how to be effective front man in doubles

I am interested to hear the situations such as when the front man:
1) server

If you mean when you serve, then just stay in the front as soon as you serve. If it's your partner, i would probably stay in the back of my partner.

2) in front-back formation, when your partner smash and drop

When my partner smashes, i make sure im in front of him so when our opponent returns it, i will be able to return it with a smash. Not sure what to do about drops since i've been taught to follow your drops, but i dont see much of that.

I dont stand right up at the net when my partner smashes, i sorta stand behind the T.

I'm still a novice, im just sharing whatever i learned. Im sure the more advanced players could give better information than I.

 

1) Right after myself serving I stand right over the T so I have equal distances between myself and either side of the court.
When it's my partner serving I tend to stand behind him on the opposite side(so I'm about one step to his left if he's serving on the rite side) so I can see the bird.

2) Depending on the opponent, my stance is different when partner in the back is dropping/smashing, but I always keep my on the eyes of the opponent, and try to be aware of their positions as well, that will tell you where your partner is hitting the bird to/from.

With more skillful opponents, I tend to stand in the middle of the T, slightly back(half a step or less) but with opponents that are not as skilled with their touch, I tend to "wander" one or half a step towards the side where my partner has hit the bird to, and hopefully get a few kills

3) When the oppoents return short, it is always the server that has to get it, anywhere in the middle on the sides then it's whoever can get it, and if the opponent returns long then it's up to you and your partner to settle that issue, but usually it's the person at the back that takes the shots that are cleared.

But since I play with someone who have a pretty good touch on the birds at the back, I usually dont have to worry about the opponents smashing a bird back in my face, so I tend to stick to the net quite closely. With partners that aren't too capable of playing the back, I will hog up about 2/3 of the court and at the first opportunity, go back to deal with a clear making my partner move up front and play at the net( I kno iz mean but I'd rather tire myself out at the back then have birds smashed at me from BOTH ends )

Going from Offensive position to Defensive position, it's the front man that decides which side he wants to goto and the partner will have to compensate for that. Usually, the front man will want to go to the opposite side of where the bird is lifted to(meaning diagonally to the bird's position)

Hope this helps

ps. I'm sorta still pretty new, and if I'm wrong in any of my oppinions, would the more advanced players kindly correct me? Thx!

 

Personally, me and my partner used to stand in "diagonal". Ex: I stand at upper right (still at least 2 steps away from the net), while he's back in lower left. This way, it requires more "all around" skills for both players (especially, backhand coverage), and the "trust" should be there as well, otherwise, way too easy to get collision here and there. The advantage for this formation, I think, is the backcourt has better sight and more choices for "early decision".

Also, the switch is a key issue in this kinda formation (also with diagonal rules). Basically, the backhand (to the front), could be a good trap (opponets might eagerly only attack the backhand side, which limited their choices) for opponents, since the good coverage from the back can often set up some surprise attack by the net player.

Of course, I am not an advanced player, and most ppl against are not, either. Just a suggestion...

 

How you play at the front in doubles depends on how both you and your partner.
You should both know what the other is going to do in most situations.

Myself, when I am at the front and my partner is at the back, I'll usually be a foot behind the service line.
Where I position myself sideways depends on where the shuttle is.
If my partner is playing his shot from the centre of the court I'll be in the middle (ducking)
If he's on the right I'll move a bit to the right
If he's on the left I'll move a bit to the left

With this formation the back player shouldn't play many (if any) cross-court shots.
He plays everything straight.

The theory being that it's harder for the defensive side to play cross-court net shots than straight shots.
From a straight smash by my partner:
If the opposition try a straight block to the net I am a bit closer to it to go in for a net kill.

A cross court net shot takes longer for the shuttle to come over the net so I have a bit more time to get back across the other side of the court

If they do a high cross-court clear I move sideways because my partner should have time to run across court and smash

If they do a fast cross-court drive, I move straight back away from the net into the area my partner will be running from to get across court

If the opposition have done a slightly weak clear I shuffle forward a bit.
After a weak clear, a big step forward.

If my partner plays a drop shot (straight drop, not cross-court) he stays back and I stay front


But if the two players are of differing abilities they have to decide what they are going to do between themselves. And you might tailor your formation to your opposition also.

 

Totally agree.

Also, u need to know ur "role" in ur team. Whether u r the "Setup" man, and let ur partner to finish them off, or it's ur partner use various of smash, clear to let u finish them in front of the net.

 

If the player at the back plays cross court it potentially gives the attack back to the opposition

If the opposition are defending such that both players are equal distance from the player at the back, the cross court defender will be closer to the net than the straight defender.

From cross-court smashes and drops the cross-court defender simply plays straight shots either to the net, mid-court, or deep. Or a tight cross-court net shot maybe.

Depends on the skills and tactics of the opposition. If one defender is weak we might be targetting him regardless of where he is. If they defend deep, cross-court shots are less risky

 

Some strange theory of mine:

Apply the basic positioning rules to this, i.e. sides when shuttle is hit up, front and back on attack.

The theory must only be applied when ABOUT TO RECIEVE THE SHUTTLE.

If you can imagine a dot in the centre of the court, you and you partner should be on opposite sides of it, equidistant from it, and in line with it, at all times.

It seems to work with my regular partner. Except don't both try standing too to centre, of course, as it would not work.

There may be holes in it, I don't know. Can anyone relate to it?

 

Think of it this way. You and your partner are connected by a rope which is fixed at the middle of the court. The line must be kept taut at all times. So if your partner goes to the front corner to retrieve a shot, s/he will be dragging you forward towards the middle of the court. When you move back to cover a clear, you will be dragging your partner back to the middle to cover possible returns.

There is a book on this by Mark Golds. Actually I would strongly suggest reading Jake Downey's books on badminton (available at http://www.badmintonbooks.com) which he has made available for free.

The three books are: Winning at Badminton Singles; Winning at Badminton Doubles; and Excelling at Badminton.

I can't wait for him to get his coaching book out.