im kind of new to the doubles area to badminton... this year im joining the school team as a doubles player i just have some question on rotation... like what to do...like when should we be side to side and when should we be back and front also what shots will change our positions... thanks
Traditionally, side to side is when you're in defense, and front and back when you're on the offensive. To switch, the net (front) player will just choose any side he/she feels like (or is close to), and the back player goes to the opposite side (mainly because the back person can see the front person, but not vice versa). If I'm at the front and I lift, I just quickly move to side close closest to me (and hence, side by side teaming). Movement around the court is just basically what you and your partner are comfortable with. For me and my partner, anything dropped in the middle or just shy of it is mine (I'm quicker on my feet), same as with down the middle (faster reflex). However, lifts I tend to give them to my partner (who has a stronger smash and better drop). TEAMWORK!
***********(1) *********** ^ *********** | *********** | *********** | *********** | (2)******** (1) | | | *********** ^(2) \ *********** | *\--------------/ When (1) goes up, (2) goes behind to cover the back. If (1) then moves left-front then (2) still cover the back and watch out for the front too. If (1) then moves to left-middle then (2) at right-middle. You can do this anti-clockwise drill.
when you're in the defensive position (side/side), you'll always want to try to find an opportunity to switch to offensive (front/back). you can instigate this by dropping someone's smash, and following it into the net. your partner will cycle back behind you and wait for an opportunity to smash their lift. if this works out, you're now front and back. if you're in the front/back positions, you don't follow your drops. this is to try to force a kill-able lift from the oppoennts, or to give yourself a better opportunity to smash. if your partner is feeling tired from running/smashing a lot, you should reset (basically switch positions, so that the netman goes back, and the guy in the back, goes up). this can be done in a number of ways. usually my partner and i yell it out, well, just loud enough for the partner to hear, and we find the best opportunity to switch asap, such as following a drop foward. or if you feel theres more time, clearing it, going side/side, and finding another chance to go back on the offensive. another thing to keep in mind is when your partner is in the back. if for some reason, he has to clear it, go to the side cross-court from the clear. well, basically you try to give yourself as much time as possible to prepare for defense. you have less time to see what your partner did, so you want to maximize the distance between you and your attacker, giving you more time to defend. when on the defense, you don't necessarily have to stand dead smack in the center of your box. the man who is better at defense can generally stand a little closer ot the middle. maybe you or your partner is a comfortable singles player. in that case, you or him can take a bit more space. this is kinda what oinkers said. if you're defending a guy who is smashing from the corner, the guy cross-court from the smasher can technically stand a bit closer to the front and closer to the middle cuz he can't smash to certain parts of the court, and since you're farther from him, by the it goes cross-court, the shuttle will have slowed, and you have more time to react anyway. so standing up closer and taking it earlier will be advantageous to switching from defensive to offensive. its usually whatever you find is most comfortable with your partner. everyone does something a little different.
Usually, no. Unless the lady in mix is pretty much as strong/fast as the guy, and both person decide to play with a level double formation rather than traditional mix formation. Even for this, depend on the opponent's formation, the placement of the shots (which require the team rotation), could be well varied as well.
Ideally... Ideally you are blessed with being able to play with a partner whose game can complement yours. Ideally you are blessed with being able to train regularly with this partner. Ideally you don't even need to say where you're going on the court. If you can understand that doubles is a game where you play for your partner, then the rotation comes naturally. Playing for your partner means setting the point up for your partner and also covering your partner. This works both ways. You have to understand that one of you leads, and the other will cover and set up for the one leading. This will/should change according to your opponents if it is an even match. Otherwise you must take control and overpower your opponents. You also have to figure out how you as a couple play. Are you aggressive? Defensive? Drivers? Do you wait for the mistake or force it on your opponents? This will dictate how you rotate. The other thing about doubles is....SMASH when it is there to be smashed. Set the point up so that you can have the point won off the smash. It is never guaranteed that this will happen - which is the beauty of this game. Of course, being a singles player that can play doubles and mixed quite well, a good drop shot is always a fantastic moral killer on your doubles opponent! Remember, the shuttle is always able to come back at you from the other side
