HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING OF JUNIOR PLAYERS - Welsh Badminton Coaching Conference Martin Andrew BADMINTON England Junior Performance Head Coach
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HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING OF
JUNIOR PLAYERS
Welsh Badminton Coaching Conference
Martin Andrew
BADMINTON England
Junior Performance Head Coach
I am English!! I am BRITISH!!
Who am I ??!! PREVIOUS ROLES June 1996 to Nov 1997 South Australian Head Coach Jan 1998 to May 2001 BADMINTON England Coaching Manager May 2001to Dec 2003 Badminton Australia National Coach & High Performance Manager Dec 2003 to June 2007 Badminton New Zealand National Coach & High Performance Manager CURRENT ROLE August 2007 to present BADMINTON England Junior Performance Head Coach
Who am I ??!! BADMINTON England Junior Performance Head Coach I perceive my role is not to create World Junior Champions but to ensure they have opportunities to develop to their optimum potential with the weapons to become world class ….. and we do have World Champion Potential! At present in Europe it’s difficult to compete with the systems and physical characteristics of the top Asian players at junior level The Challenge …..!! 2009 WJC Thailand delivered a World Junior Champion at 14 years of age – girls singles Ratchanok Intanon – she repeated that in 2010 2010 Denmark won the WJC with an U16 boy – Viktor Axelsen
HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING
OFJUNIOR PLAYERS
Who am I ??!!
Players Education
Lessons learned from
Competitive play
previous roles
Court space
Player identification
Individualised programmes
Player pathway
Engaged in their
Formal v Informal
development
learning
Just Enough Coaching!?
Singles!
Discipline Under Pressure!
Sparring importance
Coaching quality
Lessons learned from previous roles In Australia and New Zealand, the Countries are large and the population is spread – although mainly in the Cities Generally a low level of coaching Strong Asian influence – loving their badminton but many stop at 18 to pursue their studies Badminton is often a major sport in the lives of Asians in AUS and NZ
Lessons learned from previous roles
Needed to raise the level of
coaching and understanding of
what performance badminton is!
NZ had achieved Role Models:
2002 Commonwealth Games
1 x silver, 2 x bronze
2005 World Champs
Bronze in mixed doubles
But none were from Asian
backgrounds!!
Success can breed success!! But
other issues can inhibit it!
Discipline Under Pressure!!
Junior World Class Performance!
What does a World Class
Junior performance look
like??!!
Player Identification DISCIPLINE Intensity Quality Time management
Player Identification
ATTITUDE!
Hard working
Trainability
Experimental
Temperament
Enjoyment
Competitive
Are they Engaged!! (see
later!)Player Pathway
There must be a Player Pathway in place!
Players have to see what their next level is – what they are aiming at
Where do they go to as they reach the next level?
What competitions are their targets to get in to?
Who can they be training with at the next level
What are the steps in front of them to become the best?!
This is required at all levels
Schools
Clubs
Regional
National
InternationalFormal v Informal Learning How do players / young people learn? Formal learning coach led sessions with a lot of instruction Informal learning sessions where players develop themselves and use their initiative to create learning opportunities What ratio should this be? 2:1 1:2 1:3 depends on player …..!
Singles Play
Junior Players should have
programmes based around Singles
play
Players may still become doubles
players but they need to have a
singles background
In England the best doubles
players are all from a singles
background ….. with one exception!
Nathan Robertson – good at
singles as a junior but always a
doubles player ….. he was and is
an exceptional talent!Singles Play Singles play creates: Hitting more shuttles regularly On-court physical abilities Improves player responsibility Improves and facilitates decision making Decision making under pressure!
Sparring Importance
Quality Sparring is vital for the development of junior players!
Formal and Informal
Competitive (tournament) and training based
It can be against all levels but needs to be focussed
Against weaker players to develop skills
Against stronger players for increased intensity level
Against adults to develop against varied opposition
Dealing with their anticipation
Dealing with good tacticians
Dealing with their perception of how to playCoaching Quality Coaches need to be working together and with the same philosophy Coaches need to know what performance level we are working towards Coaches must understand the Player Pathway Coaches need to be motivated to improve themselves at the same rate or faster than their players – staying in-front of the game Coaches must understand their players and their requirements to achieve their goals
Player Education
European players who have become World Class have all gained an
education
A good education can ensure the players have a more ‘rounded’
personality and have this behind them after they stop playing
Examples are too numerous: Peter Rasmussen, Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen,
Gail Emms, Donna Kellogg, Tracey Hallam, Anders Boesen, etc.
Present English GB players with degrees: Robin Middleton, Heather Olver,
Mariana Agathangelou.
Many GB players are currently studying – at University or Open University
Life balance is vital for European players
Badminton : Education : Life learning (social)Player Education
In England we have a system of High Performance Centres (HPC’s)
The HPC’s are based at Universities and currently run on a part-time
basis with an employed coach.
