South Australia’s Champion delivers development program in the Northern Territory

South Australian Badminton Senior and Junior State Coach Tom Champion made the trip up to the Northern Territory last week to hold a two-day development camp.

The camp held at Badminton NT in Darwin covered all relevant skills from how to conduct a proper warm-up all the way through to learning advanced technical elements of the sport.

One of Badminton Australia’s goals is to deliver numerous camps each year across all states and territories to enhance the overall development of athletes and coaches.

“The standout of the camp was the real sense of community and teamwork between the coaches and players, and I was welcomed into that straight away,” Champion said.

“They were all keen to learn and both players and coaches welcomed any feedback given. Over the course of the two days, I covered the technical, tactical and physical elements of their badminton.

“Having a smaller group allowed me to spend quality time with each individual and really add value to their game.”

The first day swung into action with warm-up essentials, followed by footwork drills which

focused on the transition to and from each corner of the singles court, finally capping off the morning with some one-on-one and coach fed drills.

Once back on court for the afternoon session, the participants then started looking at front court technical essentials.

“I provided the players with three key areas to focus on and showed them how to feed each other so they can continue conducting these drills in the future,” Champion said.

“I thought they all did well and were determined to correct any areas that I pointed out to them. We finished off Saturday with some net games to bring a competitive aspect whilst still trying to apply what they have been practicing.”

Once back on court on Sunday morning the group conducted a singles based multi-feed session focusing on singles attack and defence. This session also allowed Champion to work directly with NT Badminton coach Alex Cao to refine his shuttle feeding technique so he can use these drills with his athletes.

The camp concluded in the afternoon with a session focused around servicing technical, understanding of returning in both singles and doubles, and an array of fun games.

“It was pleasing to see such quick improvement and willingness to learn throughout the whole camp,” Champion said.

“A big thank you to Alex, Karel and Rod who made my two days very enjoyable and easy, it was clear to see that they really care about the players they coach and will go above and beyond for badminton in the NT.”

Head to https://ntbadminton.org.au/ to discover more on what’s happening within the Northern Territory’s badminton community.