drills we did.

I'll say it again though, marvellous. I love badminton.

Oh I see. I've never noticed it before but I'll observe them this Sunday.

Woop., I'm jealous! My lesson is not until Sunday. :( I remember how my coach got me to change my grips quickly and correctly. She asked me to stand at the T service or whatever it's called and then she started literally throwing the shuttles at me, and I had to change my grip real fast. It wasn't tiring as I was barely moving but it got my wrist a bit tired. Since then I've been able to change my grip easily after doing that exercise a few sets, 40 shuttles each. :)

woop., joanne, anymore updates on the training? your accounts make interesting reading

individual lessosn are great.

i think i improve more after one session than i would otherwise in a whole month or more

BRL, what did you learn?

woop here. Thanks for asking about the coaching!

I've continued to have one on one coaching every friday lunchtime for an hour. For the last five weeks I have also attended a two hour group coaching session midweek with two coaches, one of which is my one on one coach.

Well suffice to say my level is flying up. I started playing summer 2002 at the tender age of 27 and by the end of the season had played quite a number of B team games at my club (we are in the lowest league so that was nothing special).

Going into my first full season I am a different player completely. You all may laugh but at least I hold the racquet correctly now ;) I actually have footwork now (think I just ran around before) and can make far more shots with higher consistency.

Every coaching session is a joy. Last week I had a match the same evening as my coaching so we spent the hour being less vigorous and just working on my backhand at the net. To some this would be boring I am sure but I continue to learn so much every time I go onto the court.

Last night was group coaching and my coach was making me work harder than anyone else, forcing me to move wider and further on the drills, throwing shuttles fast at me, and hammering the correct technique into me where with others she would allow less. I have to admit at being slightly flustered at first, but I then took it as a great compliment that she can see how hard I am trying and how much she can push me.

One of my club colleagues paid me a very nice compliment the other day. We were chatting inbetween games (she has coaching also) and said that I was coming on well. She added that she felt her coaching enabled her to improve in bursts. She'd be at a level for a while then suddenly improve a bit. Continue on a level then improve more. However she said that everytime she watched me play, even if it was several times in a week, she could see me attempting, and even being successful in new things. I was well pleased!!

Finally I will add that tonight I make my first 'A' team debut. True it is because someone has dropped out, there is no way I am close to being a first choice 'A' team player yet. However as little as 3 months ago I would never in my wildest dreams have hoped to play for the 'A' team so soon. It is so nice to know that other people are watching your improvement and willing to move you up the ranks.

I'll let you know how the match goes!

PS: a week in the life of woop

Sun 19 - 2 hours training with a club mate
Mon 20 - club night
Tue 21 - B team match
Wed 22 - group coaching
Thu 23 - A team debut!
Fri 24 - coaching + B team match
Sat 25 - DAY OFF!
Sun - mens match

I'm kind of keen!

Heh! Way to go!! Woop! What an inspiring piece of news you have here! Makes me wanna go for a personal coach myself:). Please let us know how you do in your first "A" team appearance. Good Luck!

Awesome. Actually, after getting slapped around in singles at the last tournement, I took it upon myself to look for a coach to correct my bad habits and improve my game. Until now I had no prior badminton coaching and was just developing at my own rate. Well, this past monday was my first lession. Its semi-private, 2 students and the coach, and all i can say is wow. Going into it I didn't expect all that much, especially not after the first lession, but the coach pointed out two bad habits I had that I could consciously correct....maybe with a bit of practice it will become second nature. Im looking forward to seeing if the lessions can bring me to that next level of play.

My schedule:

Monday - 1.5h at lunch, 1h lession in evening, 3.5h more in evening
Tuesday - Day off
Wednesday - 1.5h at lunch
Thursday - 4h in evening
Friday - 1.5h
Saturday - Day off
Sunday - As much or as little as I want

The lunches are casual games and drilling with my doubles partner for the most part. The evenings are a lot more competitive.

Well, unlike Woop. I haven't been so fruitful. I haven't yet started individual coaching as my exams lasted over a period of 3 weeks. But now its over and I'm looking forward to some individual lessons over the 2 month break. I'm thinking of taking an individual lesson this Saturday. I'll see how it goes and update you about it!

Cheung thanks for asking. :)

Joanne must be aspiring to be a great player in the future.

Originally posted by Cheung
BRL, what did you learn?
what i was doing that I shouldn't be. And how to anticipate the other players.

Originally posted by ants
Joanne must be aspiring to be a great player in the future.

Lol. Unfortunately not. ;) Studies comes first.

I'm going for a lesson today. Sure hope it helps me, then perhaps I'll consider taking individual lessons regularly from this coach over the holidays.

Great! And worth it too, RM20 for 2 hours(Plus he trained us for 1/2 hour extra after the 2 hours). And tiring. :) My coach just concentrated on one thing at a time, we did tapping today. He said that he didn't want to 'rojak' or mix everything up today, he'll do it step by step. According to him this method will perfect each stroke. I think my tapping improved a lot today. And we did footwork. That was very very exhausting. But at the end of it my friend and I were thoroughly tired but satisfied. Managed to satisfy my craving for badminton today though. :D