Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts in the last while it has been a really busy time for me with work and training but I'm back and excited to post some of the topics I have been working on!
For this post anyway, I have decided to discuss briefly about how you can develop your game as a player and how key individuals such as family, friends and coaches in particular can play a role. I think that it is very difficult to get the balance between how much interaction you need. For example, "Do you need you parents at the back of the court?" This can be up for discussion and if I am being totally honest a discussion that could go on for years and years. There is no right or wrong answer. As children, we tend to like having someone at the back of the court or on the sideline to cheer us on and give us that extra bit of motivation. But how much is enough? For me, I grew up having my mum, a great badminton player herself to coach me and I am forever thankful to her for that. She has helped me get to where I am today. But I think back sometimes and say to myself "Well what if Mum didn't come on and coach me this time?". Only as I got older I really began to think for myself. It must have been under 17 level before I said to my mum "I can do this for myself now." It started out maybe I was in my last year under 15 and I didn't want my mum to come on to me at all the breaks in my matches. I told her I would give her a signal to come on if I felt I needed her. It was at this stage that I started to think for myself and really work for the games that I won. Thinking out a game was easy for my mum and all she had t do was tell me what to do and I could execute it, making her job that bit easier. But I wanted to do it for myself. I wanted to think it out because that's all part of the sport isn't it?
For me, that was the first big step in my development into the player I am today. Because when I play tournaments abroad I am often by myself and you need to be able to play the game and think about the game. It is not enough to just have all the shots. You need to have the shots, the ability to think out the game as well as the ability to read into your opponent. Whether that's pre-match video analysis or during the game being able to tell what they are thinking, it is all important in your development. This post is very simple, in that I am not going into too much detail. It is simply, "How do I move away from the simple things?" and "How do I get myself ahead of that guy who is the same standard as me?". If you want to be the best you have to work for it, it's not going to be handed to you. One of my favorite quotes from a great athlete, Muhammad Ali is this: "Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you." In simple words, if you push yourself to be the best you can be then no one will stand in your way. You are your own worst enemy. You must want it to get there. No one ever said it was easy.
Anyway, let's bounce back to the topic, there are four key components of a successful athlete. Are they mentally capable? Are the physically able to compete at the required level? Do they have the technical skills? Are they tactically aware? These topics I have touched on above briefly but in short these are the characteristics we are looking for in successful athletes. The list is endless though, it doesn't just end at theses four minor headings. They are headings with endless attributes attached to them. As coaches, we need to be able to aid our players in their development. At the end of the day, a coach is there to help this athlete achieve his or her goals. Sounds simple but it is a team effort. No athlete who competes at the highest level, wins a major tournament and says it was their own doing. That's not the way in sport. There is a whole team behind the scenes that get the athlete to reach their goals. As youth athletes go, We have our parents, our coaches and our friends (mainly those we train with). But it is a team effort, we are not on our own even though it may feel like that in an individual sport.
I have worked with many coaches as a player and I have developed many different playing styles and I have had a lot to learn from all my different coaches, all whom have different styles and who had slightly different roles to play in my development. My mum, my first coach had a completely different role than that of my current coaches as my mum developed my love for the sport and my current coaches are developing me as a player and helping me develop my game so that I can reach my goals and perform at the highest level. But looking back now, all my coaches played a vital part in my development at different stages in my career.My advice to you though is to do what feels right. If you want to have a parent or a coach come onto you during your game then so be it, that may be what's best for you! If not, why not say to your parents "look, I would really rather work this one out for myself". Parents are here to help, they want the best for their children and when the time comes for the player to move on and do it for themselves then so be it.
Thanks for reading guys! I hope to have some more posts up in the next few weeks. Feel free to share or comment with any questions/post suggestions!
Talk Soon!
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