becoming a pro player

Discussion in 'Thomas Laybourn Forum' started by olle_whitehead, Oct 15, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. olle_whitehead

    olle_whitehead Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    hawkes bay NZ
    hello

    i have a distinct problem in that i'm desperate to make it as a pro badminton player. i know i have the mental toughness and the desire to train and train to become the best i'm currently 17 at the moment but the problem i have is that i can only afford to have a 1 hour coaching session once a week. although i play club night/matchs on wednesday's and thursday's and is fairly competitive i know that at my current rate i will never become the player which i so badly desire to be. i know in my mind that i want at least coaching 3 times a week in 3 hour blocks working on various components of my game yet i know i cannot afford this.

    so in essance my question to you is there any aspects of my game that i can work on by myself to improve my game so i can utilise my coaching time on the most important aspects of my game

    although i only picked up the game 3 & 1/2 years ago from not being able to hit a shuttle i'm in the regional squad (hawkes bay) but in my mind this is not good enough i want to be playing for queen and country and any advice would be greatly appreciated

    your faithfully

    oliver
     
  2. rlaurel_7

    rlaurel_7 Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2005
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Philippines
    Yo im the same man i cannot afford full time coaching training.. so i compensate what i do is look for a good player or my rival and ask to hit you do not need coaching advice all the time. just keep practicing technique clearing , smashing , drop, net play.. etc. i make a routine so my strokes are sharp. keep training Example Lin Dans only rest day is sunday but even though his training is so hard sometimes he still comes and practices footwork by himpself shadow play and all.. yo make do what you have

    Hope you can improve man
     
  3. FEND.

    FEND. Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,786
    Likes Received:
    3
    Occupation:
    Full Time Badmintoncentral.com/forums camper. Part
    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    One thing I would like to point out is I do hope you don't have the same temperament as some of the senior figures in the "Black Cocks' squad. Other than that, if you know what you want and you aim towards it, no matter what obstacles come in your way you should be able to tackle it. I wish you every success mate but seriously, if you want to improve, practice every day. Make it a ritual, practice till you start vomitting.
     
  4. olle_whitehead

    olle_whitehead Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    hawkes bay NZ
    i can assure you i am one of the most dedicated players at my club and always have a desire to train and train to improve. to become an international is my ultimate desire i really do want it more than everything. but i know as a player that it was not long ago that i could not even hit a shuttle so in my opinion of myself i know that if pitted against alot weaker players i dont turn into a snobby player with the attitude of they are too rubbish to even share the court with me no i try to also give them a very good game and an enjoyable evening

    as i said before to become an international is the ultimate dream but i just cant afford to train often and long enough to become the player that i want to be in my own mind.
     
  5. crosscourt

    crosscourt Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2006
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    Legal
    Location:
    Shanghai/London
    You could take some courses to train as a coach yourself. This way you could volunteer to help more experienced coaches for free. It'll expose you to more ideas and it won't cost you anything, it's possible you might even make a very small amount of money doing it!
     
  6. FEND.

    FEND. Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2004
    Messages:
    2,786
    Likes Received:
    3
    Occupation:
    Full Time Badmintoncentral.com/forums camper. Part
    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    I am not only talking about dedication and desire and all that self commitment stuff. But rather on other aspects of character.
     
  7. Maz

    Maz Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2002
    Messages:
    198
    Likes Received:
    1
    Occupation:
    IBM - Sales Specialist
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Hey Oliver,

    Have you registered for the Waikato Summer Camp? I think it will bring good value if you haven't already experienced such camps.

    P.S. Just out of curiosity - Are you Oliver Pike or Oliver Leydon-Davies or none of the above? :rolleyes:
     
  8. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2002
    Messages:
    17,757
    Likes Received:
    1,078
    Occupation:
    Semi-Retired
    Location:
    Singapore Also Can
    1. Try to enrol into one of the ITCs (International Training Centre) run by BWF (formerly IBF) through your NZ Badminton Association. You will then get the first-hand benefit of how you should train to achieve your goals. Write directly to BWF if your local assn can't or won't help.

    2. Obtain as many DVDs on badminton coaching (even by the Chinese) and top-class matches, like the recent Hong Kong and Japan Opens and World Championships. Main purpose is to see for yourself how top flight badminton is played. Pay particular attention to stroke making and footwork. See for yourself how Lin Dan covers the court, how Taufik does his trademark backhand smash, how Chen Hong whips his overhead smash, etc.

    3. Improve on your fitness, stamina, speed, strength, agility, etc, by devising a workout plan on your own with specialist/expert help. This is to enable you to make full use of your spare time and out-of-court inactivity. As someone has suggested you could also practise footwork and shadow play on your own.

    4. During your limited precious hours on court, be more purposeful and don't just fool around. Play one against two or more to test your own ability and fitness (speed and reaction time). Once you are able to beat a certain level of players easily, take on the higher level chaps. Play for something, like drinks, shuttlecocks, etc, if it means just to be able to get them to play against you.

