Do you feel that you make good choices of shots in your games?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Birdy, Dec 15, 2013.

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  1. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    I feel that I make very bad shot choices because I sometimes hit shots that leaves my partner vulnerable, shots that allow the opponents to do a good return /counter, or shots that could have been better (eg. driving the bird instead of defensive lift) .

    I want to know how I can make better choices in my shots and how I can be more analytical on the court.

    Any insights or personal experiences are appreciated! Thanks!
     
  2. SmashAndDash

    SmashAndDash Regular Member

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    All you can do is get more play experience, or watching experience. This is a very general question.

    It's very easy to beat yourself up after playing ("Oh, I should've done ____ instead of _____!"). But don't fall into that trap.

    What will help is to internalize basic tactics that you can modify for different opponents. For example, in singles:
    1. Make your opponent move in the diagonals.
    2. Aim for the backhand.

    The diagonals are the longest distance to cover, and if you are playing a weak opponent, they either may not be able to cover the full distance, or they may play a bad shot due to being out of position. At the lower levels of badminton, if your opponent's backhand is not well developed, aiming for the backhand rear court is a good tactic. The key is to not just go for the backhand rearcourt right off the bat, pull your opponent to the front with a drop or tow, then push it to the bh rearcourt.

    For doubles:
    1. Aim for the spaces
    2. Help your partner

    Aim for the spaces on court that are "between" your opponents. Down the middle for side side, in the midcourt channel for front-back. Help your partner out. If you are playing rear court, your goal is to set up your partner for a kill (play a good smash, drive, whatever). If you are playing front, cover the drops and intercept if possible. If you're intercepting a really fast shot, just aim to hit downwards, not make a kill (you may make an error).

    In general, I like to keep my thinking off court. Over thinking on court can slow you down and cause you to freeze. This is why having a coach for your matches is handy, they do all the thinking for you :p. Of course, coaches can only help so much, and it's up to you to make shot decisions.
     
  3. catman

    catman Regular Member

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    I mostly play doubles. My first thought is to hit down and make the opponents hit up.
     
  4. mindfields

    mindfields Regular Member

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    Generally yes,
    I'm quite analytical when I play matches though it depends on the level of the opponents.
    (Better opponents will always be more difficult to break down).

    That is the general strategy/mantra but the way of executing it tactically is where the shot selection comes in.

    I haven't mapped it out on paper before but If i was to do it it'd look like a hierarchy tree of shots that I would play to find out weaknesses/bias based on several main areas.
    I try & make a mental note of perceived weaknesses in quality, shot selection & percentages of shots played.

    1. Return of serve
    2. Backhand.
    3. Positioning
    4. Unbalanced pair.
    5. Movement.
    6. Defence.
    7. Net play
    8. Drives
    9. Punch clears.

    Just typing this out i can see it's going to be a lot so I'll just do a quick look at the return of serve:
    What's the quality of the return from a low serve? (attack,tight net, tram line)
    Poor: Play a lot of low serves.​
    Excellent: Test with a flick serve​

    Weak on Flick serve?
    Yes, they can't cope: Play a lot of flick serves​
    No, they killed it: Go back to predominantly low serve with variations​

    Variations:
    Changing the timingof serve: Makes you unpredictable. Receivers get muscle fatigue in the ready position & some will drop from their toes onto their heels. It's easy to react quickly to regular timing/harder for random.

    Flicks and aiming at transition point: Causes the receiver to make additional decisions which slows them down which can degrade the quality of their return. e.g. Do I need to move back or forwards. Play a forehand/backhand return & change grip/move racquet orientation

    Straight/wide: forces them to reveal forehand/backhand tendency's. e.g. A deceptive receiver will often have the majority of their tricks on the backhand so serve to their forehand.

    Serve deliberately short: Sometimes a rusher will commit themselves to the shot, if you serve short our going to be able to get the shuttle lower & force the return to go into the net or go upwards.

    Seems a lot of tactical paths to manipulate the 1return of serve for force a weaker shot but that's the type of choices I'll be considering during a match till I find something that works (even for a short time). You have to realise that opponents change tactics as well & the ebb & flow of a game morphes all the time.

    Against canny opponents you may end up playing different tactics over the course of the match as each side alters their tactics & shot selection to pick on weaknesses & shore up their own.
     
  5. SmashAndDash

    SmashAndDash Regular Member

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    ^ As you can see from the above post, tactics are very situational, and there's lots of variations in possibles situations and how to respond.

    The best thing you can do is play more matches. And by matches, I mean matches where you and your opponent are playing seriously to win points. If you just rally with someone without serious intent on both sides, you won't develop as much (tactically).
     
  6. Capnx

    Capnx Regular Member

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    if you have the chance, TAPE yourself playing a game. Best the way to learn as a team. That way, you can see not only what shots you're making, but also see what shots you could've made, and how you and your partners are positioning so you can cover eachother. it also comes down working as a team. what may be a good shot by you but not properly covered/positioned by your partner would still leave you vulnerable as a team. so definitely improve as a team and run drills as a team.
     
  7. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    Thank you! I'm a doubles player. Really love the tips :)
     
  8. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    I agree. Thanks for the tips. Sometimes though, I can't tell if my opponents are exploiting me and my partner or not since I'm not at that level to pick up patterns yet. Are there general ways to tell when your opponents are using tactics against you or are just randomly hitting?
     
  9. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    Thanks! I shall do that!
     
  10. Avenger

    Avenger Regular Member

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    usually, what you need to do is to prioritize some of the shots. esp in doubles, some shots are better than the other.

    and then, look around opponent court and think if you have time for it (just not too slow). for example, you got a drive and you can see your opponent left court is empty. instead of hitting another drive to your opponent, go and aim that spot. but sometimes, no need to think really, if you get a chance to do a stick smash at the front or middle of the court, smash it anywhere, usually they cannot return it

    some good shots:
    return serve => lift => to your opponent backhand side
    return serve => net shot => opposite of the server, or when it is easy to read, hold the shot and shot to the net area of the server
    return serve => attacking drive => straight down to the opposite of server's court or try to aim it to the outer line (for example, your server is on the right, hit it to the left outer line of their court)

    got a lift => smash if doesn't work for 2-3 times, change to drop
    got a lift => attacking clear
    I rarely do a drop, unless your drop is really good, your opponent might kill it

    drive => lower and lower drive

    anything above your head = > if you can, smash. if not, drive, then attacking clear.

    *but again, these are just a guideline, no one knows the real situation at the court, so you are the one who need to choose the best shots for each situation.

    do not be indecisive. happened so many times to me. what should I do? net shot or lift (resulted in a lift that is not deep)? clear or drop (a clear that lack of power)? and the result is horrible
    I always believe backhand should not be used in doubles unless you need more range and/or are in desperate situation, always go for forehand (such as around the head shot)
     
    #10 Avenger, Dec 21, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2013
  11. Birdy

    Birdy Regular Member

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    These are again fantastic tips. I will try to apply to my games.
     

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