Introducing the badminton overhead – P1

Beginner, Challenges, Overheads

What's your plan when introducing the overhead

Especially with beginners during the first 6 – 12 months

How do you create those important early experiences

A plan is essential, but what do you include and why?

How much attention should you give to how it’s delivered?

The conversation that started this mini-series

If you haven’t read the introductory post, click on the image to read more.

It outlines the challenges coaches face and some of the descion they are faced with.

There is also an insight into what happened when I spoke with 2 other coaches about these challenges and how at times, we disagreed!

I’ve outlined some of the thoughts we had during our conversation.

Establish some key thoughts in a plan

What would you include

This post examines the challenge of putting together a plan to introduce the badminton overhead, especially when working with young players who are new to the sport.

The content of the plan and the ways (methodologies) you choose to deliver those critical elements.

You may feel challenged or ‘prickled’ at some of the points raised.

It’s very easy for beginners to develop what seems like an effective technique,

but in fact, the ‘solution’ they come up with is probably a ‘future-limiting’ one

You have several questions when planning what to include. I’ve listed a few below. Some of these may be easy to answer, and other aspects may need research and thought.

There certainly isn’t a fixed step-by-step sequence. There also isn’t a set of ‘magic’ practices that solve all your issues.

I’d recommend that you create a plan that has general guidelines and prompts for you to follow.

Create practices that provide positive experiences for players to help with development.

Experiences that contain the technical elements you want to introduce, but often without the player being aware of them. Try to make them repeatable but with built-in variations.

Include themes and cues that the players can repeat without much coach control. Allowing players to enjoy (and engage with) their development.

Challenge yourself to create a development structure that includes: enjoyment, challenge, intrigue, wonderment, engagement, robustness (possibly the hardest) and success.

The key is to create as many practices and experiences as possible

that restrict opportunities for inappropriate (future-limiting) techniques to appear

Questions to discuss with another coach

Use the discussion to build a plan or identify gaps

What are the core technical elements that you like to see in a badminton overhead technique?

– specifically for a novice player in the first 12 – 24 months

What could be established before starting overhead work?

– are there any previous experiences and learning before starting overhead development that may help?

How does your knowledge compare to other coaches?

– would you be willing to share your plan (your ideas) to get feedback and some new/alternative viewpoints

How flexible are your thoughts?

– do you have at least 2 or 3 different ways (methodologies) to coach specific parts of the plan, or just one go-to method

What do you want the players to know and hear?

– how do you want to ‘package’ your information? Are there advantages to players not knowing all that you know?

Plan, but be specific to the individual

Ensure your delivery is specific to the player and their stage of development

It’s important not only to assess what a player can do technically and physically but also emotionally.

How do they react to instructions, the period of time that they can practice before becoming ‘saturated‘, do they like challenges, and how do they react to error?

Understanding these aspects about the group or person in front of you is probably more important than the amount of technical information that you know.

When and how you decide to give information is dependent on the ‘person/group’ characteristics. It can be the difference between success and struggle, for both the player and you, the coach!

Not everything is always important

There will be technical aspects that whilst important do not need to be included in your beginner plan. There are also coaching methodologies (how you practice) that need to be adapted to suit the needs of your beginner players.

Resist the temptation to throw everything you know or have seen others do into your plan. More is not often better!

Only you can decide what aspects need to be emphasised; this linked post suggests the 4 technical ‘must-haves ’.

What are your must-have’s in a beginner overhead forehand practice?

Not every player needs to be coached in the same way (content & methodology)

but your coaching should be full of similarities

Plan the methodologies you will use

Do you have a strategy of how you will act and the coaching methods you will use

A plan isn’t just a list of technical points to show or, worse, tell the players.

The way you coach, the practices you set, the adjustments and interventions you make: these are vitally important.

These methodologies and coach actions describe how you will go about your coaching. Some will be effective at times, and at other times not.

Even if you aren’t sure about the methodologies you use, I’m sure if you consider what you do that you will find a few that are easy to spot.

How much information do you prefer to give, when and how
Do you set challenges and expectations or are you reluctant to ‘push’
How do you deal with mistakes, errors, player judgements
How deliberate are you in your conversations with players
What’s your view on asking beginner players questions
Do you like to practice the same thing repeatedly, or deliberately include variations

Consider if selecting your coaching methods and designing the practice

is more important than the technical/tactical content

Common methodologies that require consideration

Do these deliver the effectiveness for player development

Do you agree that on balance, although these do work sometimes, across a range of beginner players, these methodologies or beliefs are not effective?

Be careful of these methodologies when working with beginners – each has a hidden danger

Believing that ‘knowing’ information is key to learning

Do the players have to know all that know? Be careful in what you select and how you transmit information to players. Does Players knowing lots = success.

Using complex whole demonstrations to provide novice players with something to copy

You may be able to demo these complex badminton overhead forehand movements, but can these beginners achieve success and gain progressive value from copying you?

Isolated movements and combinations of whole movements require progressive practice, not just replication.

Highlighting elements that happen in the middle of a complex powerful action

Can beginners control and adjust their limbs in the middle of powerful overhead throwing movements? Can you?

Do you know exactly what your joints and limbs are doing in the middle of an action? Maybe at the start and end, but once the power starts can you control exactly exactly happens?

Using slow-motion demonstrations to provide critical information

Easy to demo and practice, but is there an effective carryover into powerful movements?

Do you see a positive outcome from using slow-motion demonstrations for overhead throwing actions, or is it just another way for you to transfer information?

Believing that inappropriate techniques can be ‘corrected’ later

“Let them hit”, “too much coaching is bad”, “I can correct later”

I’ve heard all of these from passionate coaches working with beginner players: but do these coaching philosophies really work?

Challenge no.2

Send me a question

I’m always grateful if you have read this far.

If there is anything that you have read that has helped or that you disagree with, then please send me an email.

I promise to read all your comments

It would be great to hear from you contact@badmintonandy.com

Share the Post: