(ii)Acquiring and performing movement skills
Skill- Smash
The smash is the main attacking stroke in badminton and the aim is to strike the shuttle downwards as quickly as possible on to the floor of your opponents’ court, either using the forehand or backhand smash. The high speed created by the smash gives the opponent little time to react and prepare for a decent reply. The smash can be made more affective if you can create a steep angle, allowing lesser time for your opponent to react. Also hitting the shuttle accurately in the corners of the court causes the opponent to cover more of court and you are more likely get he/her out of position.
Coaching points for the forehand smash:
Preparation
- Distribute weight evenly onto the balls of the feet
- Hold racket arm up, with the racket head pointing upwards
- Turn shoulders side on
- Non racket hand pointing at the shuttle
Execution
- Put weight on rear foot
- Hold non-dominant arm out for balance
- Forward swing up to contact so that as high as possible
- Racket head follows direction of the shuttle
Follow through
- Swing down and across body
- Push off with both feet
- Use momentum of swing to return to centre of the court
The backhand smash is less effective than the forehand smash because you do not have the shoulder turn or the body weight transferred into the smash to create the same power so it is otherwise used close to the net to put away any short returns or to force your opponent to hit their return upwards. Below are the coaching points for the backhand smash:
Preparation
- Turn shoulders with the back towards the net
- Hold racket arm up and parallel to the floor
- Distribute weight evenly on the balls of the feet
Execution
- Put weight on your rear foot initially
- Hold non-dominant arm out for balance
- Forward swing as high as possible with racket lead5ng
- Throw racket out and upwards with racket face down
- Racket head follows direction the shuttle is travelling
Follow through
- Swing in line with flight of shuttle
- Swing follows downwards naturally
- Use forearm and push off with rear foot
Practices for developing the backhand and forehand smash:
Practice 1- Self toss and smash
The player is situated mid court and the partner tosses the shuttle up into the air with an underhand lift, placing the shuttle in front of the dominant shoulder, slightly in front of the other persons body. Swing your racket with a forehand or backhand stroking motion landing the shuttle in mid court on the opposite side. Repeat the sequence 10 times for each forehand and backhand side. Difficulty can be increased by either tossing the shuttle at different points so that the player has to adjust there body position to strike the shuttle, or placing a player on the other side of the net to create a similar match situation whereby the player has to be more accurate in the positioning of their smash.
Practice 2- Serve and smash return
Both players are situated near the mid court. One partner sets up the other by hitting high, deep, friendly underhand serves. The receiving partner returns each serve with either a backhand or forehand smash at the partner’s feet. Repeat the sequence in sets of 10. Increase difficulty by making the receiver return to the middle of the court to on every smash, and also place rackets on the floor on the centre line and on either sidelines of the court for the receiver to aim for. The total number of smashes that hit the racket head can be recorded to show how accurate the smashes are.
Practice 3- diagonal smash
Player A begins the rally by clearing to player B deep forehand or backhand side. Player B hits a diagonal smash. Player A steps in slightly and returns with a drop shot. Player B plays another drop shot and player A hits a crosscourt clear to players fore hand or backhand side. The rally sequence starts over again.
To increase the difficulty:
- Recover to the centre of the court following each attempt
- Hit faster diagonal smashes
- Include random down the line smashes so there’s an element of unexpectancy for your opponent.
Distance travelled by the shuttle
Distance travelled by player
(iii) Contemporary studies in Physical Education
Name: Badminton Association of England Ltd
Address: National Badminton Centre
Bradwell Road
Loughton Lodge
Milton Keynes
MK8 9LA
Telephone: 01908 268400
Website:
Regional Structure
The Development department is based at BAofE headquarters in Milton Keynes, with a wide network of Regional Development Managers and County Development Officers based throughout England. The Development department is responsible for the promotion of the sport from grass roots up to performance levels. The areas involved in development include Badminton In Schools Initiative (BISI), the sports inclusive school programmes, and club development.
The Midlands involves the areas
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
I will be looking closely at Staffordshire.
Staff School’s Badminton Association
Closely linked to the Senior County organisation, the SSBA runs many tournaments, training sessions and other events to support the talented and enthusiastic young players within Staffordshire.
