Returning Drops.....

fitness really helps with that type of play, also good foot work! but running like this can be avoided, did u hit drops your self? try moving him around the court. When he/she is on the run when there hitting, its harder for them to make good/accurate shots. Even try slices to put them off guard...


ps. do u live in Richmond hill Ontario...i live in Ajax, might see u around 1 time

 

With experience, you'll start to get ready to prepare for those shots. At first when I started to play badminton, those drop shots made by my opponent made me struggle to go get it. Now, from experience and fitness, I could reach drop shots with ease.

 

A good length in your clears should give you sufficient time to get back into base position to prepare for the next shot. If you're having to run all the way to the net from the baseline then I would assume that your clears are short, giving your opponents the time to push and pull you around the court, making you play catch up.

But then again, your MP30 @ 23x25lbs and adequate racket skills to match should be able to get your clears from baseline to baseline without all that much effort. Or so it's the case for me with the same combination.
So if it's footwork then try improving that to get behind the shuttle so that you can take the shot in a better position and also be able to recover quicker.

 

Fitness & Footwork.

After you do a clear from your baseline, get back up to your base position (centre or mid-length of your court I presume) as quickly as you can. Then, whether your opponent returns with a drop or another clear, you only have half the court length to travel. And yes, as xofrevlis said, a good clear should give you sufficient time to get back to base.

 

Unfortunately being short means that you'll have to base your game on movement a lot more than the taller players due to shorter reach. I stand at 167cms and footwork is absolutely vital for my style of play.
Yet at the same time, drop or clear, as long as you're at your base position then you shouldn't need to take more than 3 or 4 steps to reach the shuttle anyway.
I don't think hardcore fitness is necessary either.

 

Try doing the drop/lift drill with a partner. This should help you improve footwork.

Another question comes to mind.. are you properly set up for the clear. Because wrong foot position during the clear would make it slower for you to get back to position. I say this only because you mention that you already anticipate the drop but yet can't reach it.

regards

 

Basically, I think his clears are much better than yours. Better in the sense that his clears, probably attacking clears, are of such good length that you have difficulty getting to return his drops. Your difficulty in subsequent clears also points to this. Also, you could be having some difficulty reading his drops and attacking clears, making it difficult for you to reach his drops and/or his attacking clears. You can try to improve your attacking clears, even when you are out of position. Drops are useless without good attacking clears-your opponent will not respect you and will wait for you at the net.

 

Looks like you need to work on your footwork. What I would do is to do the same thing to him and see what he does. Deception is probably one of the most important tools to gain improvement in this dilemma.

 

Maybe you could try moving your base a little more towards the front of the court if you are having trouble with the shots played at the net .

Also , in order to do better clears , you need to be in the right position ( with the shuttlecock infront of you ) .

Does this mean that he caught you a little bit off guard with his clears ? Because it's a lot harder to hit good , decent clears if you are out of position/shape for it .

 

Stick your arm up, leap a step back and hit a forehand clear, try hit the shuttle when you're airbourne, assuming you can reach the shuttle in time and have a strong enough wrist. Option 2 turn your body round take a step and do a back hand clear, assuming you have a strong enough wrist for backhand stroke. If neither are possible then nothing much you can do I guess.

A word of advice. Practice footwork. Particularly important for short to medium height player. Practice clears, so you can time and hit the shuttle hard and far. Timing is very important. If you time the impact well, you don't need a lot of power to drive the shuttle to opponent baseline.

 

How short is short? With more experience, time will seem to slow down when you play. Lol. It's true.

 

You may have to do something like this.
Footwork and technique and practice....

 

Well u can definately work on ur quickness by skipping and sprints. I'm sure u can do that on the street

 

Maybe a threadmill would help ?