I SUCK, so I need someone to coach me!

Discussion in 'USA East' started by birdie-ray, Aug 22, 2003.

  1. birdie-ray

    birdie-ray New Member

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    Hey all,

    Been playing badminton since small..an average player, stopped for few years (after moving to the US), then started to play few months at the

    Bryn Athyn Badminton Club, PA, USA
    Bryn Mawr badminton Club, PA, USA

    found myself play really bad! So, I am just wondering if there is anyone who is plays good badminton in the Philadephia areas and available to give me some good coaching? My goal is to be the top player in the world...:D ..nah...all I want is to be able to play better badminton and learn some skills from some pro badminton players! :p

    Any suggestions/comments are appreciated...;)

    p/s: Btw, anyone from Philadelphia, PA areas, u r welcome to msg me if u are interested in playing with us in the above clubs ;)
     
    #1 birdie-ray, Aug 22, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2003
  2. bluejeff

    bluejeff Regular Member

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  3. khengsang

    khengsang Regular Member

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    I used to be a tennis player and switched to badminton 3 yrs ago so I can relate a bit to what you are saying. I thouht I was good since I played recreational badminton now and then but when I played against some good players I really found out how much I sucked! Its been a long and painful road but I definitely feel my game has improved a lot. Here are some suggestions:

    1. First you need to gear up. Get a good racket (I recommend you start off with a high end racket to get used to quality rackets and not take the early handicap), string it with good string and at at least 20lbs. Get a good pair of court shoes (makes a huge difference, especially AFTER the game when you realize you are not as sore!)

    2. Practice your shots- this is like warming up, helps you find the right way to hit the bird and builds up consistency. Coaching at this point is very helpful or at least get a video or book to make sure you have the right grip/technique

    3. Practice your positioning- Especially in doubles, you have to learn the right formations and the appropriate actions. Its extremely frustrating to play with a doubles player who does not know when the bird is his or mine. This can only really come with practice and it becomes like intuition when you play enough.

    4. Practice your strategy- At each situation there is usually a best shot or for opponent's there is a most likely shot they will take. Knowing this you can anticipate better instead of standing still and then rushing for shot after being surprised.

    5. Train your body and mind- This is the area where you just make sure you are in shape and have your mental game together. This is the extra 10% that most people neglect but it can be the difference between winning and losing.

    I hope this helps. I know how hard it is to break into the badminton "circle". Often good players hate playing with new players and then they get discouraged and never improve. I think if you have the resolve and the charisma, you can get better on your own, but for most people, a coach is best since he/she can tell you all the things the good players know instinctively and also can set you up with players your level (hookups undoubtedly best part of coaches)!
     
  4. birdie-ray

    birdie-ray New Member

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    bluejeff, thanks for the link, I got that. And khengsang, really appreciate u taking the time to explain things to me. However, I have problems with suggestions 2 and 3:

    - Bcos I can't a coach to help me! :( Most of the clubs I went to, everyone is so eager to play games, no one cares about training themselves or helping others to improve. It make sense too, bcos all of us paid $5 or move each time..to play, not to train others. So...i don't know how i can find someone good to coach me! Well...I guess I can only continue seaching...

    - Bcos I can't find a good doubles partner. I met some potential ones, but they either didn't have the time to commit to practice and tournaments OR they got too much ego to listen to u...sighhhh....

    Anyway...I will continue to seach for someone to coach me and also be my doubles partner.

    thanks..
     
  5. khengsang

    khengsang Regular Member

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    I didnt have a coach either so I know what you mean. Lets re-examine your situation and examine what you can do given what you've told me:

    1. Seems like this is a recreational group so you are right, people want to play not train. HOWEVER there are people in your group who probably do train or know other players. Now you have to NETWORK, make some friends.

    Here is a sidenote to all you newer players who have a hard time making friends with the better players. First of all, your ATTITUDE is what makes the most difference. Here are some pointers (note I have made these mistakes and now being on the other side I hope you guys can learn from them!)

    - When you are playing, give it your all, even if you feel you are going to lose. Show some enthusiasm, act like you want to win. This might seem obvious but seriously so many newer players just stand there without trying and it does piss off both your partner and your opponents. Get the shots you think you cant make, even DIVE for them, at least give the players a laugh.

