Two days of invaluable insights on various aspects of sports training, preparation and performance await participants at the BWF World Coaching Conference in Copenhagen. To be held on 24 and 25 August during the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023, the conference will have presentations from renowned experts, from badminton and the wider sporting world.
It will be an opportunity for participants to gain from the latest advances in sport – be it training methods, coaching and team work, or mental preparation and injury management.
For the panellists, there is the opportunity to share hard-earned knowledge gained in their niche areas with other keen students of sport.
Among those excited about the conference is Jan Ekstrand, who led a UEFA study on elite club injuries in football over 20 years. Ekstrand will speak on injuries in sport and the role of communication in preventing injuries.
Ekstrand believes that the role of coaches is extremely important in injury management, and he’s thrilled that coaches are part of the conference.
“I have worked with football medicine and elite football for more than 20 years, and the big problem we have is to get coaches on board,” said Ekstrand, who was team physician for the Swedish football team for 120 matches.
“All the studies are well known in football medicine, but the coaches are not on board, and they are the most important persons for the health of the athletes. That’s why this conference is very interesting, because it’s a conference for coaches and that is fantastic, to have the possibility to talk to coaches, because they are the ones deciding about the injury situation.”
The topics covered include Para badminton. Yan Kit Chan, former Hong Kong China player and subsequently coach at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, will make a presentation on training for elite wheelchair athletes with Para badminton star Chan Ho Yuen Daniel.
The motivation for Daniel extends beyond the opportunity to soak in fresh insights. The Paralympics bronze medallist looks at the conference as a platform to show that excellence can thrive in any part of the world, even if dwarfed by size or resources.
“It’s quite important. I’m very pleased to be invited to be part of the World Coaching Conference,” said Daniel.
“We can show how a small city like Hong Kong, even though we are not as big as China, Japan, Korea or Indonesia, we still have some good players from small places, if you train or coach the right way.
“For us, in the past, there was a limit to learning about Para badminton in Hong Kong because we had no teachers; we were the pioneers. Me and my coach did a lot of research and investigated about other teams and now we have our system and our way.
“For example, my coach will bring a special trolley to Copenhagen to show that even though he’s not playing with the wheelchair, he can still train with us at the same height. Our team designed it. I’m looking forward to the conference… we can show that our ability and level are quite high.”
While accomplished badminton stars such as Ra Kyung Min and Christinna Pedersen will delve into the technical aspects of elite badminton, former Danish national coach Kenneth Larsen will speak about new approaches in coaching. There will be a session on contemporary badminton as well, with Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus presenting his podcast live, with Pedersen as one of his guests.
Apart from Jan Ekstrand, speakers include Ben Ryan (Director of Elite Performance, Brentford Football Club), Andy Wood (former Team GB Head Coach) and Alistair Higham (former LTA Head of Coach Education). Wood and Higham’s joint presentation is titled ‘Momentum, Match Flow and the Art of Competing’.
The conference also offers the opportunity for participants to learn about Team China’s approach towards preparation. Cristian Luque Manjon, strength and conditioning coach of the Chinese team, will speak on physical preparation in elite badminton and Para badminton athletes.
