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6:41 pm
September 23, 2010
Offline
So as the Badminton season draws to a close I can’t help but feel an overriding sense of disenchantment with badminton after what has been a hugely frustrating season. Furthermore, judging by some of the topics on the forum I guess I’m not the only one. It’s been a while since I contributed on the forum, mainly because I’ve been injured and wanted to ‘remove’ myself completely from the game until I was fit again. In only the second match of the season, waaaay back in September I somehow managed to slightly tear a ligament in my back. Ouch! Luckily my sister is a physio so after some intensive physical therapy I was back on court just before Christmas, I played a match and although my back pain wasn’t too much of a problem, fitness was! Then just as I felt I was getting back to normal, in January I somewhat embarrassingly slipped on some ice and landed exactly where my injury was and I didn’t play again for another month. Anyway, I’m back on court now and a bit overweight and unfit but nothing a bit of promax diet and a few weeks in the gym can’t rectify.
The problem now however is all in my head, even though my back is ostensibly fine I’m worried about hitting certain shots, particularly smashing round the head. The result from this though is that it has completely messed up my backhand! When moving to the rear court I don’t want to arch my back and hit round the head as I usually would so instead at the last second I bottle it and hit a backhand. Of course this means my hitting base is completely wrong and also the shuttle has gone a bit further behind me than I would like. The result is a pathetically lame backhand, from which I can no longer clear, drive or smash properly. Has anybody had this problem or had back injuries inhibit their badminton in any way? As much as I try and rectify this with backhand drills and smash round the head continuously from a feeder I can’t seem to get it right in matches.
…Now for rant number 2! First match back from injury last month I broke my beloved Armortec 600! Gutted! There was a clash of rackets in my men’s doubles (nobody’s fault) and it’s cracked in a couple of places. Then when I looked online to get a new one it’s been discontinued! I think there may be a couple of less reputable looking places (I usually use central sports) that still have it but having read Paul’s review of the VT 70 & 80 I think my head has been turned. Can I justify the price though!?! Also, anybody ever had a frame repaired? Is it worth it?
…And on to rant number 3! My mixed doubles partner! Bless her little heart she turns up for us every match despite getting absolutely panned…it really is quite appalling the treatment she gets from other players who smash at her relentlessly! We lost one of our top ladies before the season started and the only other lady at the club is probably not even 4th division standard (I play in 2nd division of the Westmorland league). She can’t return a high or flick serve, isn’t very mobile and can only really return a short serve high to the rear court (and usually then eats the shuttle). I played with her a couple of seasons back and managed to get a few lucky games but this season with me having back problems I’ve not been able to basically play ‘singles ‘and have not won one mixed game all season (although I have only played 7 matches). Then I’m so demoralised after my mixed that it’s hard
to get myself up for the men’s. Either that or I’m absolutely knackered from my mixed and usually win my first end and lose the second. So in my last match I decided not to give 100% in my mixed but this just made things worse as I think I upset my partner. It’s a tricky situation because I don’t want to risk upsetting her further and her not playing because then we wouldn’t have a team! Any pearls of wisdom would be greatly appreciated or do any of you have any strategies for playing with a very weak lady at the front that at least make you competitive?
Right, rant over; I’m off to club night!
Rich
10:11 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline Whoa, im sorry to hear that Rich! All three of them 😛
I know its a stupid thing to say, but worth saying, have you done some strength work for your back to help give you back some confidence in that part of your body again? Anything to do with core/ lower back/ posture/ mid/upper back SHOULD hopefully help you to feel you are taking the necessary steps to strengthen your back and slowly start to trust it again. Plus the core work will sort out any fitness problems you have pretty sharpish 🙂 Perhaps work on your footwork and leg strength as well to try and make those deep round the head smashes slightly less “deep” in terms of reaching for it.