    - When you mishit or make a mistake, learn from it internally and dont make a drama out of it. I used to do this too, I would mishit, then yell some expletive stare at my racket and apologize to my partner. Dont do this. Its a terrible habit most of us have but dont dwell on your mistakes, just move on.

    - Do the ASK. This is a hard one. When I used to play at OCBC (Club in Irvine) basically I would sit there for a long time hoping people would ask me to play. If you are not good, as you might have guessed, no one will ask you to play. I had to suck up my pride and ego and humbly ask other players if I could join them. Most people will not say no, although they probably wont want to play with you that much. Thats OK. And of course dont go to players much more skilled than you, maybe the same level or a bit higher. At least by going around you know which players are friendly and which ones arent.

    - Be a nice sportsman and friend. There are plenty of opportunities to talk about things besides badminton and there is probably some area of interest that you share with some other players. As long as you are good company, people wont mind helping you out now and then, even playing with you despite your skill level. Just always have a positive attitude and over time your friends will help you in your game as well. Dont become bitter if groups of players exclude you.. its just an unfortunate reality. Just persist!

    It has taken me 3 yrs to get this far and I think only now am I really enjoying the game to its full potential. But man, when you have made it through the obstacles and stuck with the game, you will find badminton as one of the most rewarding sports. I love it so much I play 5 times a week now (at least while I can in Singapore!).

    Hope this helps,
     
  6. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Can't agree more than that.

    1. Ppl tend to play with skillful players. But this type are not commonly found in a lot of regular clubs. Therefore, the hard fighting players are the best alternates. It will take yrs of training to be more skillful, but take less time to give urself motivation to try harder. Really leaping or diving is not the key, but the sense of "push to the edge" is the thing die-hard players are looking forward to. I am not a super skillful player in the new club(s), but ppl still show respect for "not easily give up". Once I got a come-back victory, or even just chip several more pts against a better player, ppl still cheer loudly.

    2. On court, we use our hand and foot to do the "talk". Off court, communication is the key. No matter what, if ppl keep urself out of the public, ppl won't get close to u, and will treat u as a "mystery". Talk more with good manner and reasonable sense will bring more friends for u. Once u have a big group of buddies around, all of u will be greatly benefited from each other. Ppl share good deals, buying experience, tactic together which will increase ur knowledge and saving big on $$$. Other topics than badminton will give u great experience for social life as well.

    Basically, be urself, get urself involved, and a lot of "big problems" for now will become easy deal once u have more buddies around.
     
  7. birdie-ray

    birdie-ray New Member

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    Khengsang,

    Thanks for taking the time to give me those valuable advices...they are very positive, encouraging, very TRUE and useful! THANKS! :) Your points were well presented...believe it or not, they have some impacts on me.....! Great emotion and mental boosts....to me! :)

    Yeah, especially if u are new to the club and not a very good players, not many people would ask u to play. Everyone wants to play with the top players, learn from them or try to beat them! Not-so-good players usually be left alone! That's why we have to have that positive learning attitude, never afraid to ask to play with otherss, and ask advices from better players, right? Else, u will be sitting there all nite watching people play!

    2 elements are very important (i think):

    1) ATTITUTE: a) Must be humble enough to ask - see, i played badminton for 20+ years, but is going to be chanllenge for me to consult a teenager who plays better than me! b) Willing to learn from ur own or other mistakes, c) never easy to give up!

    2) NETWORKING: Know not only the games, but also the people who play the games. You will gain infinite benefits...

    **hehehhe...see..I am encouraging myself and all not-so-good players now! OK, let me put all ur advices into try...see how it goes! :p


    BTW, I read an article that encouraged us to learn/practice/improve ourselves even through regular club games with others. But sometime I found it so hard to just try the "tricks" or "skills" I have been practicing during a regular club game, bcos most likely I will end up loosing the game! And likely to be viewed as a lousy players. Any comment on this?
     
    #7 birdie-ray, Aug 25, 2003
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2003
  8. khengsang

    khengsang Regular Member

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    hey birdie-ray,

    Glad the post helps. Just dont give up and you can really accomplish a lot.. badminton and in other things :D

    About your question about fancy tricks.. yeah I found that as well, usually in practice games you find a fun trick to do, for me its always has been the deceptive return of serve at the net. However of course it is an inconsistent shot and has a chance to fail.