The HPC’s enable players to gain a degree level education while
continuing with their high level badminton training
Bath (Peter Bush)
Birmingham (Lorraine Cole)
Loughborough (Mike Adams)
Leeds Met (James Vincent)
Manchester (Colin Haughton)
Wimbledon (Stuart Wardell)
Younger players can access the HPC’s at any time
Depending on whether they live close
School holidaysCompetitive Play
It’s important that young players
gain competitive experience in an
appropriate system
Tournaments must be challenging
but the frequency will depend on
the player and their stage of
development
Learning through competitive play
and tournaments is vital
It is an important part of
players development and
education
Tournaments must be at varying
levels to aid developmentCompetitive Play
Tournaments at a higher level so players see what they aspire to
They may get ‘stuffed’!! But this is good for them
Playing against senior or much stronger players
Challenging tournaments where they will play a few rounds and have
difficult matches
Mentally good for them to see how they can fight and compete
Playing against players who are a year older
Tournaments that they are expected to win or reach the final
Pressure and expectation pressure from themselves and external
people
Maybe against players of their own age group or youngerCompetitive Play Tournaments are where players and coaches can learn things about their performances Coaches feedback after the matches needs to be clear and constructive The player’s reactions to the competitive situations are what shape the future training and competitive elements
Court Space
This is often a forgotten area of a players programme!
There needs to be enough court space for them to learn the
appropriate skills
Singles cannot be developed fully on a half court
Angles and cross court shots need to be practiced
Regular points / sparring need to be played
Deliberate play
Coached
Not coachedIndividualised Programmes Training and Competition programmes need to be designed for each player Not all players are the same and should be developed at their own speed Even if this means that doubles pairings are often at separate events
Engaged in their
Development !
“Athletes who fail to engage
are less disciplined and
motivated, show less
initiative, and fail to
maximize opportunities for
acquisition during training”
(Young & Starkes 2006)Engaged in their Development ! A coach needs to know whether a player is ‘Engaged’ in their own development Does a player watch their own matches on video? Do they watch others? Next round opponents or fellow competitors World class performers Does a player visualise themselves performing a task or winning specific matches? Can they see themselves at that level? Imagination / desire to be there
DISCIPLINE UNDER PRESSURE! Evident in matches from Players on the World Class Junior Programmes Evident in matches from all nations at the 2008 & 2009 World Junior Championships – especially Europeans! Maintaining clear thinking and composure So many players couldn’t display the right level of discipline over themselves at the important times in matches
DISCIPLINE UNDER PRESSURE! The mixed doubles medal NZ won in the 2005 World Champs was down to: Good players Disciplined players Good planning Clear thinking Good planning of the thinking!! Possibly some luck too!!
TIME TO STOP!!
Effective Questioning?! NZ focus from 2006 was a Coach Approach! Effective Questioning Senior and junior players Individual and squads Was it effective with juniors? 8 year olds (as a squad) – average success! 12 year olds – varied! 16 year olds – valuable! 20 year olds – valuable if they are open to it!! Example – Michelle KY Chan became quite self-sufficient over about a 6-8 week period!
Effective Questioning?! What is it? What isn’t it? Actually means EFFECTIVE LISTENING!! A player who can give you real answers is an honest player A player with good personal awareness will give you honest answers! Can you coach by just asking questions? Are you ready to empower your player to shape their sessions?!
Just Enough Coaching!
How should we Coach
young players?
‘The Just Enough’ Coaching
Method!
Discovery with Guidance!Just Enough Coaching! Implications for our coaching?? Provide a scaffolding for learning not a straight-jacket!
Just Enough Coaching! “Scaffolding is actually a bridge used to build upon what students already know to arrive at something they do not know.” In the process of scaffolding, the coach helps the player master a task or concept that the player is initially unable to grasp independently.
Just Enough Coaching! WHAT TO DO!? The coach offers assistance with only those skills that are beyond the player’s capability. Of great importance is allowing the player to complete as much of the task as possible, unassisted. Player errors are expected, but, with coach feedback and prompting, the player is able to achieve the task or goal.
Just Enough Coaching! The coach using the ‘Just Enough’ coaching method They set the Task in a way to teach the athlete –just enough stretch They Observe attentively whilst the athlete does a lot They have Conversation with the performers They Allow – error/play/on their own/their way 1st even if the wrong way They Wait for teachable moments They Wait for the moment to . . . Reinforce effort and Motivate by reinforcing progress however small
Just Enough Coaching! If there are few problems in the practice environment (i.e. a structured practice) and lots of problem solving being done by the coach through feedback and instruction, a ‘short term benefits’ environment is likely to be in place.
Just Enough Coaching! ‘If, by contrast, there are multiple problems in the practice environment (i.e. random and variable practice) with minimal help from the coach then a ‘long term learning environment’ will result’ (D Collins)
Just Enough Coaching! Factors and Context Preference of the performer Time available to achieve the goal Learning vs. Performance goal Level of the performer’s frustration Level of the performer’s anxiety Level of the performers current understanding ‘know your performer’ Level of expertise of the coach
BALANCING ACT!! Developing players is a balancing act!!
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