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Delve into the Strategies #1: Badminton

  • November 4, 2022

 John Ruther Delos Santos

So you want to pick up Badminton, an interesting sport that doesn't get nearly as much recognition as it deserves. At first, you may not know what to do, or how to succeed. You don't know what you are doing wrong. Well, to start, a common problem is focusing too much on the physical aspects of the game, when in reality, succeeding requires focusing more on the mental aspects.

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Nathan Song, a senior who is known amongst his team as one of the best in the                          business, fully supports this idea of focusing on the mental aspects of the sport to succeed. When asked how he plays, he describes it as one big mind game. "It's all about pacing and I think that it's trying to keep your opponents on edge and trying to have that upper hand and continuously pressuring them; physically and mentally. Physically, you want to keep attacking, and mentally, you want to keep moving them around and tiring them out and making them think what their next move is gonna be." In short, to succeed in this 

sport, it's important to get into the enemy's head. Repeated attacks will wear them down, and this, in turn, will keep their head scrambled and in a frenzy; worried about what YOU are going to do next. 

More examples that Nathan listed involved continuously faking the enemy out. "I do find myself succeeding when I drop often in order to make the opponent lift so that we have the opportunity to smash, or to kill."  For those that are not as experienced, Nathan is stating that a solid strategy involves faking a smash (similar to a spike in volleyball) to get the enemy to stay in the middle zone of the court. You then proceed to do a weak hit instead, that will barely get over the net, forcing the enemy to sprint to the front and hit the shuttlecock (the ball) in such an awkward position that will allow you to smash it away from the opponent, allowing you to win the round. Having a good mental game is important in teams as well.  In doubles, the sport's team game, Nathan suggests not picking the best person in the team, but instead, selecting the person that you would work best with. "My top priorities when playing is trying to communicate and find the 

right positioning, because if you get confused with your teammate and end up bumping into each other, it really affects your mental game for the rest of the game and you really want to have- you really want the best synergy with your teammate." 

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In fact, Nathan stresses the importance of having a strong mental game; staying strong allows you to perform significantly better in the game, and can open up new ideas that may not have been clear if you were frustrated, such as keeping your eyes on the shuttlecock, maintaining good footwork, not exaggerating movements to waste energy, and always putting yourself in the best position on the court.
 

 

 

However, Badminton doesn't shy away from physical requirements, as even Nathan, who has been in multiple sports, claims it's a very stamina-inducing sport. This is why it's highly recommended that you are in shape when you pull up to the court. But in retrospect, the key strategy of winning is keeping a clear head while getting into the head of the enemy team. Fake them out with drop shots, don't get frustrated, and keep your eyes on the shuttlecock, your footwork, where you are on the court, and how much stamina you have for the rest of the game.

 

 

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