Intensity Increase In August

We made a record 11 badminton bookings in Bt Jalil in August partly due to the long Raya holidays where we took full opportunity to train daily. I had to think about different training methods to keep the boys interested. We introduced video recording during sparring sessions and playback for post game analysis.

Ryan doing rope skipping at Bt Jalil

I also searched in the You Tube for ideas. One of which I found useful was introducing the skipping rope for building stamina and a series of foot exercises. Now before training starts and ends, they had to do pushups, skippings and foot exercises. I used to take them down to the gym to carry weights but the clubs rules prohibited children under 12 from going to the gym. My wife also pressed me to take the kids to jog in Taman Wawasan, a walking distance away from our home.  I still have to find time for this.

In their night drills, I introduced some tricks and deceptive shots just to keep the sessions exciting. They relished the night work outs and I could see that they were more steady in their grip, wrist work and racquet swings.

Ryan’s foot steps and stance were still clumsy. He also could not anticipate his opponent’s shots and therefore was lumbering in retrieving shots. However his back hand flicks and drop shots had improved.

Aaron, on the other hand had an air of elegance in his moves and strokes. However, he was prone to making continual unforced errors when under pressure. He was also prone to injuring himself when going for difficult shots – possibly influenced by diving saves he saw on the TV.  He already sustained a sprain on his left sole and a light pull on his right thigh.

As training wore on, they became sensitive when ever we became critical and this had affected their performances. So much so that they grew temperamental and threw their games away when ever they were losing. There was not a game whereby either one of them ended up not sulking after they had lost their match. We began to realize that they needed variety in sparring partners and perhaps it was a good time now to get them back to MBA to play with their friends again.