Why didn’t anyone tell me that

Expert advice

Welcome to the series that gives you access to expert opinions and views on all things badminton

We asked a group of experts (coaches and players) …….

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that …..”

(things you wish someone had said, serious and fun facts)

Learn French

Because I went to live and play badminton in France.

I should have paid more attention to learn French at school!

Durian fruit

Why didn’t anyone tell me that durian was disgusting before I tried it!

Everyone said it was nice, but I hate it!

A difficult question because experience is everything for me

I think that when you are junior, you, of course, are really concerned with results and tournaments and who is winning this and that but in the grand scheme of things, when your a senior only a handful of your junior results matter.

Not many people will refer to them or measure your overall success by them

It’s all about what you do on the Senior Circuit. Ages 17/18/19/20 seem really long when you are a junior and senior badminton can sometimes feel a long way away.

But if you stick in at those years it will set you up for hopefully a very long and successful senior career.

I was too serious! 🙂

I hope now I’ve learnt to enjoy every moment, every experience as it happens.

Love everything you do and grab all the experiences you can, that’s the advice I wish that I’d been given alongside all the other information.

I had no idea how the whole thing worked !

When I first started I didn’t know that you could become National and European Champion in juniors. I played the sport because I found it fun and challenging but I was so out of the badminton world at a young age that I had no idea how the whole thing worked.

I guess the message from this is that young players need to be educated about everything.

If they are not from a ‘badminton family’ or don’t have parents who can support them a lot, then coaching them is educating them in far more than how to hit the shuttle.

I didn’t know about funding, how to get in the ‘system’, tournament circuits, training centres etc… this is a big topic, though I think for a young, ambitious athlete. It is important to know how the system works; maybe it’s easier nowadays with the internet and all the sites out there.