I tried something the other day, and I'm certain it's bad practice as a coach. I wanted my participant to get more efficient and responsive at base, so I explained the pre-tension hop and the direction of the feet. I did NOT want him to concentrate on the shuttle, only the base-specific footwork, so I simply pointed up or down to the left or right, and the participant would perform the first couple of steps to the relevant corner. In this situation, it's not reasonable to expect my participant to marry this practice with the game, as he needs to keep his eye on the shuttle, not my hands. Does anyone have any ideas for what I can do, or am I being too specific about the practice? Should I just do the 15 combinations with him, or even some side-stepping with resistance? Perhaps the first thing you want to know is what's exactly wrong with his footwork. Well, he isn't exactly flat-footed, and can move fairly quickly once he gets going (which is why I was concerning myself with the STATIONARY place, i.e. the base). His steps are just a bit unyielding and heavy, and I think a lot of energy is wasted, or misused at least, in this respect. Aleik.
For base specific work its best to make sure the person is able to move quickly by ensuring they are on the balls of their feet with the knees bent ready to do the split step. I believe the split is all important because it is the first step and the ability to do it properly means the difference in getting to the back or front in the all commonly used coached "two steps" Do some fast feet work to get the person ready to move by keeping the feet occupied and ready to move from base. The other important thing is that the player can make a base as the base is not always in the required position, if you are caught short somewhere it is very important that a base can be made and then the explosive movement takes you to the shuttle. If you want to work on base, have a hit about just high loopy shots to start and shout "base" loudly after you have moved your student out of position so they realise the base is where you move from to get the shuttle regardless of where you make it. You need to make it easier to start and when you shout base you then need to hit the shuttle to the opposite part of the court so that the student understands what you are doing.
