BADMINTON Special Olympics Sports Skills Program

Basic Skills
The game of badminton is a wonderful sport that requires
hand-eye coordination, striking skills, and quick movements
and changes of directions in pursuit of the shuttlecock. The
following basic skills are vital to this Olympic sport.
1. Grip
2. Underhand strokes
3. Low short serve
4. Ready position
5. Serve returns
6. Underhand net rally
7. High deep serve
8. Forehand overhead clear
Basic Skill #1
Grip
It is important to start by holding the racket with the correct
grip. This will enable the athlete to develop sound hitting
techniques that will transfer into successful game play.
Assessment of Each Athlete’s Skill Level
Beginners will often grip the racket as they would hold a
frying pan (incorrect grip). In this position, the racket face is
parallel to the floor, and the V formed between the index
finger and the thumb is on the top of the racket. Beginners
will also have difficulty judging the relationship of the head
of the racket to the shuttle.
Intermediate players are aware of the correct grip and
demonstrate a correct shake hands grip position. Intermediate
players will consistently be able to hit the shuttle up to
themselves 10-20 times in a row.
Steps to Teach the Handshake Grip
• Hold the racket shaft with the nondominant hand.
• Place the palm of the dominant hand on the strings of
the racket and slide the hand down to the handle
position in a shake hands-like grip.
• Separate the index finger slightly from the rest of the
fingers in a trigger-like position.
• The thumb and index finger should form a V at the top
of the racket with the head of the racket perpendicular
to the floor, like a chopping wood position.
• This grip is the basic grip for both the forehand and
backhand grips.
• The main variation to this grip is the movement of the
thumb upward along the backside of the racket for
backhand strokes (F i g u res 1-2).
2 8
9. Forehand overhead drop
10. Forehand overhead smash
11. Backhand overhead clear
12. Backhand overhead drop
13. Backhand overhead smash
14. Forehand and backhand drive
Drills
Figure 1
1. Shuttle Balance Drill
Place a shuttle lying sideways on the strings of the racket and
balance it in a stationary position and while performing all
types of locomotor movements (i.e., walk, jog, hop, skip,
jump). The handshake grip should be maintained at all times.
2. Partner Tag
Play a partner tag game while balancing the shuttle on the
racket. For safety, partners would be limited to half of a
badminton court space.
3. Toss and Catch Drill
• With the nondominant hand, attempt to toss the shuttle
and catch it on the racket.
• Attempt to catch the shuttle on the forehand and
backhand side of the racket.
• Toss the shuttle so that you have to move to catch it on
both sides of the racket.
• See if you can catch 10 in a row.
Cue Words
• Shake hands
• Trigger finger
• Relaxed grip
Suggestions for the Te a c h e r / C o a c h
Figure 2
G ive the athletes lots of opportunities to hold the shuttle
on the racket and toss the shuttle up to themselves. It is
excellent hand-eye coordination practice and gives you
a good opportunity to check grips. If extremely
difficult for some athletes, consider using a 10-16 cm
(4-6 inch) foam ball and/or use a shorter length racket.
Choking up on the current racket may be the first
attempt before changing to a shorter racket length.