most badminton players are sucko !!!

I, too, have experienced the awkward feeling of being unwanted in the court because I wasn't good enough, I especially hated people who gave me orders voluntarilly on how to play only because they didn't want to lose, they couldn't care less how well I played as long as I wasn't their partner. For that I vowed never to make anyone around me feel the same way no matter how good I get. But I must admit that I do share the idea of playing with people better than you so that you will improve. When playing with weaker players, I try to match their level as to not upset anyone. But the fact remains that I have tons more fun playing with people at my level, slightly higher or slightly lower than playing with people that are vastly inferior to me. Because of this, I find myself in a state of personal dilemma, I do not want to become those people I hated so much and yet I cannot deny my feelings. There is only one thing that I'm still sure about and that is to always wear a smile when I'm on court whether winning or losing (unless I'm hurt of course). Actually me and my friends have come to play badminton regularly on Fridays but the problem is that I've found a place where I can play with players at a level closer to mine and it is also on Fridays, I want to go there so bad but at the same time I don't want to abandon my friends, I cannot bring them there either because they wouldn't want to pay and lose badly, I know I wouldn't. What am I to do?

 

Hi Wins Gan,

I think you may be a little harsh and take the behavior by some players too personally.

I believe that badminton players are just like other athletes and they act the way they do because that is the way they are in life, not just on the court. It could be that where you are, there may be players with the “country club” mentality. These players had lessons with top coaches at expensive private clubs paid for by parents and have been conditioned to consider themselves as somewhat “elite” and will only play with others they consider to be in that class. I don’t come from that kind of background, nor do people I play with.

I think a lot depends on the person’s motive for playing. Most players who are competitive and striving to improve derive enjoyment from the challenge in a game. We want to have to work for our accomplishments—we want to push ourselves. There is no satisfaction with being able to succeed while underachieving; that’s human nature. And, if someone is fully dedicated to training for improvement, and especially if court time is scarce, an unchallenging match is easily seen as a waste of time. One night, I really wanted to work on some doubles things in tough game situations, and every time I got out there, the other team had someone who could barely hit the bird. When we’re in that frame of mind, it’s disappointing.

But I also hit many times with beginners because I remember what it’s like to be one. It might be just what it takes to encourage someone’s interest in the sport to where they’ll stay with it. (It’s called “being an ambassador for the sport.”) The other day, after a doubles match, when the other team left my partner (a “weaker” player) and I to have the court, I asked him if he would like to do some drills. I don’t think he had ever done drills before. He seemed to enjoy our smash-drop drill and hopefully it left him with something he can use in the future.

I’d like to mention that it’s very gratifying to be invited into a game by better players. The other night, I was just sitting around waiting to get into a game when someone came over and invited me in. I accepted, not knowing anything about what I was getting into, but it didn’t matter. Turned out that I got to play with a top Chinese coach against two of his good students. It was a great time and, thankfully, I didn’t embarrass myself.

For those who are frustrated at getting into a game with better players, I advise this: (1) make sure your personality isn’t the problem, (2) seriously work on your game with your peers—get as good as you can, (3) be patient, (4) don’t take rejection personally. In my early years of playing, there was a group of good players at the gym who took the best court and kept to themselves—lower level players were not welcome. Well, one day they didn’t have enough for a game, so they invited me in to make the foursome. It was strange at first—I certainly wasn’t quite at their level. But, it broke the ice, and gradually they invited me in more often. I got better and eventually was fully accepted.

 

Re: A little something to say.

Ok I don't exactly.. agreed.. to get very good at Badminton.. with consistence and accuracy takes long practice and effort.. I think people should be proud of their acheivements.. even if its just here in Canada.. I mean if someone can go win the Montréal Open (its called something like that) then I think they can be proud..

The players I hate.. are like players that haven't even played in a good tournament before and think they are so good.. also those people that buy every single product Yonex comes out with but can't play the game are stupid.. I dislike those people

 

Just feel very bad about this thread's "title".

I think it's kinda too harsh. How could someone just say "most" without knowing everyone (I don't think it's possible to know everyone). I mean, I can understand his feeling, if there are several rude ppl in his club, but that does not represent "most bamdinton players".

Same as, we can't say baseball players are all "drug lords" even though we know someone are using drugs to improve their muscle; we can't say football players are are most "murders", just because we know a WR from NC got into jail for that; of course, NBA players are not all "street fighters", but what about Paul Pierce and DeShawn Stevenson's cases?

I am kinda feel like our moderators try to eliminate this kinda of "title" to appear in this forum. I can surely understand the feeling of ppl, when they been treated unfairly, but such negative description to this community is not supposed to be encouraged.

 

equipment vs personality

I personally don't mind beginners owning top of the line Yonex racquets or anything else for that matter, what's important to me is their attitude and personality. Then again maybe there's a connection between a person's personality and the fact of him/her getting the most expensive racquet even when he/she is just a beginner. Somebody mentionned how owning a good racquet can motivate beginners to work harder and learn faster, I fully agree, I feel the same way and because of that I gave my nice HiQua Pro 3500 to my younger brother even when he's just beginning but he's improving a lot faster now with it than back when he was using a cheap and slightly bent Black Knight racquet.

 

I don't understand why beginners have to use lower end rackets. Top end rackets are lighter and have better controls. As long as they can afford it, why anyone will care? That's the same as saying that a guy earning $5 an hour can't wear a Rolex.

 

I agree with Qidong.

 

I believe myself is just an intermediate player. I don't mind playing with beginners. But I prefer playing with players about my level - maybe a little bit better or worse. I played double with a ex-pro before. I kept running into him during the game, and I was the one missing shots. I felt so bad. But on the other hand, if my opponent can't even return my clear, there is no fun at all. If the gap is too hugh between opponents or partners, both players will be bored. I think if the better players refused to play with lower level players, they have the right to do so - definitely not sucko.