    5. Take care of your own health to avoid injuries. Make sure you have sufficient liquids, good diet and adequate rest.

    5. Listen to motivational tapes whenever you can.

    Good Luck! :)
     
    #8 Loh, Oct 17, 2006
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2006
  9. jerby

    jerby Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2005
    Messages:
    4,123
    Likes Received:
    32
    Location:
    EU
    if you are 17 (like me) and you wanna play internatioanlly you really have a catching up race to do...most pro's started when they were 3-8 years old and played/trained a lot, 15 hours of court-time is no exception.

    I'm not saying it is too late, anythign is possible, I ahven't seen you play, btu you sound devoted, so keep the spirit up!

    but, personally, I think it's much better to just wan't to play as much as you can, and want to get the very best out of yourself, wether you will be #1 or number #100000000 worldwide...as long as you feel you've done all you can, and enjoyed the way there..

    that's what keeps me smiling when I'm up 5:45 on monday and friday, and cycle 25mins to do 1,5h of drills before school...;):p
     
  10. Loh

    Loh Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2002
    Messages:
    17,757
    Likes Received:
    1,078
    Occupation:
    Semi-Retired
    Location:
    Singapore Also Can
    Keep it up, Jerby! :)
     
  11. Syndrome_B

    Syndrome_B Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    IT
    Location:
    In His Earth
    All battles are won first in the mind. When the mind thinks, the body responds, what you need is a huge amount of patience and diligence and great will power to achieve great things.

    You are so lucky that at your young age of 17 you already have the taste of the game. Keep on practicing off-court and on- court and you can also learn a lot from 'actively' watching videos of pros playing ( others watch 'passively" -they just admired the pros as they play, you should be watching 'actively' or objectively, hinting for the 'brainy' aspect of the game)

    I have also the same desire as yours despite am turning 30. Cheers!
     
  12. olle_whitehead

    olle_whitehead Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 28, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    hawkes bay NZ
    hi all thank you for all your suggestions.

    rlaurel_7: good suggestion about practising with other players which i was already doing but your quite right in that i should just do drills thanks for the suggestion though

    crooscourt: very good suggestion about training to be a coach one that i have not thought about so it is deffinantly on my list of things to do cheers

    maz: i had not heard of the waikato summer camp so thanks for bringing it to my attention yes it would be perfect but according to the description im too old and the 3 day course is rather expensive when you add up hotel, food, drink and travel so thats crossed off for now but again i'm really glad you brought it to my attention

    loh: great ideas there and i will be trying to implement all of them into the daily routine of life along with trying to obtain some badders vids thanks a bunch your post was really helpful

    jerby: i can assure you that i know i'm well behind yet i'm confident with alot of hard work i can achieve it and yes i suppose in the long run it wouldn't ruin my life if i wasn't #1 but i just have this dessire this almost indescrible feeling of wanting to be number 1, almost a feeling of i'm rubbish until i achieve that level i know it sounds odd to many that how i can describe it

    syndrome b: although in your situation youb may think i'm lucky for the age i'm at but if you luck more into it many pro's first pick up a racket at age 6/7 so i got some time to catch up on. my advice to you syndrome is to remember that their are veteran internationals yes i know 30 is not a vet but just dont ever give up hope that you can represent your country

    again thanks to all that have replied and anyone else feel free to give other suggestions cheers
     
  13. Nikchan

    Nikchan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2006
    Messages:
    40
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Auckland, New Zealand
    ive got the same problem here man, thanks a lot for starting this thread, its quite an appropriate one :). well i don't think ill make it to international teams, but im aiming for regional ones right now. i think im progressing pretty good considering that i only started playing at the beginning of this year. i started way too late.
    lol i cant even afford the one hour of coaching:eek:, cos i dont want to ask parents the money for it. i play atleast three days a week, 2hrs each day.
    also, im on a comeback from a wrist stress injury so i need to get my touch back and all that. but usually i watch lots of videos and do lots of running. i also keep moving my wrist around all the time, helps quite a lot.
    but as some people in this thread have already said so, we have to make the best out of what we have. if you are really that serious about it, you'll think of something, don't worry.
    good luck, keep us posted about your progress :)
     
  14. Syndrome_B

    Syndrome_B Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    IT
    Location:
    In His Earth
    badminton as our lifestyle

    There's nothing wrong if you want to inflate your goal, lets say you want to be a part of an international team. Thats a good benchmark for self motivation. Just remember, in any kinds of sports, enjoy wiining and losing, dont use your victory to hurt someone but to create YOU. when you lose, try to improve and anaylse what went wrong. keep on practicing my friend :)
     
  15. Lala Miso

    Lala Miso Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2004
    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    California
    Oliver,

    I know how you feel. I just recently picked up the game a little more than a year ago. And im at the moment 16. So, Im in my senior year of high school. My Coach, Phu Khuu of Bintang Badminton Academy, inspired me so much by telling me anything is possible if you just put your mind into it. SO i did! I gave him my trust and my future.

