Buckley Junior Badminton Club

Affiliated to our senior club is Buckley Junior Badminton Club, which meets at Buckley Leisure Centre every Friday from 5-6pm, where Head Coach Cliff Price is ably assisted by Rob Pullen and Andrew Lamb.

Newcomers aged 6-15 are always welcome and the session fee of £1.25 also includes free racquet hire.

Our basic goals are:

• to teach the rules of badminton
• to promote honesty, sportsmanship, and a sense of fair play
• to coach juniors according to their ability — rather than their age, size, or gender
• to encourage those with the skill and potential to enter competitive badminton — while respecting the wishes of those juniors who have no interest in competing at a higher level

The aim of the club is to teach children the fundamentals of badminton from an early age. We believe that they should be taught the correct technique from the start — so things like grips, footwork and strokes are shown right from the beginning.

However, we recognise that badminton should also be fun, so we blend technique with various fun games and exercises for the younger members.

For the better players, we participate in local leagues and tournaments.

Further information can be obtained by contacting:

• Cliff Price (Club Secretary)
• tel: 01244-544850 ()

Strategy

To win in badminton, players need to employ a wide variety of strokes in the right situations. These range from powerful jumping smashes to delicate tumbling net returns.

Often rallies finish with a smash, but setting up the smash requires subtler strokes. For example, a netshot can force the opponent to lift the shuttlecock, which gives an opportunity to smash.

If the netshot is tight and tumbling, then the opponent's lift will not reach the back of the court, which makes the subsequent smash much harder to return.

Deception is also important. Expert players make the preparation for many different strokes look identical, and use slicing to deceive their opponents about the speed or direction of the stroke.