 

Agree.

Couple years ago, I bought myself a ProKennex Kinetic ULX, even though, at that time, my skill were far below a lot of ppl's standard. However, with a lighter and more controlable racket, I just "discovered" and trained myself to be a better net player. Although, I may lack of power, and no thunderous smash, a lot of ppl say I am now a good "set up" guy in double, with my nasty net drops and relatively consistant defensive plays.

Now, I consider, as long as u can utilize ur racket, and ur racket can utilize u by boosting ur skill+confidence, there's nothing wrong for getting some better equipment for urself.

If u stock racket just for collecting purpose, that's also fine. If we show respect for ppl who collect stamps and coins, why not badminton stuff?

However, if someone just use better racket, to purely show off, but not utilize their skill, just dreaming about a $$$ racket can bring themselves to be elite lvl in 2 sec.... Keep dreaming...

 

Re: Re: most badminton players are sucko !!!

Hey dude. Relax man ;-) I know of one very good player who won the Manitoba, Canada Open in two years and he was using a cheap racquet. Nothing special. Not to say that cheap racquets or the most expensive racquets are the best, but the racquet that suits you will be the best for you. IMHO

 

You earn your respect on the court with your abilities, not with what racquets you use or what shirt you are wearing. There is nothing wrong with beginners using high-end racquets or advance players using some cheap racquets.

You do what you want to make yourself feel comfortable out there and once you are in a comfort zone, you will find the chance of winning greater and you will have more fun playing the sport you love. Just enjoy the game and treat other players with the same attitude that you would like to be treated because there is always someone better than you and always someone not as good as you.

 

I think the key point we all want to give beginners is NOT to automatically
assume that an expensive or high-end racquet will be better for them.
Regardless of what they can afford, the best racquet should feel more
like an extension of the arm rather than a stick. Anything else, cheap or
expensive, will be a waste of money.

Beginners should focus more on suitability than image. I emphasize 'beginners'
because this is the crucial time when strokes form and will become habit. An
unsuitable racquet in terms of weight, stiffness, balance, string tension, etc
will encourage incorrect strokes.

Everyone has a different sweet spot.

 

This thread is interesting for me, because I play only once a week at a community center drop-in place in Vancouver. I'm an advanced player - not the best in the place, but advanced, definitely - and I have been playing badminotn since I was 3 years old. Because of family (no kids, but a wonderful wife), other fitness interests (jogging, the gym, etc..), and work, I play ONCE A WEEK ONLY.

Now, sometimes I refuse to play in a game with weaker players, and I guess some would call this arrogant, snobby, sucko, or whatever. I'd like to call it COMMON SENSE. Badminton is always best when played with players who are at roughly the same skill level (whatever level that may be), or at least if one weaker player and one stronger player are playing another similar team (strong + weak). If I can't play in one of these two situations, I'd rather wait for the next game, because, like I said, it's my one chance a week to play the sport I love most.

I'm pretty competitive when I play, and again, I'd like to play with others who have a similar attitude. Some come out "just to get some exercise", or, "to try out the game", or maybe "to improve their skills". All of these are excellent reasons to be there, and I have no problem with them. There is no bad reason to play badminton. We all have to share limited court space and a limited amount of time, so I wish everyone would stop throwing around words like "arrogant", and things like that.

The best game is an evenly matched one. Please don't ask me to waste 10 or 15 minutes of my precious 2 hours of weekly badminton time by playing in a game where I have to avoid hitting certain types of shots, and where I'm not pushed anywhere near to my physical limits. Sometimes, I get into games where I'm worried I might hurt or scare an opposing player if I play at the level I'm capable of. That's just not fun, and it's not why I'm there.

 

Re: Re: A little something to say.

YOU may hate them, but the YONEX Corp. loves them. How many products are marketed by creating a desirable image of the product's user, and then implying that someone who buys that product will consequently fit that image?

 

Even though, I am very liberal when comes to playing weaker player and I'm at upper intermediate level if there is any such class but still I fully agree with you. I think most of us will also agree with you because you have very limited time. Somehow, I think you may act differently if you happens to play 10+ hours a week.

We should also note that it is little difficult for a weaker player to invite very strong player unless they know each other. It is like asking a pretty girl for dance in a club (reminds me of my good old days). There are good chances that you may be turn down. Fear of rejection is always discomforting. Therefore, it is not that common to be invited by weak players all the time.

What is arrogant when a person will not take on weaker player because he/she thinks that they will dilute their image if they play with them. Like somehow their peers will outcast them. It is very much like teenage behavior. For those, all I can say is Grow Up.

As far as playing doubles I am not that liberal. I like to play 3 out of 4 double games that are challenging. In singles when your opponent make basic mistake at least you gain a point but in doubles when your partner make similar mistake you lose a point. Sometime it is very frustrating and could lead you to develop bad playing habits.

 

Have to agree w/ your point here. Also, since you don't want to play with the weaker players because they are not challenging enough for you, weaker players would feel reluctant to play with you since they know they don't stand a chance. It really should work both ways. Most enjoyable game would be the evenly matched one as you mentioned.

 

If you really don't want to play with someone, there are polite ways to refuse. Some ppl at the place I usually play will simply say, "No thanks, I'm going to wait a while before playing again." They are usually waiting for a game with better players, but they don't make it obvious and don't show any kind of arrogant attitude. Of course, it's easier to do this if you sometimes spend a little time helping out less skilled players get better.

 

The worst thing I've seen happen: A good player started in a doubles game with three of us because there were no other courts open. As soon as an opportunity came up for him to play with the high-caliber group, he left our game right in the middle without so much as a thank you or good-bye.