Its a shame about your racket, those are very fine rackets indeed. I am not sure about a voltric replacement however. As far as I can tell, the VT70 isn't that head heavy (if at all) but it is quite flexible (A LOT of people regard it as a VERY powerful racket), whilst the VT80 is head heavy but seems to be very stiff (which is not at all like the AT600). However, I have NOT played with the AT600, so don't know how it plays compared to the others – it MAY be the case that it takes no getting used to at all. I don't know about the lower end voltrics. Something is nagging inside me that I think the VT7 is head heavy and flexible, but I could have just made that up 😛
Finally, I would recommend helping your mixed partner to work on her reflexes and defensive skills. Encourage her to try and bend her knees a little more, and keep her racket at around tape height in fron of her face (if she is standing quite close to retrieve smashes). This should mean that a simple block with minimal movement is sufficient to return the shuttle. However, I am wondering, when you say not very mobile, is that because she doesn't know any better (having played mainly socially) or is it because of age. Increasing mobility is probably not much of an option for someone who is a little older, but I won't say any more just now until I hear what you say.
You could actually tell her that you are struggling physically, that you are trying very hard, but struggling to do what needs to be done. Maybe you can devise a new tactic for being a little tired? Not always possible, but if she knows maybe it would stop her getting upset at least?
Ultimately, if it is more a game of singles than a good mixed doubles (which can happen if the lady is not very confident in defense and wants to duck away at the net) then i recommend widening and lowering your base stance (your ready position and split step) to try and help see the shuttle earlier (lower is better in general) and to cover the court a little bit more efficiently.
I can't really think of any other suggestions, sorry.
Matt
10:37 pm
March 2, 2010
Offline Wow, what a post. Last years I've played a mixed season with a lady who had really good physical condition (she did quite a bit of running in a week), but for some strange reason this was not demonstrated on court. She had zero technique, returning the shuttle mostly where it came from. We lost all our mix matches that season. After that season, she has quit the club. Although we made a lot of fun with our team (she was a very social person), but playing a second season like that again, no thanks. Advise: sorry, cannot give you any. Good diplomacy ?
As for singles, I took some singles training last year (a lot of footwork, and some technique too), but on court none of that was to be seen. Mostly because I'm always very tense playing singles (realising I'm all alone on that court 
). Now in mens competition, my mates asked me to play in a higher league, and my doubles are so and so (a lot of 3-setter, but won only about 3-4 of them), but my singles were disastrous.
But last meeting, I played a guy who was higher ranked than me (so I started as underdog), and made it a 3-setter. Man, this was the very first time this season I really enjoyed again playing singles. I still do think my good performance was halfly because we played with very very good shuttles (posted somewhere else on this forum). But even so, I was really happy I enjoyed singles again ! Advise: if you're really down, after a long downwards spiral, you have to “search” for positive things, and drag yourself up with those little things. I know my next singles match will be good too. If your technique is gone, what worked for me is on club nights, start focusing on one stroke and use that one as much as you can in all your matches (or even better, take a player aside and train for an hour). If that one is better, focus on another stroke; and so on. If you try to get all your strokes better at the same time, I'd drown ending up with nothing at the end of the season.
Search positive things, and keep them in mind. Do what the title of your post says 
! This forum holds loads of posts about positive mindset, mandatory reading, that is.
All the best, ED
12:03 am
September 23, 2010
Offline Yeah Matt I've got a pretty strict regime of core strengthening and posture exercises to keep me busy and I don't have any trepidation now in pushing my back doing other sports or lifting weights etc. For some reason when I'm on court I just don't feel comfortable (most likely because that was where i injured it in the first place) and its become a vicious circle of my foot work going awry because mentally i don't want to hit certain shots and thus i cant hit them again because my foot work is poor (does that make sense?) I'm hoping that a fresh start next season will solve this problem though.
