My coach said there's a saying in badminton, that the team who controls the pace of a game controls the entire game and wins. I didn't get a chance to ask her how to accomplish that and what it takes to do that especially when you're the one being paced around. How do you switch up the pace, say if you're the side losing a lot of points etc.. and on the opposite side, how you lead the pace .. and not let your opponents steal it.
This is something to think about once you start playing tournaments... but essentially, every player has a pace that they like to play at. Anything other than that pace can often give them problems e.g. the Korean mens doubles like to play very quickly. If the game is quick, then the Koreans may win, because they are so good at a quick pace of rally e.g. lots of fast smashes and drives. The indonesians though, are able to mix up their pace a lot more e.g. hitting lots of drops shots and pushes, as well as drives and smashes. If your opponents like the game to be fast, you can make them feel uncomfortable by making the game very slow e.g. do not smash, do not drive, lift very very high so they have to wait for the shuttle to come down. When they feel uncomfortable, they are out of their comfort zone, and will start making mistakes. Similarly, if you have opponents that are very slow e.g. do not smash, they like to clear, they are a bit slow on court etc, then playing a very high paced attacking game may force them to play faster than they want to, so they make mistakes e.g. Lee Chong Wei can play faster than most people, so he can force them to make mistakes by being faster than them. If you are in control of the pace (making it slow or fast by selecting those shots which are slow or fast), then you are likely in control of the game, and probably winning, because you can do what your opponent doesn't like. Imagine you and your opponent don't like slow badminton. If you slow the game down, and force him to make mistakes, you might win, as long as you don't also make mistakes. If he is better at a slow game, its probably best not to play a slow game. Similarly, if he is better at a faster game, its probably best to avoid a faster game. If he is better than you at all speeds, then he will win! However, most of the time, very good players do not like slow rallies, and this will cause them to make mistakes. Of course, when they are really good, it becomes difficult to force them to play slowly, as instead they will be making YOU rush about, hence they win. Hopefully that explains it. Paul stewart has written lots of excellent articles about changing pace and tactics on his website. A good example is: http://badminton-coach.co.uk/312/how-to-vary-the-pace-of-your-badminton-to-outwit-your-opponent/ Good luck!
If you want a simple answer (no offence) im tired and ceebs reading, but im surei ts good ^... She means, If I (as in you) Dictate if the game is slow/fast/short stroked/longstroked then u are "controlling the pace". The reason why this leads to victory is because, you dictate pace, as u see it fit to benefit you... (well otherwise if u didn't ud be an idiot lol). How to do it:... Its fairly simple, Good Shot Selection, if in doubles.. and in singles.. simply Speed and better racket work.
Your coach is partly correct but dictating the pace of the game does not mean winning the game. To win the points u have to pressurize him to make errors or 'kill' him. If u are being 'outpaced' around means that yr opponents are 'controlling' you. Also may means that they are quicker and better than you. To change the pace is to 'slow' them down (if their level is not much higher) or to be as fast or even faster than them (ie to improve yourself, both physically n technically).
Thanks for the responses guys! So changing pace means either to make the game fast or slower for the opponents and putting them out of their comfort zone. It doesn't necessarily lead to victory but can force your opponents to make more mistakes. Just another thing I like to ask: You guys mentioned to slow the pace down, play less smashes and drives, but more drops, clears and pushes. How about the defensive part of a slow pace match. Does that have to measure up too? Assuming that drops and clears and pushes give more chance for opponents to attack meaning your defense has to be really good .. in order to play slow pace. Also, for doubles, what if you and your partners are different pace and different level (say one is really fast and one is really slow), does that change anything? Can you still pace your opponents around ? or will it be a big problem if you or your partner can not both play at same pace?
If both of u are abt the same level then both of u should be able to play in harmony, in terms of pace. Doubles play is also like playing 'complementing' each other, sharing defending the same court and attacking together. Whichever area/shots he cannot cover u should cover n vice versa, unless both of u are totally out of position:crying: If one is quite a bit weaker than the other then HE is going to be the problem, the outcome of the game will be 60-70% up to HIS performance on that game. This is in 90% of such uneven pairing will lead to the attacks/shots directed mostly to HIM. So pretty much he will get to play/hit >75% of the shots (it is aimed at HIM). Some of my games are like that and can get quite frustrating if my partner does not try to be more aggresive n help to 'pressurize' our opponents.:crying:
I totally sympathize with you. I'm in the same boat as well on this doubles ladders night thing where I get paired with random partners until I move my way up. It's so frustrating .. when your partner can't keep up and you don't know what to do and if you try playing a slower pace, you still lose.. pretty much hard carrying someone. On the more optimistic note though, I do wonder what the solution(s) would be. How do you play with a partner who's pace is different from yours?
There is no solution, it depends pretty much on HOW yr partner's performance on that game. There is no real effective solution from YOUR part. Just ENJOY the game, the exercise and socializing aspect out of it. Also, encourage yr partner by praising his effective shots/tactics as well as give him some tips on right strategies without being too pushy or too 'authoritative'. Not everyone enjoys being told or advised. Just try to help him by covering some of his shots, if u are fast n fit enough.
Thanks for the reply. True, I will try encouraging more. That would probably be the best that i can do. If however, I notice they are trying and probably is more capable than they could be, then I will gently hint some advice.
What you may not understand, is that if your opponent really doesn't like a slow game, he may struggle to even hit his shots if the rally is too slow i.e. they will stop smashing because of how uncomfortable they are, or it will be worse because they muck up their timing. Your defence needs to be good in order to play doubles, it doesn't need to be better if you play slower rallies but yes, you might defend MORE.
Chris Adcock of England plays a control game. Have a look at videos of him playing pushes and drops. He makes it difficult for the opponent to force the game. He doesn't try and win points at the earliest half opportunity. He picks and chooses when he wants to attack.
Thanks! So I just went ahead and look up videos of Chris Adcock on YouTube and came upon this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXmwL_ZJiJw and it does look like he plays a lot more defensively and not all out attack. This question might be out of topic, but does slow pace equate more defensive plays and fast pace more aggressive plays? If so, I know that in this video, they were getting dominated for playing too defensively.
I think you are right. Maybe I have to find out for myself and try paying attention to that the next time I play. I will try playing a slow pace game through more lifting, pushing and drops to see if a normally aggressive pair that I play will make more mistakes. I will pay attention to the timing as you said. I'm not too sure I've grasp the last concept about why defense needn't be better if you play slower rallies. Could you expand? I'm very interested in this point. Thanks again!
I am saying your defence needs to be excellent to play doubles. It does not need to be better or worse depending on what speed you play!
Slow doesn't mean defensive and it's important to know when to speed up and when to slow down. i.e. changing the pace of the rally. What Chris does is he plays neutral shots that makes it difficult for the opponent to play aggressive shots. That in turn, places pressure on the aggressive player to play even better and eventually forces an error.
