HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING OF JUNIOR PLAYERS. Welsh Badminton Coaching Conference. Martin Andrew BADMINTON England Junior Performance Head Coach

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1 HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING OF JUNIOR PLAYERS Welsh Badminton Coaching Conference Martin Andrew BADMINTON England Junior Performance Head Coach

2 I am English!! I am BRITISH!!

3 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

4 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 Denmark won the WJC with an U16 boy Viktor Axelsen

5 HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHING OFJUNIOR PLAYERS Who am I??!! Lessons learned from previous roles Player identification Player pathway Formal v Informal learning Singles! Sparring importance Coaching quality Players Education Competitive play Court space Individualised programmes Engaged in their development Just Enough Coaching!? Discipline Under Pressure!

6 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

7 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!!

8 Junior World Class Performance! What does a World Class Junior performance look like??!!

9 Player Identification DISCIPLINE Intensity Quality Time management

10 Player Identification ATTITUDE! Hard working Trainability Experimental Temperament Enjoyment Competitive Are they Engaged!! (see later!)

11 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 International

12 Formal 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..!

13 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!

14 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!

15 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 play

16 Coaching 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

17 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)

18 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 holidays

19 Competitive 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 development

20 Competitive 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 younger

21 Competitive 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

22 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 coached

23 Individualised 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

24 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)

25 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

26 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

27 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!!

28 TIME TO STOP!!

29 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!

30 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?!

31 Just Enough Coaching! How should we Coach young players? The Just Enough Coaching Method! Discovery with Guidance!

32 Just Enough Coaching! Implications for our coaching?? Provide a scaffolding for learning not a straight-jacket!

33 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.

34 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.

35 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 1 st 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

36 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.

37 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)

38 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

39 BALANCING ACT!! Developing players is a balancing act!!