With regards to the Voltic range (especially the VT80) being a lot different to my Armortec 600 I've never found it a massive issue adjusting to different rackets. In the last 5 years I've played with nanospeeds, muscle powers, armortecs, arcsabers and a few Head rackets too and because I have a bit of an all round game Its not a huge issue for me. However I have digressed away from nanospeeds recently and started to feel the benefits of a flexible shaft and a bit of weight in the head with Armortecs (particularly the 600). I'll probably see if i can demo the VT70 & 80 though first just to make sure they're not unsuitable for my game or what I'm used to.
My mixed doubles partners limited mobility is probably a result of both her age and playing mainly social badminton, she is actually pretty good getting from back to front but struggles side to side. She also has a bad habit of holding her racket by her side and thus struggles to return in any other way than to lift. She is certainly sympathetic to my current physical deficiencies but I'm not sure that at this stage in her badminton life she'd be to willing to work on issues with her technique and mobility. Also, as much as she laments our lack of a another better female player for the team, I still think that the onus is on myself to rise to the challenge and play in a way that makes us as competitive as possible. Its far too easy to say 'i lost because my partner is weak' as the better I play, the more opportunities i will create for her to easily kill the shuttle and hopefully raise her confidence and with it the confidence of our partnership as a whole.
Cheers for the comments guys.
10:43 am
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline Unfortunately, the more I read of your mixed doubles partnership the more I think that Pauls most recent residential weekend solved ALL of these deficiencies in a lot of players!
Im glad to hear about your core work (very sensible – I hope everyone is taking note 🙂 )and would say then that you should practice hitting those shots and incorporate the movement, and slowly increase the difficulty by moving yourself further and further from where the shot is going to be played. I would hope this would increase your confidence to move that longer distance and then play your shot. I recommend this because it sounds as if you can execute your shot, but not at the end of your pressured movement backwards, thus this drill would be exactly right for you 🙂
The voltric 70 is a VERY powerful racket, but I currently use the VT80, and it is without a doubt astounding at just how well it performs. The accuracy of the racket, in particular, as well as its crazy speed in defense, just makes it beautiful to play with. Not to mention the booming smashes now coming off my BG66 Ultimax strings… im in heaven 😛
Matt
6:13 pm
September 23, 2010
Offline Yeah I think you've got it spot on with the drill Matt, I'll try it out tomorrow night and see how it affects my shots. Glad you're enjoying the VT80 mate, are the BG66 strings new? Ive been playing with Nanogy 95 gold for the last couple of years which have been superb but it would be good to try out something else for size.
Cheers
6:49 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline You must understand that I string my own rackets, and can hence afford to restring often if they break. I would expect my strings to last a little over two weeks (given I play about 6 times a week) and BG66-UM is not exactly a durable string – it is similar to BG80 in durability or seems to be so far.
However, the string itself HOLDs tension so much better. It fels much tighter than I thought it would strung at that particular tension, and gives the most fantastic hitting sound. I feel its a very powerful string, but with plenty of control.
What can I say? I have been using it for a little over a week and a half, and I am thoroughly impressed. BG80 was my string of choice beforehand, but I think I have converted!
Matt
11:08 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline
I tested Ultimax 6 weeks ago and think it’s the best of the BG66 series string. In my opinion, it’s a better string than BG80.
When we talk about mixed doubles I can relate to so many stories of my mixed exploits. Without naming names and having a go at anyone, there are many great lessons I learned about mixed from playing with really weak players.
1) My service return has to be really good, especially returns to net or body shots. Pushed shots passed the lady do not help much unless I’m ready for a fast retort to the rear court.
2) The key skill to master is movement from mid court to rear court including recovery. In fact I’ll take that one stage further and say from 1 metre behind service line to rear court. Travelling this distance and maintaining control of the shuttle proved invaluable time and time again. But, I had to ensure my recovery was as good as my movement to the shuttle.
3) Patience is also very important as the tendency is to believe you have to win the point. This leads to snatching and going for half chances that aren’t really on.
Having tested Armortec 600, I would say Voltric 70 is a good upgrade. Whilst my favourite VT80 is better, it may be a bit too head heavy for some.
Paul
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