ANALYSIS OF BASIC SKILLS TRAINING FOR BADMINTON

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INTRODUCTION

Badminton is played with two single or two teams of two players each. It is a racquet sport. The rectangular court is divided into two halves with a net in the center. Unlike other racquet games like squash or tennis badminton does not use a ball. It is played with a feathered projectile, which is called a shuttlecock. Shuttlecocks characteristically are lightweight and are thereby affected by the wind. Thus professional badminton is played indoors as even the slightest breeze can effect the direction of the shuttlecock.

The game involves the two opponents hitting the shuttlecock over the net into the other person's side. The rally ends when the shuttlecock touches the ground. Only one stroke is allowed to pass it over the net. One badminton match is made up of three games, of 21 points each. Professional badminton games are of five kinds: Men's singles, Men's doubles, Mixed doubles, Women's singles and Women's Doubles. In a badminton match, the court size for a single's game is 44 feet long X 17 feet wide and for a doubles match it is 44 feet long X 20 feet wide. The height of the net is 5 feet.

Badminton is a sport that does require player to be in good physical condition. How good the condition must be will greatly depend on player intentions for playing. There are many people that play badminton merely as a hobby to get into shape, exercise or for stress relief. There are a variety of trick shots or deceptive shots that will help to improve the game as well as hone the abilities to out play with opponent through the art of deception. Badminton essentials include all of these aspects and they are easy to find information on through articles and blogs on the Internet to in depth books that will bring a great amount of knowledge on how to practice and prepare oneself in this sport.

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THE 10 RULES OF BADMINTON

The 10 rules of badminton given below are valid for both professional and amateur badminton games. The 10 rules of badminton are as follows:

1.

A game starts with a coin toss. Whoever wins the toss gets to decide whether they would serve or receive first OR what side of the court they want to be on. The side losing the toss shall then exercise the remaining choice.

2.

At no time during the game should the player touch the net, with his racquet or his body.

3.

The shuttlecock should not be carried on or come to rest on the racquet.

4. 5. 6.

A player should not reach over the net to hit the shuttlecock. A serve must carry cross court (diagonally) to be valid. During the serve, a player should not touch any of the lines of the court, until the server strikes the shuttlecock. During the serve the shuttlecock should always be hit from below the waist.

7.

A point is added to a player's score as and when he wins a rally.

8.

A player wins a rally when he strikes the shuttlecock and it touches the floor of the opponent's side of the court or when the opponent commits a fault. The most common type of fault is when a player fails to hit the shuttlecock over the net or it lands outside the boundary of the court.

9.

Each side can strike the shuttlecock only once before it passes over the net. Once hit, a player can't strike the shuttlecock in a new movement or shot.

10. The shuttlecock hitting the ceiling is counted as a fault.

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THE PHYSICAL TRAINING

AND MENTAL

ASPECTS OF

BADMINTON

Any Badminton training program should concentrate on both the physical and mental aspects of badminton. The physical training part in badminton training program is very important for the following reasons: 1. Of all the racket sports, badminton is the fastest. 2. Being a fast paced sport, it involves fleet of foot, lightening reflexes, tremendous body balance, excellent reach, quick recovery time and boundless stamina to excel, all of which are attainable only with proper badminton physical training program. 3. There are no rest intervals between prolonged rallies. So, a player needs to be in supreme fitness to withstand the physical strain, otherwise he is liable to loose long rallies due to fatigue. The mental component of badminton training program is also equally important because basically you are what you think. In general, having a liking for the game, thinking positively, ability to assess your opponent and playing for pure enjoyment enhances your performance rather than playing for the sake of playing. Also, playing the game with a fit body enhances your selfconfidence. Physical training program should include the following: 1. Aerobic training 2. Plyometric exercises 3. Retrieving the shuttle 4. Sprinting for the birdie 5. Ball throw involving the partner 6. Directional 7. Strength training As we all know, aerobic training can take the form of brisk walking, jogging, swimming, skipping and full body workout without weights.

Plyometric exercises are done to improve the sprinting ability and enhance your jumping skills. They can be done to improve the lower body, abdomen and upper body strength. Plyometric exercises involve explosive 100% movements and should be done after adequate warm ups and recovery intervals to avoid injuries. Beginners should practice once weekly and then can go on to twice-weekly practice. Retrieving the shuttle involves placing many shuttles in all portions of the court and then sprinting all over the court to retrieve them, placing all of them in one selected place. The timing should be noted each time to assess player reaction speed. Ball throw involving the partner is practiced with player standing facing the stands in the baseline and requesting your partner to throw the shuttle to the side of the court. Once they throw the shuttle, the player turn towards the court and try to meet the shuttle with your racket. Directional involves running in any direction as instructed by the partner within the court. The directions may be left, right, front or back. Strength training, as the name implies, uses weight to train, tone and increase the power of muscles throughout the body. Player can use their own body as weight or use dumb bell and bar bells to do them.

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BADMINTON COACHING TIPS

Badminton teaching tips should ideally be given to children in their starting years of playing as it will guide and correct them in their budding years, making them overall better players later. The badminton teaching tips for children should concentrate on: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Basic skills like how to hold the racket. Skills in shot making. Covering the court. Safety precautions. Recreational value, that is, learning by fun. Development of social interactive skills. Dietary advises.

Badminton teaching tips can be given in the course of games also to children. Coach can make them play and give teaching tips after the game is over. Concentrate on the following: 1. 2. Start them with few basic rules. Once they become proficient with them, keep on adding the other rules. 3. 4. Encourage them during their play. Once the play is over, demonstrate the correct stance and shots instead of concentrating on the mistakes they made. 5. Teach about the practice modalities to improve their

performance in the subsequent days. 6. Teach them the skills they need to master for the following games. 7. Emphasize on first aid requirement and basic first aid measures.

The following badminton teaching tips are to be concentrated on when coaching a beginner or an intermediate level player: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How to appropriately serve without missing. The biomechanics of the execution of various shots. The art of covering the court to reach the shuttle better. The choice of shot to win over an opponent. The mistakes to be avoided, for example, the shuttle should always be directed to land on vacant areas in the opponent's court to always keep him on the move. It must be kept in mind that any opponent can execute deadly accurate shots when he is not on the move and the shuttle is hit for his easy reach. In addition, badminton teaching tips should focus on the following regarding doubles and mixed doubles players: 1. 2. 3. How to cover the court without clashing. How to make appropriate service returns. To what extent, each has to stretch and take the shot without getting confused. 4. How to assess the opponent's weakness and be able to exploit it to the maximum. It is especially important to assess the opponent girl's weakness in mixed doubles and use it to advantage. 5. 6. How to channelize your attack. How to indulge in cross court defense and attack.