Links with affiliated schools keep school contacts up to date with events and competitions run by the SSBA. As well as helping organise local Inter-School leagues, the major event is the Staffs Schools Knock Out Competition, which is run each year across the county
The roles and the activities the SSBA run are:
- U13, U15, U17 County training squads and teams
- U13, U15, U17 County shadow squad training
- U13, U15, U17 County opening tournaments
- U13, U15, U17 County championships
- U12, U13, U14, U15, U17 Restricted tournaments (county players are not eligible)
- U9, U10, U11 Singles tournaments
- County under and over 14 school team KO tournament (year groups)
SSBA Membership Scheme for individuals
Coaching awards
The first two coaching awards provided by the BAofE are level 1 assistant coaching award and level 2 award but can be followed on to a further Level 5. Level 1 is concerned with the fundamentals of the game of badminton, the rules, technical skills and the coaching practice. However in level 2 it progresses further in the aspects taught in level 1 and also involves independent coaching. These are now explained further below:
Level 1 Assistant Coach Award- is the first step in the new BAofE Coaching system. Level 1 course will qualify you to assist a qualified coach who will be working with junior beginners, junior club players, senior beginners, social and club players in the lower levels of local leagues. Gaining the Award is also a requirement for taking a further BAofE Coaching Award.
Below are a few questions that explain the course in more depth and state the fundamental skills that the person must have before they can take the course.
What does the level 1 course qualify me to do?
The course will qualify the candidate to assist a qualified coach working with:
• junior beginners or junior club players
• senior beginners, social or club players in the lower levels of local leagues
What skills do I need to go on the course?
• Should have some understanding of basic scoring and rules particularly serving rules.
• Expected to have some experience playing the game
• Should be able to racket feed single shuttles to the forecourt and rearcourt using an underarm technique to give players reasonable practice opportunities
nb. There will be opportunities for the candidates to develop these skills further on the course.
Is there an age restriction?
Candidates must be 16 years of age or older
How long is the course?
The course lasts 9 hours including 1 hour’s worth of breaks
Who will teach me?
The BAofE will guarantee that you will be taught by a suitably qualified and experienced tutor
Course Style
The course is designed to be educational and enjoyable. The style of delivery is interactive so you will be fully involved in the theory and practical sessions of the course.
The aim is to link theory and practice throughout the course so you will learn about the theory and then how to apply this when working with players.
Course Content
The course provides an excellent introduction to how to coach beginners and what to coach them.
The content of the Level 1 course is organised under four headings:
Coaching practice
safety
ethics
player development
preparation and planning
communication skills
Technical skills
grips
the stroke cycle
forehand high serve
forehand low serve
forehand dropshot
forehand netshot
forehand lift
forehand clear
backhand net shot
backhand lift
backhand low serve
Basic rules for singles and doubles
scoring
serving
court dimensions
Tactical skills
the base position
playing to space
serving and returning
Level 2- The Level 2 Award is the first level of independent coaching in the new BAofE Coaching system.
What does the level 2 course qualify me to do?
The course will qualify the successful candidate to coach:
• Junior beginners / junior club players
• Senior beginners/social/club players in the lower levels of local leagues
What skills do I need to go on the course?
• Candidates must hold the BAofE Level 1 – Assistant Coach Award
• Candidates should an understanding of scoring and rules
• Candidates will be expected to have experience playing the game to a reasonable level
Is there an age restriction?
Candidates must be 18 years of age or older
How long is the course?
The course lasts 24 hours plus ½ day practical and theory assessment and 4 hours coaching practice logbook.
Who will teach me?
The BAofE will guarantee that you will be taught by a suitably qualified and experienced tutor.
Course Style
The course is designed to be educational and enjoyable. The style of delivery is interactive so you will be fully involved in the theory and practical sessions of the course.
The aim is to link theory and practice throughout the course so you will learn about the theory and then how to apply this when working with players. There is also practical element of the course.
Course Content
The course provides an excellent training in coaching groups of beginners or club players independently.
The content of the course builds upon the Level 1 – Assistant Coach Award content and is organised under the following headings:
• Coaching style and meeting player needs
• Teaching skills
• Groups and group management
• Physical Training
• Technical Training
• Tactical Training
Promotional and Grass root schemes
Badminton In Schools Initiative (BISI).
This grass root programme is divided into four stages based on the age and skills of the child, and creates a clear path for students to improve their skills and progress further in the sport. In participating schools they are issued with resource cards for lesson planning, and training that is provided by the BAofE.
