The two-day BWF World Coaching Conference, held during the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023, was a platform for the expression of ideas and sharing of knowledge on various aspects of badminton, besides providing an opportunity to question long-held beliefs. Around 120 coaches from 44 Member Associations participated.
The questioning of established beliefs was by former Denmark national coach Kenneth Larsen, who wondered why the coach-player relationship was always uni-directional, with the coach as giver of knowledge and the player as passive recipient. In Larsen’s view, the coach’s role would be to help players think more clearly and make better decisions rather than instructing them at every stage. Using two pairs on court, Larsen demonstrated a few interesting exercises by which the players could be provoked to think of solutions on their own rather than depending on instructions from the coach.
Ben Ryan presenting
Photo Credit: Badmintonphoto
The presentations revolved around match play, training, preparation and injuries, but Ben Ryan, Director of Brentford Football Club, took the audience through an engrossing personal journey of building Fiji’s Olympic gold medal winning rugby team. Delivered with wit and humour, Ryan’s talk dwelt less on technique or methods and more on the human element of building a winning team.
Ra Kyung Min presenting
Photo Credit: Badmintonphoto
Korean legend Ra Kyung Min’s presentation was devoted to mixed doubles tactics, while momentum and match play were discussed by former GB head coach Andy Wood and match play expert Alistair Higham. The audience were also treated to insights on physical preparation in elite badminton and Para badminton athletes by Cristian Luque Manjon, strength and conditioning coach with Team China.
It wasn’t all about able-bodied sport. Paralympic bronze medallist Chan Ho Yuen Daniel and his coach Yan Kit Chan delivered a session on elite wheelchair training. The duo used a specially-designed wheelchair that enables able-bodied coaches to execute specific training drills.
Hans Kristian Solberg Vittinghus, Christinna Pedersen and Ra Kyung Min in discussion
Photo credit: Badmintonphoto
Injury is part and parcel of sport, and the BWF Coaching Conference had the honour of hosting Jan Ekstrand, who had spent 20 years leading the UEFA Elite Club Injury Study. The conference also had several ‘Speed Station Presentations’ delivered by experts involved with BWF’s sports science projects, including Anil Ramachandran (post-match recovery); Sofie Kent (stress and dual career); Mark King (smash performance) and Niels Christian Kaldau (ACL injuries). BWF Development Director Ian Wright also delivered a Speed Station Presentation on AirBadminton. Elite player and popular podcaster Hans Kristian Solberg Vittinghus shared the stage with greats Christinna Pedersen and Ra Kyung Min, taking them down memory lane and bringing a conversational style in contrast to the more serious presentations.
Elite player and popular podcaster Hans Kristian Solberg Vittinghus shared the stage with greats Christinna Pedersen and Ra Kyung Min, taking them down memory lane and bringing a conversational style in contrast to the more serious presentations.
