Laid back lifestyle

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by Cheung, Sep 5, 2014.

  1. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Are some countries doomed to have weak badminton infrastructure because of the attitude to lifestyle?

    Case in point:

    Canada - in addition to those geographical and administrative factors, Canadian culture is more laid back and less intensity. Apart from a very few individuals, is it possible that lack of intensity works against Canadian players to push through to the top ten?
     
  2. amleto

    amleto Regular Member

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    More likely it's a combination of talent pool, national set up & support, and coaching knowledge.

    I don't believe your hypothesis for a second.
     
  3. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    England has a well organised setup of all those things.

    hey have had their good players (Simon Archer, Nathan Robertson, Gail Emms and Chris Adcock plus one or two others) and talented coaches (Lee Bok Jae, Park Joo Bong, Rexy) but why not more players coming through consistently breaking into top 10?
     
  4. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    Many Canadians are very laid-back, easy going.
    But many others are very driven by their goals. Just visit a hockey rink some early Saturday morning and witness the enthusiastic carnage. :eek:

    But with badminton, it is just not on the radar in most communities. By the time kids discover the sport they are older; They are realize that the coaching and infrastructure is sparse; The distances to reasonable competition are immense; And the personal costs will never be recovered by any earnings, nor glory.

    In addition, we have a culture of personal liberty which makes it difficult to insist from our children unquestioned obedience to a draconian coaching regimen.

    Therefore, there is every reason to be proud of those lonely Canucks who persevere and keep pushing. The Michelle Li's of this country are inspiring our youngsters. :)


    BTW if you are from some gigantic metropolis, where every task in life -- from getting a promotion to getting served a cup of coffee -- is a herculean task against writhing throngs of people after the same precious thing .... then you might enjoy a trip out this way to decompress in 'laid back' Canada. :cool:
     
  5. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Second amleto.

    More to do with factors such as national support (or lack of such in Canada)... and realizing what is truly ultimately more important in life, a short 10 years as a pro athlete who may or may not break into the top 20 in the world, and may still have to depend on the parents for some support.

    Or concentrate on further college or university studies towards a more secure future career that will last for a lifetime.

    Tough but clear choice.
     
  6. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Or this? ....... In effect, results in a laid back style culture?
     
  7. Fidget

    Fidget Regular Member

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    Competition to survive results in remarkable human achievements. (eg. Lin Dan)
    Luck of birth and resources results in remarkable human lifestyle. (eg. a Calilfornia beach bum)
     
  8. llpjlau

    llpjlau Regular Member

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    It's all to do with popularity of particular sports. Badminton is gargantuan in China. Cricket is immense in India, England and Australia. Rugby is life in New Zealand. Ice hockey in Canada. Basketball in the USA. The list goes on.

    Higher chance of success if the sport has a huge following (in addition to the $ spent on it, among other factors). Success breeds success. It's almost like a "vicious" cycle.
     
  9. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    ^ You have a very good point.

    Recently I suggested to my wife that our 11 yr old son start trying out badminton lessons, and she is pretty stubborn on hockey lessons. :(
     
  10. llpjlau

    llpjlau Regular Member

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    Further, the popularity of a few sports results in better grass root development. Take "college ball" in the USA. Because basketball is such a big part of American society, you see things like college scouts flying all over the country to offer scholarships. What's the effect here? Most obvious are:

    1. Talent is identified early and developed from the formative years.
    2. More effort is put into training/playing well from a young age with the hope of making it big.

    Many players then go on from playing NCAA basketball to play with the big boys in the NBA.

    It seems to be the same transitioning for American football. Athletes are consistently playing at the highest level for their age group.
     
  11. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    she is so laid back that she would rather let him bum around at home on a tablet or computer?

    11 is a good time to start. Badminton is safer than ice hockey. How would that sound to her? And you get some quality time with your son doing the same things. Good for father-son bonding and playing with dad doesn't cost money! Tell her badminton equipment is cheaper and more convenient to store compared with ice hockey.

    BTW, I do not teach my children. I leave it to more experienced coaches and I act as an assistant. I feel it easier to coach adult learners.

    When I talk about badminton to other parents, I say things like it's a pretty safe sport, indoors and no skin problems (ladies understand skin issues very well:)), very sociable sport at university, high school team is easier to get into so that's good for personal development (and the university portfolio! )

    I also say girl badminton players are extremely popular at university! I get a a lot of nods of agreement - whether all my persuasive arguments translates to more children taking up the game I don't know. But at least I try!

    However, the biggest factor is how convenient are sessions that fit the timetable. My wife finally got fed up trying to arrange dance lessons when the studio rearranges timetables every half year and expecting more commitment. So dance has gone down in priority and badminton has gone up. My 9 year old has picked things up quite well considering the limited time she has had with formal once a week lessons (not by me) so that helped.
     
