Hi guys, if anyone is from or lives near Düsseldorf, Germany and would like to do some technique training, please respond I play on a beginnerish level, I do play 2 times a week lately but lack a good foundational training and want to improve my technique. If you are up to practising netkills, smashes, drops or anything, feel free to drop me a line.
There are a lot of clubs in and around Düsseldorf. I'm sure you'll find at least one which offers decent practice lessons for beginners. @phihag might be a valuable source of information, I guess.
Clubs in Düsseldorf that I can remember at the moment: Badminton Club Schwarz Weiß (BCSW) Düsseldorf Have several playing opportunities and do offer training, but I think it's only good for already advanced players. This training is on Fridays net to the Südpark (Siegburgerstraße). There also used to be training on Wednesdays in Eller that might be more suitable. Badminton Club (BC) Düsseldorf They only offer training for kids/ youth players, I think. Olympischer Sport-Club (OSC) Düsseldorf (facebook) They offer Training on Thursdays in Eller that might be suitable for beginer players. Each time I visited them, there was no training, so I have never seen it, but better players don't like the training.... Sportfreunde Düsseldorf (SFD) I think they play in Benrath, don't really know anything about them. VC Phönix Düsseldorf A new club. I was told, that they are well organized, but I don't know anything about them. Sport Gemeinschaft Unterrath (SGU) They recently started to offer training on Mondays, but it's not certain yet that they can keep it up. The coach (I kinda know him) tries to cover all the levels that want to participate and there are some others on a beginnerish level, but thats not an easy task. The training is in Unterrath/ Lichtenbroich next to the Obi. I think beginners can always ask to participate in the training for kids, but the time might be too early on weekdays. For BC Düsseldorf, I know they already offered someone to do that. I know there are more clubs, but I don't think they are just remotely relevant if you want to learn anything. The Japanese Badminton goup (Sundays at Badminton Center Mörsenbroich) is also open for everybody and there is some training, but it's in Japanese and I would not recommend it.
Great post by @speCulatius. I want to add that you can also try the Hochschulsport in Düsseldorf. https://hss-d.de/kurse/badminton/ The advantage is that you are in a group at same level (categorized by level) and can learn there the basics and have some game experience on even out matches. FME it is often the case that a Badminton Club don't integrate Beginners that much (often impossible to balance the pairs) and the main focus on training is to support the talents, so I recommend to learn the basics at a HSS course. For hobby groups it is often different, but most do any training. It could be that other clubs do it different, my advice is based on the clubs in my area and not a general rule. Hope you find a good enviroment with friendly people to improve.
While this looks like a good idea, it won't work (in Düsseldorf). While there oficially is some training at the Hochschulsport Düsseldorf (Badminton I/II), there is no chance to learn the basics. I'm sorry to say this, but I left out this option intentionally when someone wants to learn something. Badminton I (beginners training): I don't want to say anything bad about the coach. It seems that other sports are more important than badminton in this group and I didn't hear (and certainly not see) anything about a good progress of players. Badminton II ('advanced players' training): 'Advanced' means that someone has played before, but never learned anything (definition by the guy responsible for the HSS), so this could be considered as a training for beginners when looking at the participants, but it's not. Wrong grips and wrong technique will not be corrected, footwork is not part of it at all, and when the coach tries to improve something, he talks more than anything else (the 'german problem' like I learned recently). For playing, you'll find a lot of players at very different levels, so go for it, if you like, but don't expect too much from the training courses.
Many thanks @speCulatius for the detailed response. I play at the BC Duesseldorf myself (no training), and also think that most clubs don't offer training for adults. That is why I was hoping to find that one crazy ambitious beginner or advanced level guy or girl, which doesn't mind to repeat the same excercise over and over again (wax on, wax off ). It will not be very fun, but in my opinion that is the way to improve. I also think that even a more advanced player would benefit from training, I might not be the best player, but I think I can learn how to feed
There are three clubs that offer training for seniors in Düsseldorf: BCSW (Schwarz-Weiß), but I'm unsure of the days and locations. I was there only once and some time ago. OSC on Thursdays 19:00 @ Heidelberger Str. 75 / 51.197385, 6.853130 , by Heidi Bender, reigning triple-world champion O55. Since Heidi is competing a lot, this training is often cancelled. SGU on Mondays 20:00 @ Franz-Rennfeld-Weg 15 / 51.277950, 6.796528 . @speCulatius is our coach there. This is also one club where it's not unusual at all to have a couple of people training on their own, both seniors and juniors. I've added geo coordinates above since the halls are usually on large compounds and it can be hard to find the actual building entry. That's precisely the training I like! I would be very happy to find a consistent training partner, and know some friends who like training as well. I'll message you in private. Fair caution though: I've struggled with my health within the last year, and especially on weekends I'm often away for training camps, umpiring, or umpire software duties. But if you want we can train tomorrow at OSC!
They have halls on every day of the week, but Tuesdays, as far as I know. Training is on Fridays, the entrance of the hall is here. Enter through the gate of the Joseph-Beuys-Gesamtschule and just go straight. Alex Bock is their coach. He is a good player, but I don't know about his coaching skills. Also, there used to be a training session on Wednesdays (Han Cu Thai was coaching) here, but maybe just contact them via facebook if you are interested. I might be there tomorrow as well... another try to see Heidi Bender as a coach and not a player.
Han is a really nice and friendly guy, btw!!! Love to see him at the YGO every year for some chatting.