At all stages of the badminton scheme it is presented to the youngsters as a sport offering great fun. As the child gradually gets older the more competitive elements are introduced. At BISI 1 youngsters less than six years old get involved in a series of fun activities designed to develop hand to eye co-ordination, depth perception, and spatial awareness. By stage 4, it is adapted to fit with GCSE PE courses for students over 14, introducing them to help organise coaching sessions and running a club.
The specific awards are explained below:
BISI Awards-
Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4
Playing Awards:
Stage 1, 1 Level
Targets ages four and above. Using fun activities to develop simple skills, suitable for all net and wall games.
Stage 2, 3 Levels 1, 2, 3.
Targets ages seven and above. The emphasis is again on the development of generic skills but more specific to badminton. There are three levels of awards, each one being an extension of the previous award.
Stage 3, 2 Levels Bronze, Silver.
Stage 4, 1 Level Gold
Targets ages eleven and above. Designed to assess specific skills in badminton involving playing the game of badminton. The higher levels of the Awards are designed to both assess and extend the physical skills needed to reach the highest levels of the game.
Officials Award
Targets ages fourteen above. Designed for those who wish to help organise and officiate at badminton events at School, Clubs and County levels. Eventually extending their capabilities to National Level. Hopefully this could form part of their studies for a GCSE Physical Education Course.
Progressive awards for pupils
Throughout all the stages there is no testing butn instead pupils are appraised by their peers and through self assessment.
The BISI scheme has been very well received and is now in use in many schools throughout England and is part of the Active Schools programme. BISI 1 compliments Sport England’s TOP play scheme and the remaining BISI stages work alongside the TOP Sport initiative. This gives the youngsters the best opportunity to have a greater understanding and enhance there physical skills in badminton.
Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)
The aim of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) is to help talented athletes who wish to progress with a formal academic programme but maintain an involvement in performance sport. TASS will be providing scholarships of up to £3,000 to students aged 19 – 25 and funding of up to £1,000 for any talented young person aged 16 – 19 that are not in higher education. This scheme will help to span the gap in the sporting talent ladder between school and junior representative sport and World Class Sport for young people beyond 16 year olds. It will operate around a national network in England of 9 consortia including Yorkshire, West Midlands, East region and so on.
Young Officials Award
The awards are designed to encourage pupils at school with an interest in badminton to arrange and officiate at badminton events. They are administered through school teachers but are to encourage local associations, leisure centre and clubs to actively promote the scheme. Badminton needs quality officials to enable the players within the system to progress. With this in mind it is not aimed at the very good players or for candidates that cannot play the game but at those people who enjoy the pleasure that can be obtained when organising and running events. The skills learned will be transferable management skills and are developed over a four level course.
Regional and National competitions
The Badminton Association of England aims to promote and encourage the game of badminton, in doing so they provide many tournaments. Below are examples of the national and regional competitions organised by the BAofE.
National competitions:
- World Championships
- All England Badminton Championships
-
BAofE National Championships
- ASICS National Elite Open Circuit
Regional competitions:
- Inter Counties Championships
- Birmingham Badminton Bonanza
- Shires League
- Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Open
Doping control and Testing
Overleaf are the official doping control and testing carried out by the Badminton Association of England.
The Performance Pyramid
A pyramid structure shows a scale of development from foundation level rising upwards to excellence. This is shown below:
At foundation level young children are introduced to the sport and learn then basic skills involved in a variety of activities, this is more likely achieved through schools P.E. programmes.
At participation level youngsters choose to take part in the sport for enjoyment and meeting new friends as well as improving their health and fitness. This preformed through extra curricular activities, local centres or clubs.
At performance level participants are involved in organised activities at higher club and county level. They are willing to improve their standard of play, and regularly train and receive coaching.
At excellence level this regards to elite performers that represent their country in national and international competition. They are fully committed to their sport and will either train full or part time, receive financial, medical and personal support.
I would consider myself at participation level because I regularly take part in a lunchtime badminton club and play competitive matches against other players in my year down the local sport centre. I find badminton enjoyable and good for my health and fitness however I am eager to progress further up the performance pyramid and improve my standard of play in badminton. This could be done by joining a badminton club which would provide me regular training and coaching, as well as give me the opportunity to play in more competitive matches at a higher level.
The badminton Association of England has helped me develop my game of badminton by hosting many tournaments for me to compete in like wise the U16 social level championship at the NIA Birmingham. Have coaching courses that develop high quality coaches and provide equipment to improve players like myself at badminton and also fund sport centres and clubs to improve there facilities for players.