Children in Sport - Part 4
Author: Jake Downey
Date: 08 Feb 2007
Category: Jake Downey
Article 4 - Don't over-specialise
In this article I want to consider the development of young players during the Secondary school years (11- 16).
These are important years as they are such significant physical and mental changes taking place. Children experience puberty, adolescence and the growth spurt, in which bones and muscles develop at different rates as, as they grow into young adults. During this 11-16 age period children are also developing their knowledge and understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. For the keen young athlete sport can play an important role in his/her self development. It is important therefore that parents and coaches are aware of the various influences that help to shape their lives during this period. Badminton cannot be learned in isolation - it is very much a part of a total social context.
The future champion
To some extent this is the period when many are looking for the future champion - that rare player with the ability and potential to attain the highest standards. Indeed it may be possible to identify young players with talent and potential but it is certainly not possible to identify the future champion. There are too many ‘ifs and buts' attached to such a prediction when making judgements about the potential of young players.
For this reason I believe it is futile to attempt to predict the future of children at an early age. What we should do is to create an environment in which young players can progress happily developing their talents at their own rate until such time as they decide that "Badminton is for me!" and then commit themselves fully to achieving excellence in the game.
General skills, fitness and health
The type of environment needed is similar to the one described for junior school children. Young players between 11-16 years need to develop their general ball and movement skills to a greater extent, their tactical awareness, their general fitness and health, their sporting and competitive attitudes and, of most importance, work hard in practice to develop their badminton skills.This is best achieved if allowed to develop naturally through participation in a full physical education or sports programme in school and/or in extra-curricular activities. Too specialise mainly on badminton can hinder such a development.
In my experience many of the top players I have met have been skilful in a range of sports which would indicate that time must have been spent on those sports and not just badminton. Unfortunately, perhaps because of poor physical education programmes in the schools or because of too much emphasis on badminton, too many young players have limited experience in other sports and are sadly lacking in their range of movement skills and tactical awareness.
Other sports
Team games such as football, rugby, basketball, netball, volleyball and hockey are not only excellent for developing general fitness and tactical awareness but also for developing a range of movement skills so essential for badminton, e.g. starting and stopping, dodging and swerving, jumping and landing. Rounders, softball, baseball and cricket help to develop hand and eye co-ordination and throwing and catching skills. Tennis, squash and table tennis help to develop general racket skills and tactical understanding.
Athletics contributes to endurance, strength and speed, whilst such sports as ice and roller skating are ideal for developing body control, posture and balance as well as a feel for the flow of movement. Gymnastics and swimming are excellent for all-round fitness, body awareness, flexibility, strength and power. These and other sports: wind surfing, surfing, skateboarding, cycling, skiing and climbing all contribute to the promotion of skill, general health and fitness to to keeping badminton in perspective in a sporting lifestyle.
Specialisation
I believe that narrow specialisation need not take place until a player has reached the age of 16 or thereabouts. A good time to begin is when GCSE's or their equivalent are completed and when young players are able to leave school.
No doubt many readers will immediately feel concern and denounce this as too late to specialise. Their concern would be unnecessary. A well organised badminton programme with the emphasis on achievement in the development of skill through meaningful practices and lots of games play and competition would soon raise the players' standards; and as long as the players have experienced a rich range of other sports and developed a healthy attitude to badminton they should possess all the ingredients necessary to achieve future success - if they want to. There is ample evidence of this among top racket players:
- Bjorn Borg - talented at table tennis and ice hockey as well as his tennis.
- Boris Becker - football as well as tennis.
- Judy Hashman - first class tennis player as well as 10 times All England badminton champion.
- Anne Jones - in three world championship table tennis finals as well being Wimbledon tennis single champion.
- Nora Perry - County tennis player and World badminton World doubles and mixed doubles winner.
- Jane Webster - County tennis and World badminton Doubles champion.
- Martin Dew - county cricket, single figure golfer and world class badminton.
- Morton Frost - four times All England champion - played a lot of football and athletics before he decided to concentrate on badminton.
All these players specialised at a later age after first playing lots of sports. I am sure that the same can be said of many other badminton champions.
Unfortunately to take part in a variety of sports takes time. You might ask how to make such time to fit other sports in when badminton is so time consuming. One answer is to cut down on badminton commitments and make more effective use of the time available. If young players fully appreciated the importance of regular practice and made time to practise properly then it might be more in their interests to compete in less tournaments during the season and to attend less squad sessions. This however may often be more difficult than it seems. There is a problem.
Problems for talented young players
I often think that the worst thing for any young player is to show their talents at too early at age. Overnight the player can become the future champion. He or she is expected to play for the school, the county juniors, the regions, the national schools squad, the national governing bodies squads and so on. They are expected to attend practices, team matches and tournaments. Eventually the player does not have a life of his own - all other sports and activities have to be sacrificed for badminton. Even in the off season sessions are arranged to get ready for the season and precious time is taken up from doing other sports. Promising players end up with several coaches and officials each one running a different squad all competing to ensure that the young player attends their sessions and plays for their team. Non attendance at a squad session or a tournament can result in being dropped from team or being denied help. Very little of this is in the interests of the player and certainly does not help in their development as players. But that is a problem for parents to sort out and prevent when it gets out of hand. If they apply the yardstick of what is in the interests of their children as persons first and players second - they will make the right decisions.
Some general recommendations
- Between 11-16 years of age the emphasis should be on the development of skill through regular practice and play.
- General skill and fitness should be developed through participation in a variety of sports and play.
- Badminton should be seen as part of a healthy life style in which study, other sports and social life all have an important part to play.
- Parents and coaches should encourage young people to participate in a variety of other sports and maintain a balanced social life.
- Players should be given the choice of not having to attend squads without it jeopardising their selection for teams.
- Parents and coaches should carefully monitor the amount of attendance at squad sessions to esnure that young players are not neglecting other important activities.
- Parents, coaches and officials should allow for a slower rate of improvement during important school examination years.
- Parents, coaches and officials should make allowance for growth changes in children and be sensitive to the concerns of children who may be late developers - all this especially in the area of performance in competition.
- Parents, coaches and officials should keep winning and losing in perspective and not attach too much importance to them during the players' formative years. They should encourage players to do the same. It may be difficult to keep winning and losing in perspective in a competitive game especially when ‘trying to win' is what the game is all about. But if competition is seen as a learning experience and a a means of testing one's progress as a player, then winning and losing can be kept in perspective. As Bertrand Russell once wrote about the significance of sport, that "the loser always lives to fight another day".
This period between 11 and 16 years should be about getting better at the art of playing badminton.
© Jake Downey 2002