    IN California there is a test called the California Proficiency Examination. It lets you graduate from high school early so im basically skipping my senior year so i can take a year off to go on with Full on Training to catch up to my fellow competitors throughout the U.S.

    I practice about 8 hours a day. And spend about 3 hours of it Conditioning. Im glad my coach is willing to train me and i hope you find a great coach like mine to take you alll the way. [ not that a coach is neccessary ]

    Im currently taking college courses slowly so that im still in school and yet still enough time to practice. I want to become Professional as well. So i understand how you feel. I Hope in the future to one day meet you on the court as well.

    Good luck in all your training and One Day we will meet on the court ^__^:D:D:D:D

    Let us Prove that hardwork and determination is all that anyone needs =]

    --Ryan
     
  16. dimitri

    dimitri Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2006
    Messages:
    197
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Sandakan,Sabah, M'sia.. currently in Auckland, New
    Cool ... i hav a kinda same prb like u too.. but the only diff is i started to play when i was young and my game started to develop when i was 13 and 14. but i stopped playing since then bcoz my dad wanted me to concentrate on my studies than my game.. too bad... but i did play with my frens casually instead of attending those long hours of practise.. but still my dad.. haha.. asked not to play too much badminton.. till i played less than b4 even though with my frens. i came to nz early feb this year (03.02.06). since i was still new here .. i then found out an ver interesting club to join which is Indonesia Badminton Club of New Zealand (IBNZ). this club is resgistered under North Harbour Association. this is also a prvate club as it only hav limited number of members. I've learnt a lot and improve quite alot since i joined this club and also restored qat i've learnt b4... :) since im going back to Malaysia in the end of november, im gonna look for a coach to improve my game during the summer holidays in m'sia.

    Anyway Nikchan... which part of AUckland are u from..?
     
  17. darenong

    darenong Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2006
    Messages:
    237
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Klang, Selangor. Malaysia.
    i happen to know a guy that self trained and beat the country top single .. he used to train very very hard for his physical condition ... running everyday up hills and down hills for 5km for stamina building ... and play badminton all day long whenever there is time ... by the age in his 20's he is very well known and eventually beat Misbun Sidek ... if u know who is misbun ... although later on misbun beat him back the next time round ... this guy is my hero... period !!! he is my father ... a self trained "natural athlete" ... althou tat time there were an invitation for him to join the national squad .. he did not grab it as there were no sponsor were available and all expense is paid urself (imagine that !) no BAM or any academy known that time it was in the late 70's - early 80's ... so instead he choose career instead of sport and not sport as a career .... i know how he trained and there were NO COACH at all ! he is very very very fit in term of physical and mental strengh... he went on to represent state in soccer n hockey thou hehehe
    the moral of the story for me is always believe in urself, learn to correct ur own mistake and by all means TRAIN HARD u know ur limit and u know how to go further with it !
     
  18. Syndrome_B

    Syndrome_B Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Messages:
    60
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    IT
    Location:
    In His Earth
    About coaching

    No doubt that self training can really bring great results, but add coaching to that, that can make much diferrence. In any kind of sports you need someone who can stand behind you and observe objectively how you play, the coach may not be a better player but he can see what you can't see, coach can better motivate us and help us imrove our strategy. Since badminton is a high impact sports, coaching is very crucial. As I said, they maybe not better players but their experiences are invaluable. Even if we perceive great atheletes to be a "natural atheletes" , still the fact remains that they too TRAIN VERY VERY HARD and are always being supervised under the guidance of a coach. Actually self-training really comes after coaching, thats inevitable. I have been lucky to have a coach free of charge. We would always discuss techniques and mental agility a lot and do drills for less than an hour, and apply it in actual games.He would then strongly encouraged me to do regular routine of OFF-COURT conditioning. So thats the point where you are being self-trained. My coach is a crafty veteran and if i could only post his picture, you might laugh at his appearance ( he always seemed like playing for basketball than badminton because of what he wears)
     
  19. darenong

    darenong Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2006
    Messages:
    237
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Klang, Selangor. Malaysia.
    in simple terms i agree to ... its not what u want but how bad u want it ....
     
  20. Nikchan

    Nikchan Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2006
    Messages:
    40
    Likes Received:
    0
    Occupation:
    Student
    Location:
    Auckland, New Zealand
    heya dimitri, i live in new lynn. ive given badminton a break for about 2 months now, had a wrist stress injury, so taking rest. also my school exams are on from this monday so studying...

    we have an indian association here, and they got a state player from india. they are starting a club in the beginning of december, and the guy is gonna give free coaching to seniors and juniors alike... thank god for this opportunity. hope ill make the best of it, im only just realising the full advantages of coaching..

    my brother recently made it into the Auckland U-14 development squad, and recieves bloody cheap coaching every friday from national team players. i go sometimes and watch him... wishing all the time that i was in his place... well my time's gonna come.

    looking forward to sharing more stuff with you guys. dimitri, i cant say ive ever heard of ur club.. i play for lynndale club. where are you in auckland, and where is ur club?
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page