when playing in front should i stand right on the front line or slightly behind the line? and when i defend should i stand in the middle or slightly behind the middle any thoughts?
In general... stay on the line. If you are fast, you may stay slightly behind. Some international players if you observe closely may... just stay right in front of the partner doing the offence. The expectation is most shots will come back straight... when your partner smash straight. Not easy for opponents to defence and place the shuttle cross court. For defence, you'll need to gauge your opponents offence traits, if they hit the shots sharp down, then better to stay in the middle, if their shot are flat to the back, you may stand to the back a bit, but again, becareful, you may not have time to reach the front, in case they do a trick shot on you. Hope this helps.
you cannot always have such expectations though (that most shots will come back straight). KKK in the recent BAC had great cross-court smash returns. i'm not having a go at you . just pointing out an interesting fact.
totally agree with you. From a defensive point of view, most would want to cross court to the other side to make the offensive team run around. So I guess we have to see who the opponent is at that moment in time if they have the ability or opportunity to do so. For intermediate player, most will just be happy to just return a shot which is a natural reflex.
The point is to cover the straight shot (because it takes the least time for shuttle to travel), but be prepared for a crosscourt shot (takes longer time for shuttle to travel and you can adapt quick enough).
Behind the line. Standing on the line means you can't intercept drive returns of smashes. Move forwards when your partner plays a drop shot, and out again when the opponents lift. One step back from the middle. This gives you more time and a slower shuttlecock to deal with.
now the problem is i cant really tell what shots my partner will do i play with different partners everytime, some dont clear high, some dont smash steep... well you get the idea, so how do i anticipate the shots MY partner will make?
You don't need to know what shot your partner is going to make (although one hopes he would play a sensible choice of shot). If he plays a drop shot, you have time to see what's happening (watch the opponent's movement!) and move in. As long as you're aware where your partner is on court (i.e. where the shuttle is going), you can make sensible positioning decisions. Although with rotation, he may not understand what you're doing...
well ive been taught to look at my opponents face and eyes because they tell where my partner is behind me but anyway when it comes to smashes, do i look at their racket? i usually look at body movement and think on good positioning and to boost my confidence to return the smash (if it comes)
well.. lets say for example your opponent clears to your backhand corner and you're playing at the front. you would know that your partner will be at the backhand corner.. unless of course he doesn't go for the shot.
first i look at their eyes, then at their body, and then at their rackets and finally i look at the shuttle (if i still have time) lol!
Personally, I prefer 1 step behind the serve line if I play the front in doubles. Reason being is, for most of our club level players, moving forward is much easier and faster than doing so backward. Never have to mention moving backward under pressure, can result into clash (body or racket) due to lackness of communication between 2 players. As the front person, drop and drive should be the basics that you have. Smash off weak return can be a bonus, of course. Front person should not either standing still while watching your partner doing a race, or playing dodge ball, and hope nothing hitting toward you. Front person needs to know how to control the pace of the game, to let it be favor of your own team. If you can dodge the bullet, great. However, if you can put the opponents under the gun, even better.