    #11 Cheung, Sep 6, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2014
  12. latecomer

    latecomer Regular Member

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    Top ten sports that Canadians participate in are golf, ice hockey, swimming, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, skiing, cycling and tennis. Not to mention after school activities including not limited to all other lessons that parents forced on the children, like dancing, music, swimming, horseback riding, kungfu, skating, summer camps etc. Children need time to go movies, birthday parties, sitting in front of their computers. Vacationing is part of Canadian culture also. I believe at least 90% of Canadians never touch a badminton racket. It is an uphill battle for badminton to fight for time and funding promoting the sport. Beside an hour of badminton coaching is averaging 50 Canadian dollars, not too many parents would invest that much money for a long haul. For a home grown Canadian to crack top 10 is almost impossible unless LD and his wife move to Vancouver or Toronto. Their kids may be future no1.
     
  13. Steve the noob

    Steve the noob Regular Member

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    I agree with this. I'm sure Canada would have a larger group of people playing professionally if badminton were treated like some of the other popular sports here. Help from the government is always a plus.


    If universities gave out scholarships or something similar, I'm sure it would be recognized as a 'real sport', generating more interest. Right now, most athletes in my school don't accept Badminton as that.
     
  14. viver

    viver Regular Member

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    I don't know if the life style has a direct impact on the results of sports or not. As an example, the life style in many European countries are also laid back (i.e. Portugal, Spain, :) ), but they do produce very good players and play to a high level, particularly Spain who was the World Champion and still European Champions.

    One badminton coach I had in the past said, from his experience, the system and the structure plays a very important part to produce top players. The system needs to have good coaches in every level, a structure to support the development/elite players, adequate competitiveness in all levels. He added, coaches play a part in the success but the system is by far the most important.

    I am not knowledgeable enough about the system in Canada, though I live here. I don't see enough competition - we may have a lot of active participants but don't think we have enough competitors at younger ages group. Training hours and coaching fees also impacts the family and their budgets, not everybody is willing to spend the amounts of time and money and never recover the investments. I have seen promising kids, but a big majority stopped regular training when reaching university.

    Lastly is the exposure of the sport in the country. Michelle Li's Gold medal Commonwealth match was not broadcasted, another sport was. That was a gold medal match, one that Canada never won. At that time there was no other sport involving Canada for a gold medal. :-(
     
  15. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    So, then, that's the obstacle for badminton in Canada... how do we increase the popularity and critical mass of badminton, when there are so many other sports available for our youths?

    Already we're doing much better in the past 10 yrs, especially in Vancouver/Richmond and Toronto/Mississauga areas, with all the new badminton gyms popping up all over the place. Which if we think about it is likely mostly due to influx of Chinese from Hk and mainland China over the past many years.
     
    #15 visor, Sep 6, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2014
  16. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    In HK, there are some competitions for under 8 years old, the next under10 etc. Under 8 seems a bit young to me but it really depends on the kids personality.

    I have a feeling that Canada already has a lot of people playing badminton at grassroots level. I went there 20years ago and could find places to play. It must be more popular now compared to then!
     
    #16 Cheung, Sep 6, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2014
  17. Dogbert

    Dogbert Regular Member

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    It all comes down to money. If you can make a good living playing badminton, then there will be more people who will push towards playing it professionally. It's more financially rewarding for people living in Asia to make Badminton a career since the money is good. North America, on the other hand, does not make financial sense at all.
     
  18. Dimo

    Dimo Regular Member

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    As a Canadian living in the UK I found this subject interesting. But I can't agree about a culturally laid-back lifestyle creating a weak badminton infrastructure. We Canadians can be pretty competitive and yet also very casual – it's an individual thing not a defining, blanket trait. Maybe there's some tendency to be a little more laid back in general but I can't see that this automatically translates into less intensity in one's sport. Look at ice hockey – no one can say those guys aren't highly competitive and very intense!

    From a purely personal standpoint I'd admit to taking badminton fairly casually even in matches. It takes me a while to get really motivated (if I've a mind to!). There's just more to life.
     
  19. antonr

    antonr Regular Member

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    I have to say I think it's talent pool, it's rare a country will be very interested in a sport and also be terrible at that sport because they will filter a better proportion of their most athletically gifted youngster into the sport.

    if it was all about resources how come brazil are so good at football when the kids there play with old balls in the street? and sri lanka at cricket, they are a small country with little money but all the kids there play cricket with old bats and tennis balls? In finland F1 racing is very popular so it's no mystery why there's always Finnish drivers on the rosters whereas many equally rich european nations rarely have anyone. If lots of people are doing it then the best of the best eventually find there way to the academies where they get proper coaching and training and can compete as a pro.

    in other countries you will get all the best athletes ending up as footballers, rugby players, tennis players, runners, and very few will end up as badminton players. If roger federer had been brought up in china, he would have been one of the best badminton players ever instead of one of the best tennis players, because his skills of balance, hand-eye coordination and mental toughness would have adapted seamlessly into another racket sport with the right amount of training.

    In canada you have maybe 10 really good athletes out of every million people, and maybe only one truely great one out of every 10 million. but that 10 will almost definitely end up playing tennis (like raonic and bouchard) or ice hockey or something like that.
     
  20. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    But this still begs the question : how did one country's population decide over time that one particular sport should be more popular at the expense of others?

    I'd suggest perhaps due to open space limitations, population density, climate, etc would dictate which sport would become popular in each region as they would dictate the size of the playing area.
     

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