Old myths of badminton training

Maak kennis met Pim van Veghel!

When something changes all other things change as well and nothing stays the same. When you look at the development of the rackets you can make a logical chain of explanations why we are playing the way we do today. Or even better: try to play ultra short rapid deceleration lob shots with a wooden racket, it can't be done.

The materials were not suitable for shots like that. The wooden racket can't support hard stringing we use today. The strings were very soft in those days. The game was very slow with very limited technical options. Also rallies were longer at top level. It was very hard to get fast points because there was no power play with hard smashes. Badminton is no longer an endurance sport, it has become a very high level technical skills and very tactical sport. Follow the material development and be the first one to understand what you can do with it gives you a big step ahead of the competition.

When new materials come onto the market it will take some time before players know what is possible with this type of technical development and it takes even many more years before it is accepted widely and find its way into the badminton books and instruction materials on education programs. I have graduated at the University in Sport Science. When I finished my study in 2008 I thought I knew what I needed to know together with 8 years experience as a national player and I can become a successful badminton coach now.

Badminton is still a very fast developing sport and the education can never follow because when something gets into an education program or book it is already old again or at least some part of it has already been replaced with new information.

Also here the development is going faster than the traditional system. The internet gives you more and better information than any book can deliver.

I still believe you need to talk with other coaches a lot and in Denmark I'm in the perfect country. Coaches are very open and always want to discuss training methods and new ideas. The first time on Oro was a shock. I realized I know nothing about badminton, the people here were miles ahead on what I had learnt back home.

Now a couple years later I have given several coach education programs myself and work daily together with some very good coaches. I also learn Danish so I can follow the development up close. The learning never stops and at the end of this month I go back to my own country to work there with the players for the first time. It will be totally different than what they are used to and they will be shocked.

I will start the same way there as the coaches on Oro say when you come to Denmark: forget everything you thought you knew about badminton. From today on you will never think the same way about this sport as you have before.