    You could take two view points on this. In one sense its better to stick to your consistent shots in a competetive game since every point is very hard fought and doing fancy shots with a low percentage are a waste..

    However you should also consider that if you never start building up your confidence in making such shots, you will become too predictable and that too is bad. I would say against consistent players your chance of outwinning them with consistency is much less, so might as well do your trick shots and gamble on it :p

    My mom (who is awesome at tennis BTW) has been trying to teach me the mental game and one of the things she told me is to always just play the point, not the opponents, your partner or the score. I always have the habit of trying to pump myself up when Im behind and slacking when Im winning, but giving your all for every shot is really what the pros focus on.
     
  9. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    1. Practice such new shots during warm up / drill time period.

    2. Try new shots when against less skillful players, or when the score is almost determined (huge lead, large lose, etc). This time, usually "winning or losing" is not so important any more.
     
  10. birdie-ray

    birdie-ray New Member

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    Some interesting scenerios

    As I play actively in the 2 clubs I mentioned above, I found myself in 2 very common and interesting situations, would like to discuss with u all pro here.

    Scenerios

    1) Playing with players less skillful than me
    a) They sometimes didn't want to play with me, bcos they thought I didn't want to play with them
    b) I sometimes got bored when I played with players less skillful than me for all nite, yet I still had to keep up a positive attitude playing with them...

    Result: I didn't get to play a lot!


    2) Playing with players better than me
    a) They played too well, didn't want to waste time playing with a player who are less skillful than them.
    b) I don't dare to ask to play with better players, afraid to embarass myself.

    Result: I didn't get to play a lot!


    thanks...
     
  11. bonnie

    bonnie New Member

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    Hello...

    I am from Philly I would be intrested playing with you. My email is bsibisi@gmail.com. Bonnie

    ===============================================

     
  12. TrueBlue

    TrueBlue Regular Member

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    Interesting thread!
    I would like to talk about playing with better(worse) partners a bit. Maybe it's a little bit off topic... .

    If you're not the baddest(best) player in a club there are better and worse players. I like to play against worse players a lot because they often try to play good shots, instead of taking it very serious like equal trained (skilled sounds more like "gifted", but i think most things are trainable) players who often wants to see who wins/ is better.

    But for me i just want to try the things i've trained [first alone, the -when i find someone (it's right: all about asking..it's suprising how many people want to really train with throwing shuttles etc, but they think -like me sometimes- maybe noone would like to and so they just "play")] when i play with someone. See if it works or think about why i doesn't do what i did in training (after the rallies)...

    But there are some players who just sit in the gym, doesn't play with equal players and when the "good player" arrives they go to him and ask. But then they are not very concentrated or get angry and want to win many rallies, although they are not able to do so. I think this kind of playersplayers think of the better players like "free trainers" who should teach them. Even if the good player just go to a court (there are many free courts in this case) to practise services, they walk over and ask for a game.

    I think they should practise more for themselves, for example first try a shot without shuttle after they got the explanation and then maybe a week later they should try the shot in a game.
    Playing serious games against better players has for me the function to see my weak points and then think about and learn the technique in the way described on top of this posting. After that i try it in a game.

    I've seen players improving who never got the oportunity/ didin't care about playing with better players. But they really practised with letting someone throw shuttles to them or practise footwork alone.

    I agree about the 10% more Engagement for winning.
     
  13. triam

    triam Regular Member

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    I play in brynmawr too, I do not know how good you guys are, but i will be more than happy to give you people any tips. Let me know if you are interested.

    P.S: this is my first post here
     
  14. davidcheng

    davidcheng Regular Member

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    keeping aggressive attitude not matter won or lost

    partner with better players you need to make a good chance for your partner so you need to cover front court most of time

    partner with wicker players you need to control the ball don't give your opponents too much high ball because you should protect your wick partner

    no matter your level is not good enough keeping aggressive attitude and never give up, your partners will be happy
     
  15. triambukh

    triambukh Regular Member

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    Do any of you guys still come to bryn mawr? if so I would like to know your names if that is ok
     

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