Hi all, Just wanted to find out from others around my age, what age would you say that you really lost the speed and bounce in your legs. In the middle 30's obviously most players start to lose speed around the court as I did but sometime in the 40's it seems to go completely. With me it was around 44 that I noticed it, I started to lose to the 20 something players which I found hard to take and still do !! Today I'm thinking of retiring completely as I play against players half my age and lose too often, I suppose I could play more often with the vets as I do anyway but when I see a cocky 20 year old I want to go on court and teach him a lesson alas that happens less and less these days. I suppose us old uns could start to drop down the league levels and play in Div 2/3 etc but if you start losing there too how will you feel !!!!!! Maybe retiring gracefuly is the answer but still play socially of course.......but when that cocky teenager comes along.........??????????
Question for the old uns Hi Gerry I guess it depends on if you are talking singles or doubles here. I'm 52 and play in the vets; I also play for a couple of league teams. I used to play singles regulary against a mate who is 24. We would play maybe 3 or 4 games and I was lucky if I came away with one game. So I do find singles pretty hard these days I admit. However, I would like to think that I can still hold my own in doubles. I still train and I play 3 times a week. I do some publicity work for LIBA UK, so I'm also really lucky that I get some coaching from Lee Jae Bok when he is in the UK. Although I have played since I was at school, I didn't really start playing seriously until my late 30s. So I missed out on the County scene and tournaments etc. I think because of that I find my enthusiasm is still very high. I have friends who have been playing at a high level since their teens. Now they are in their late 40s they have had enough. I know it's a bit of a cliche but I don't mind loosing to younger opponents if I feel I have played my best. Last season my team was short of players and I played in the Div 1 side. I was far and away the weakest link and I saw an awful lot of the shuttle However, I raised my game and I had a ball. So Gerry, NO retiring gracefuly!!!! When they come to take you away Go kicking and screaming. Skates
Funnily enough I helped Lee for 4 weeks when he was coaching in Bolton last year, the so and so asked me to play singles against three 17 year old county players, I managed to beat one and got 13 & 18 against the other 2 so not too bad and I coach county juniors myself but struggle against the older ones. I still play against good players but the legs don't get me there as quickly as before and I find it frustrating to lose to weaker players that simply wouldn't have got a point against me not so long ago.
I know this Msian guy (approaching 50's) and he told me when he reached 35, he realized he'd like to play of a good number of years more. He knew he'd be less agile in a few years, so he forced himself to change his game to think more and rely on shot placement, and being in the right place at the right time, and consider the kinds of shots the opponents can return or cannot return effectively, given your shot placement. He rewards himself if he gets the opponent to run around more than usual, but doesn't focus on actually winning. Enjoy the game, focus on enjoyment. Frustrations normally signals that you're focussing on unattainables, or taking on too much at a time. -dave
Gerry, as people get older they get wiser! Your game should change, there is a thread somwhere about "crafty old folks" which sums up badminton superbly as age increases. If you are able to get by playing against county level players, let alone beating one out of three it's sounding as if you don't have problems at the moment but are worrying for no reason. If I were playing county players I would be breathing out of my a**e after a few points and my legs would definatly have gone. There is a guy in the local centre where I play who plays vets and somehow manages to do well against the younger players, you should see him! He chased everything down and has been known to do the odd dive here and there and more spectacularly goes into almost the full splits to retrieve net shots when he has to. Losing the speed and bounce? Work smarter not harder
I lost the bounce in my legs a couple of years ago when I tore the meniscus in my knee, but... ...the first true signs of decreasing performance was when I could no longer read a player's stroke. I used to be able to know exactly where the shuttle was going a fraction after the shot was made, but now, the shuttle is almost to the net before my brain cells & muscles can react to the shot. Retire? ans: Never! When I die, just bury me under a badminton court! Shove a racquet on the court in place of a tombstone! heehee
I've been told by a sports physiologist that elderly people can redevelop the fast twitch muscles fibres with proper training. Perhaps we think we are getting slower, but how much speed can we retain IF we had the motivation and took the time to do so. The results would be quite interesting.
I bought my first racquet in my mid 30's, some ten years ago. I just learned about the correct gripping a few months ago, still struggling with backhand gripping during real play. My club members are mostly half my age or younger. They always pair the strongest with me in doubles to make the game more interesting. When I occasionally play singles, I'd be happy to get 5 points. Yet, I am playing the best badminton in my life, and look to continue, somewhat addicted. To me, the enjoyment is in the swings, the sweat, the runs, but not so much in the points. Hope I could play all the way to my tombracquet, like B-M-S. PS. I read the other day about a retiree running through his 90th birthday. He started running when he was 65, 5 years before his retirement from the workforce, and he is still running, 3k every other day, non-stop.
Thanks for the replys guys. Of course we can all get better to a degree whatever age we are if you have enough time and will to put into it but usually when reaching 50 we also have other parts to our lives. I still go to the gym 3 times per week trying to keep as fit and as flexable as possible, I could really do with about 3 weeks of not eating to get back to my competition weight but that's unrealistic. It's just impossible to be as flexable and as agile as a 20 year old, bending the old back to reach some of those baseline shots doesn't work so well no more. Also I like to think I'm smart and crafty on court but the old saying that Age and cunning will overcome youth and skill only applies at a low level unless of course there is a huge difference between skill levels to start with. As the old saying goes time waits for no man even Lin Dan will struggle to reach those deep baseline shots one day. I'll keep playing socially and to be honest in the main I prefer to watch my juniors play and watch them improve than play myself.
Hey gerry, just to add in though it might be late.. when after my school training sessions, some old men (part of the school board I think) take over the courts for the evening. There's this old man maybe 60++ who plays. I heard from a few chaps of mine who sometimes stay back a bit cause of transport, get whipped by these old men. I've seen some of them play, they don't do much physical work, just a ton of tricks using the old noodle . So don't fret, age may take a toll on your physical, but with age comes experience.
At my club most Sundays is a guy who just turned 93. Suffice to say the spring in his legs has jumped ship - heck, walking is getting slow for him now. But he still turns up more often than not, plays a few games and has a few laughs. He's happy just to get to a few birds and socialise with us "young 'uns". Retire? Never.
Hi Gerry, A couple of the other replies have refered to the vets. There is a very active vets circuit in the Uk and a very competitive ICC. I've been playing in it for the past 8 years and the grouping into 5 year bands tends to level the playing field a bit. Another bonus is that the organisers work hard to sort out partners for those requiring them In my age group are Dave Eddy, Ray Stevens and Sue Whetnall. When I was younger I used to pay to watch them play and now they pay for the pleasure of playing against me. Unfortunately I've not taken a game off any of them yet but it's just a thrill to be on the same court. There's a link to the veterans from the BAofE site - the main site is www.emptage-architects.co.uk/badminton By the way the next tournament is the Badminton Bonanza at the Indoor Arena in Birmingham - 14th and 15th August. Don't give up - get out there and kick *** Jock
