BADMINTON Special Olympics Sports Skills Program

Strength and Conditioning Activities
Overall fitness is helpful to becoming a good badminton
player. It is important for athletes to work on fitness in the
pre-season and throughout the season. Beyond general
fitness here are two main areas of concentration:
1. Endurance– To play a full match of badminton it is
necessary to expend energy for up to 30 minutes.
Running sprints or court drills with rests in between
can simulate the type of energy output used during a
badminton match.
2. Agility– Moving to intercept the bird is very important
to playing good badminton. Athletes should practice
agility drills on the court as a part of each practice.
These can be a fun part of practice, not drudgery.
• Four Corners Shuttle Replacement Drill– An athlete
starts with one bird in hand and one bird in each of
the four corners of the court. On signal, the athlete
moves in a set pattern to each of the four corners and
replaces the shuttle on the floor with the one in hand.
This could be timed, or by number of repetitions.
Groups of two or three allow natural rest breaks
between turns. This way, four courts can easily
handle 24 athletes.
• Around the Court Rallies: In teams of three-four, see
h ow long they can keep the shuttle in play. Each playe r
gets one hit followed by running to the opposite side
of the court in a pre-set direction to avoid collisions.
Set a gold, silver, and bronze medal challenge level for
the day. Adjust in subsequent practice sessions for a
m o r e appropriate challenge. Group players by ability
and give different challenge goals for each group.
• Running Drills– Starting at the doubles sideline,
athletes sprint to the far doubles sideline and return
to the starting point. Next, they run to the singles
sideline and return; center service line and return;
singles sideline and return.
Variations
• Use a sidestepping shuffle instead of a sprint.
• Use a "karioke" step: sideways run alternating right
leg crossing over in front and then left leg crossing
over in front.
Off the court, athletes can improve their badminton by rope
jumping, basketball, fencing, and other cross-training
activities requiring leg strength, agility, and balance. Strength
and endurance training programs using weight training can
also be developed for intermediate and advanced athletes.
However, weight training for beginning players should not
be a high priority.
Special Olympics Badminton Sports Skills Program
Home Fitness
A sport is much easier and more enjoyable to play or
perform if the athlete is aerobically fit and strong and can
use proper technique. All three of these aspects can be
greatly improved during all times of the year. The objective
of a home fitness program is to teach each athlete a series
of strength and conditioning exercises and supervise the
sessions until he/she can perform them on his/her own.
Begin with shorter and easier practices and increase the
amount of time and challenge as the athletes become
comfortable with the exercises. Do the same sequence
each session and have athletes repeat it three times a week.
Technique practice can be incorporated into the strength and
conditioning program; however, athletes must be supervised
to ensure that they are performing the techniques properly.
A sample Home Training Program is provided below.
Home Training Program
The skills of badminton are increasingly more difficult to
practice in the home setting because most athletes will not
h ave a gym ava i l a ble to them at home. Howeve r, there are
times during many days where the wind is calm, and some
badminton related skills can be practiced. The following skill
and fitness activities are encouraged for the badminton athlete:
Skills Activities
1.Hit ups to self using both forehand and backhand strokes.
Record your best score every day each week.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
2 . Hit long serves for distance. Record the number of total
attempts each day. 25 serves eve ry day would be a good goal.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
3. Perform underhand rallies with a partner. Record your
highest number every day.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
4. Perform overhand rallies with a partner. Record your
highest number every day.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Fitness Activities
1.Go out for 20 minutes, walking, jogging, in-line skating,
or bike riding every day. Variety is healthy.
2.Rope jump with a friend and take turns starting with 1-2
minute intervals. Build up to 5-10 minutes of continuous
jumping.
3.Mark off the dimensions of a badminton court and move
through the four-corner movement pattern. Progress from
slow speed to medium speed to fast speed at 1-2 minute
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