As one of the most popular racquet sports around, badminton has attracted a large amount of schools and instructors, offering teaching services and helpful team coaching courses. If you’re thinking of learning badminton from scratch, or even hiring a coach to improve your game, there are several important factors to look out for.
From coaching style to qualifications, finding a good school for badminton lessons can take quite a while. However, it’s unwise to try to cut the process too short; mastering sports is important, and the wrong school could end up setting you back right from the start. Instead, try optimizing your badminton school search by looking for the following coaching features right from the very start.
#1: Ability.
You’ll surely learn from an unskilled badminton instructor, but it’s unlikely that you’ll learn the right skills. When taking badminton lessons, it’s absolutely essential that you get your technique right. Learning poor technique can often set you back further than it puts you forward, as the amount of time spent changing a technique that’s been practiced so long it seems natural can be huge. If you want to cut down your training time and optimize your training altogether, look for an instructor that’s highly skilled and qualified.
This could mean asking to see coaching qualifications, or simply chatting about their badminton experience and prowess. If a coach has won any tournaments, they’ll surely put it on their resume, so don’t be afraid to ask if they’ve been involved in competitive play. Generally, the coaches that are the most skilled will command higher prices, especially for private lessons, but the cost is justified when you consider that you’ll end up learning more in fewer lessons.
#2: Teaching style.
This one is more relative and subjective. While some students excel in a school system that’s rigid and defined, others achieve much more when given freedom to experiment and learn on their own. Learning a sport is no different. Depending on what type of badminton lessons you want and what kind of coaching you need, look at several different coaches and badminton schools until you find a coaching style that works for you. From direct and by-the-book to fluid and adaptable, there are hundreds of coaches out there, each offering a different lesson style and teaching method.
If you don’t know what type of teaching you best respond to, experiment with different types of badminton lessons before committing to one school or coach. If you can find a coaching service that combines a great teaching style with able and confidence coaches, you’ve likely found your badminton school. Keep balance in mind however – traveling for an hour to see the ideal coach probably isn’t the best idea when there’s another in your neighborhood.
#3: Involvement.
Some of the most confident, impressive and able badminton players are poor coaches. Likewise, some of the worst badminton players end up being the best at coaching new students on to incredible badminton ability. When you’re searching for badminton lessons, involvement should be a major factor in what coach you end up picking. While some of the most able players end up sitting on the sidelines and barking orders, others stay involved in the game, working through technique with their students and taking part in practical demonstrations.
Of course, this involvement needs to be balanced. Once students have reached a certain level of ability, it’s best for the coach to allow them room to improve on their own. A coach that’s both involved and accommodating is best for your badminton lessons.