What do you do with a partner who is constantly criticizing you mid-game? When the going is good he is loud and unnecessarily praising. When the going gets bad and I make an error e.g. bad lift, drive instead of a net shot (when opponents far away from net), he starts criticizing in a tone that is very harsh and aggressive. I lose the will to play a good game after that as I am angry at my partner. Both of us are just your everyday average badminton players, except that we're part of an outdoor team and he and I are supposed to be in a team. Individual game-wise both of us are matched for each other, but this habit of his really ticks me off...like who the heck do you think you are? Do you think this is such a big match that you will lose all you have in life if you lose? I swear to god I sometimes feel like hitting shots out of the court on purpose just to let him know I ain't takin' his crap...or doing the same on his bad shots. ^Note: my nature is such that I always praise on a point and say "it's ok/buck up/ no more/ come on let's go" on a bad point. At most, what I do is calmly tell that hey that place was empty you could have hit there. I believe a partner should never start criticizing his partner mid game. So yeah, what do I do?
Thank your partner for the good input. You can also talk to them and tell them what kind of input you value and what is better left after the game. For example, in a competition, there's really no time for technique, but only tactics. So your partner shouldn't say "Rotate your hip a bit earlier to get full smash strength" but rather one of Your smashes are not coming through, maybe you can drop and clear a bit more? or "Should we try to get me in the back if possible, so you can cover the front?". Some people – myself included – are not particularly able to control their tone of voice in the heat of the moment, and what seems harsh may just be honest clear feedback. With a trusted partner, the feedback should be terse and curt; brevity gives you more time to focus on more. If the feedback is just aggressive ("you idiot!"), then calmly reply "Maybe. But how's that gonna help us win the match?". Winning the match should always be the aim of any discussion on court.
It doesn't mean he thinks he is a better player than you. (And it doesn't matter if he does think that) Maybe he is talking to you the same way he does to himself. And maybe he can handle it and you can't. Tell him you are a wimp that can't handle criticism. A partner like that can be useful as it can make you more aware of where your errors are. And good that he isn't too shy to tell you. See you even remember them now. So it worked. So you know what to work on. Then if you improve those things, it might just be them yelling at themselves. I am not really bothered by the temperament of my partner , and if they are angry then that's good cos it means they are noticing things and communicating and they are serious! It can be fun to take something that is not that serious and be deadly serious about it. Some may say oh but they are trying to have fun. But for some, that's actually a big part of the fun! Another way to have fun on court would be to play alongside or opposite a good looking girl with the shortest shorts. I actually saw one guy that would play alongside girls and be yelling at them. A funny one was an angry guy with a Scottish accent, always yelling, and nobody knew what he was saying.
