How to best utilize coaching time

S

Solomon liu

New Member
I don't have regular access to a coach, maybe once in 3 months, maybe 3 one-hr sessions per time. The rest of the time I only play recreationally at a local club without coaching, intermediate-low advanced level. If I can record lessons, how should I best spend each session? Should I emphasize technique demonstration at the cost of practicing/hitting? I need step-by-step instructions, and need to see the correct way demonstrated very slowly before I can even attempt doing it correctly myself, as well as detailed instructions on what to do and what not to do. Otherwise, it will be a waste and I revert to old incorrect habits. My goal is to learn a wide range of technique/footwork and be able to slowly practice/analyze over a 3 month period.

I realize I'm being quite vague, but assuming I can record lessons how can I structure the lesson so that I can get the most bang for my buck?

Thanks!
 
Solomon liu said:
I don't have regular access to a coach, maybe once in 3 months, maybe 3 one-hr sessions per time. The rest of the time I only play recreationally at a local club without coaching, intermediate-low advanced level. If I can record lessons, how should I best spend each session? Should I emphasize technique demonstration at the cost of practicing/hitting? I need step-by-step instructions, and need to see the correct way demonstrated very slowly before I can even attempt doing it correctly myself, as well as detailed instructions on what to do and what not to do. Otherwise, it will be a waste and I revert to old incorrect habits. My goal is to learn a wide range of technique/footwork and be able to slowly practice/analyze over a 3 month period.

I realize I'm being quite vague, but assuming I can record lessons how can I structure the lesson so that I can get the most bang for my buck?

Thanks!
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Are you asking for advice as to how you want your coaching lessons structured ? Or advice as to how you will progress in between the coaching lessons ?
 
Yes, if your at a low level, you probably need to practice technique a lot and footwork to see the most improvement. You can communicate with the coach you plan to see and hash out a plan with them and keep communicating after the session about your progress. Most people will be happy to help you for free (like us!) if they see you care a lot.

Edit: also make sure you're going to best coach possible, and any videotapes you have will be especially useful. For example, I wish I had videotapes of some of the stuff I did in China, but I don't really find value for other sessions in rewatching them.
 
Thanks for the input. Sounds like I should spend majority of time recording the coach on how to do a particular technique/footwork (with a goal of carefully studying and re-watching videos later) and minority of time practicing the technique/footwork itself (with understanding it'll be highly unlikely to master it on the day of coaching). If so, should I rely on the coach to dictate the lesson (and which technique/footwork to learn), or should I provide topics for lessons?

Essentially, I don't mind if there's an overwhelming amount of information during the session, as long as I can practice/analyze it repeatedly at home. If you saw the below video, what technique/footwork would you prioritize in mastering?

I'm the pink shoes. I'm the same user as mtu620. I have tried some things members on this forum have suggested, but did not yield the best results for me. So I am trying the coach route.
 
Solomon liu said:
Thanks for the input. Sounds like I should spend majority of time recording the coach on how to do a particular technique/footwork (with a goal of carefully studying and re-watching videos later) and minority of time practicing the technique/footwork itself (with understanding it'll be highly unlikely to master it on the day of coaching). If so, should I rely on the coach to dictate the lesson (and which technique/footwork to learn), or should I provide topics for lessons?

Essentially, I don't mind if there's an overwhelming amount of information during the session, as long as I can practice/analyze it repeatedly at home. If you saw the below video, what technique/footwork would you prioritize in mastering?

I'm the pink shoes. I'm the same user as mtu620. I have tried some things members on this forum have suggested, but did not yield the best results for me. So I am trying the coach route.
Click to expand...
Take what I say with a grain of salt because of my limited experience. But I would focus on one aspect of your game and get better at it. People could probably give you 20 things that you can get better at but that isn’t too helpful. Find things that can provide you with the greatest carryover for improvement. For example from what I can see here are some things that if you improve should carry over to a lot of improvement.
- forehand high serve instead of short
- footwork , specifically going from the back court to the front.
You should be able to work on both of these things during a given week of training
 
As someone who has been blessed with coaching since I was 6 I would recommend the badminton family youtube channel (run by Thomas Laybourn, former Danish mixed doubles player). The BG badminton academy channel is also pretty good. The advice given on these two channels are very solid and they explain the basics quite well. Some other yt channels teach improper technique/footwork which is impossible to know if you're not an advanced player, so be careful not to take bad advice.
 
Dangho said:
As someone who has been blessed with coaching since I was 6 I would recommend the badminton family youtube channel (run by Thomas Laybourn, former Danish mixed doubles player). The BG badminton academy channel is also pretty good. The advice given on these two channels are very solid and they explain the basics quite well. Some other yt channels teach improper technique/footwork which is impossible to know if you're not an advanced player, so be careful not to take bad advice.
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If you were to pick out the top areas I can improve upon, for the highest yield, what would they be? They can be really general - things I could ask a coach (in addition to yt channels you suggested). Thanks!
 
any reason for creating a new user name?

You had quite a lot of input on your previous thread. Not sure why the videos have been removed but they do serve as a good timeline for others to judge your weaknesses, improvement and subsequent tailored advice.

https://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/index.php?threads/video-tips-for-improvement.176400/page-3

if you feel you had limited improvement from some of the advice there, perhaps you can take whatever technique you feel was hard to improve and work on that with feedback from the coach.
 
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BTW. I tend to agree with Mason in limiting the techniques you try to work on.

You have tried watching coaching with YouTube videos and by your own admission have reached a ceiling threshold. One of the drawbacks of working on a lot of techniques is that although comprehension is rapid, the actual attainment and aim of effecting a change in one’s own technique is no faster than many other similar people who have experience of sports and crossover skills.
 
Solomon liu said:
If you were to pick out the top areas I can improve upon, for the highest yield, what would they be? They can be really general - things I could ask a coach (in addition to yt channels you suggested). Thanks!
Click to expand...
Imo, it's more important to have a stable foundation than being able to execute difficult shots, so working on footwork to make sure you're in good position and balance is key. It's a bit plain and boring but once you have that stable foundation it's much easier to progress.
On top of that you should limit yourself to one or maybe two things that you focus on for a few weeks. Get someone to feed you and start with just practicing execution, then move on to moving from the base position to execute the shot. For technical advice you would preferably ask your coach but since your coaching time is limited I would suggest you watch videos and try to write down the key points to take with you to practice.

Badminton is a very complex sport so you need to break every aspect of the game down and add the pieces to your arsenal little by little.
 
Train your basic technique such as footwork and shadow hitting by yourself . Go to coach and train with him. Take a homework and remember dont play to win. play to reinforce and apply technique the coach given to you. Otherwise, you wouldnt be improved. At the end, it comes down to right skill, technique, and consistency. It is hard to be consistent playing recreationally. You should get a partner and ask him to feed you the shuttle. Maybe a five hundreds smash per day would do.

PS: try to understand the mechanic of each shot. It helps a lot.
 
My suggestion is try to learn the basic shots by yourself from watching something like Zhao jianhua's series on YouTube. Take note of what is still wrong, and I think that will be useful to work on with a coach. No matter how hard you try from a video, you just cannot get the shot down. Then I would work on that with the coach. Same goes for footwork.
 
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