Perhaps this belongs in the coaching forum but that place is a ghost town and i was hoping for some immediate advice. I am actually running a badminton program for ages 10-15 and have pretty much expended my arsenal of games. This was my first time teaching and was not provided with any particular lesson plan by the community center so i had a lot of free reign. The kids themselves have a range of skill from having visible training before to others who hit the bird only 50% of the time. Playing actual games is very difficult for them because of their skill level so things i've done in the past are like, all of them in a line on one side of the court, each person hits it once then runs to the back of the line, and im on the other side hitting it back. Or two teams and once u hit the bird u run to the other side of the court and join that line. Note i am restricted to 13 birds in a class of 12 students. Working on particular skills is simple enough to have drills for but i was hoping for some advice on little fun games i could work into the program like the ones i listed or anything you happen to have in mind. All suggestions appreciated.
ATTACK / DEFENCE PRACTICE DOUBLES FIRST TO SCORE 100 POINTS Decide which pair will be attackers or defenders before game starts. Both pairs begin in a Sides formation. The defenders begin every rally with a high serve to any area in the opponent’s court. Rally ends on winner or if attackers give defenders the chance to smash/netkill ATTACKERS SCORE POINTS AS BELOW SMASH WINNERS AND NET KILLS = 10 POINTS ALL OTHER WINNERS = 5 POINTS LOSE ATTACK/FORCED TO LIFT = MINUS 5 POINTS DEFENDERS SCORE POINTS AS BELOW: ALL WINNERS = 5 POINTS FORCE LIFT 5 POINTS
This may look a bit boring. But the juniors I coach love it! Effectively it teaches the players how to attack and defend with the correct positioning on court. As a coach or competent person you will need to keep the score on paper. After the game you will be able to check the score sheet to see how many times the attackers were forced to lift (ie. minus 5's). You could make a note during these rallies as to why the lifts were made. For attackers it will become obvious that the attack formation is most important, that is to take control of the net area by having a front and back formation. The defenders will learn how to defend positively with blocks and drives or whips to the crosscourt etc. For the scorer of the rally it is important to shout out "end of rally" if the attackers are forced to lift. This gives a reference to both pairs that the attackers were forced to lift.
I really like that idea coachgary but im afraid it might be a bit advanced when it comes to the skill level I'm dealing with. I will definitely give it a shot though. Jeeves: Im afraid something like shuttle runs, although effective, would bore 11-14 year olds who are not great at staying on task and really just want to have some fun, not vastly improve their game. Anyone with ideas feel free to put them forward.
I don't envy your position. Training a group of kids can be quite a challenge. A good deal of patience is required and finding that balance between letting them have fun and maintaining discipline can be difficult at times. Another game you can try is similar to the one you already use where they line up and take turns hitting the shuttle. However, in this variation, the shot they practice is the backhand doubles short serve. If a serve lands in and isn't too high (you have to be the judge), then that player sits out. If the serve is no good, then that player rejoins the back of the line and one of the people sitting out (ie the good servers) has to rejoin the line. The winning side is the one with everyone out. It also sounds like you have quite a variety of skill levels in your group. You might want to think about splitting them up as the easy exercises might be a little boring for the more advanced kids, and likewise, the harder exercises may be too much for the less advanced. Have fun! Wayne Young
Thanks for the advice. Im afraid that repeatedly serving might bore kids who aren't really focused on getting better. Hoping for something involving a lot of movement and such that keeps them occupied
why not practice some shots like net cross - not to difficult. backhand smash training is FUN. show them your best trick even if they cant learn it immeaditely.
how about english doubles? four players on court, each get one half of the field and defend it (never switch). (see attachment) Each player starts at 10 points, if the shuttle drops on your half, you lose a point. What you get is an "all for themselves" double, more like 2 two halfcourt-singles. Which can be very entertaining, at our club even the pros play it :d. The losing player either does an assignment, or push ups, or something... Another variant is Swedish doubles, which is more hard to explain... instead of having all of half a court, only three sections are in. (see attachment). All players now start at 21 points, but the scoring is different: -shot int he front (tiny) box is 3 points -shot in the middle is 1 point -shot in the back box is 5 points (-shot at the body is 5...optional for advanced players) (-shots that hit the tape are always in, also optional, but very funny) everything else is out! Attachment: yellow the part is what court each player has to defend in English doubles, red for Swedish doubles
Ok - how about a high serve practice for singles. Place two empty shuttles tubes side by side in the rear court tramlines. The players must pay 10 pence in one of the tubes per 20 serves. The first person to serve a shuttle into the tube wins the money from the tube. Half of the money in the other tube will then be placed into the empty one. It will probably take a few weeks before anyone wins the money. You will need someone to keep a watchfull eye on proceedings to make sure that foul play doesn't spoil it for everyone. Good luck
