Recently I've started playing some triples, and the more I think about it, the more I realize what an excellent training tool it is for doubles. The photo below will perhaps illustrate for those who haven't seen triples before. If my partner and I play against this formation of 3 people, then we will be forced to hit higher quality shots. That is, we get a better awareness of what shots are wiser to hit against good players, since the formation of 3 effectively makes a strong attacking doubles team. 3 on 3 is even better. Have you all tried this drill?
my coach had us do this but we were rotating. the drill was used to teach proper doubles rotation. the kids at my school play triples when all of the courts have been taken (school only has 4 playable courts.)
ive seen the indonesian players do it. just dont know how it works, you know the rotation, service, scoring, etc. can you guys teach me how it works.
When I was in Anaheim last year I saw some of the Chinese team do this drill at Orange County Badminton Club, where all the players had practice when they weren't at the main facility. (Zhang Jun, Gao Ling, Xie Zhongbo, Zhang Yawen and a couple others.) It didn't seem like they were keeping score, but it was clear that they were forced to hit shots that would be safe shots in a regular doubles game. They couldn't afford to play loose blocks towards the net because there was always a player at the net. They couldn't hit short clears, because there was always a player in an attacking position in the back court. Nor could they play high drives for the same reason. Any overhead drops that were slow would be in trouble from the net player as well. therefore, if I play this drill, i will have to practice flat drives that are low to the net, high deep clears to the corners, tight net play, and my defensive shots will have to make it past the net person. Which is not to say that it can't be a fun drill. Gao Ling fell over laughing once That's my take on the drill. The rotation I'm not totally clear on. Thoughts, anyone?
normally me and some friends play this with "beginner beginner" friends (those who treat it as a social event). we've tried it on a few occasions as a more serious game, with no real score being kept, but the rotations we do is the same as regular doubles, with the "net man" not serving. every time you score a point, you rotate clockwise like in vollyball, and wheover happens to be on the even/odd serving side will serve. since everything isn't official, its up to you to devise something that works. its fun, and in the end, is a good drill i think. its great for laughs when someone sends up a crappy clear and everyone dives for cover as the opponents net man leaps up and drills it to the floor.
This method actually teaches us to be smarter on court. Basically most of the court is covered by players. Shot making has to be precise and see who out smart each other. Its like playing chess matches on court. Think and place.
Agree with Ants! It is great for improving shot quality and your mental game. It also will train you subconciously not to play bad shots
Nope, as the placement is there, you know which shots you suppose to take and which you are not suppoed to.
our coach makes us do this too... it gets kinda boring though cuz we don't really know how it's supposed to help us... i GUESS it COULD make our shots better... but i'd prefer just playing regular doubles.
Well, there are two players positioned in the back court, one on each side, and one person playing the net area. Any shot that comes into your section of the court is your shot to take. You should play shots as you normally would in doubles, imagining that the two people in the back are really one very fast person. Therefore any shot that gets picked off easily in this drill will be a shot that a strong doubles team will pick off too. Rotation is up to you. After every couple of points, rotate positions - ie, net player moves to one of the back court positions, and one of the back court players comes up to the net. I think it makes sense for the net player to be the server, and for the net player on the opposite side to be the receiver. Flick serves aren't a very good option because the back person is already there to smash but I guess it could be good practice for improving reflexes. Does all this make sense? G
Thanks for the explanation ... So basically, the net person covers any shots before the service line and the back person covers the shots that are passed the service line and are on their half of the court ?
back personS. and yea that's correct. the front person just tries to get whatever he/she can. just like regular doubles but without any rotation... haha. it kinda suck for the person in front if people behind him/her sucks though...
did triples today in practice. it was the same set-up but had rotation. we moved counter-clockwise if you were to look at the court from a topographical view. great work out.
Recnetly we did a one vs three drill to train for singles coverage. Suprisingly fun and it's actually not that hard to trick out the 3 if they're not experienced in the drill and you can take advantage of thier bad communication. BTW the 3 were NOT allowed to smash, which makes it WAY more even!
