Badminton

Badminton is a major part of my life.  I’ve been on and off doing badminton coaching on part-time basis. I started my private coaching back in 2003 after my retirement from the international competition. I’m very low-profile after my retirement. I seldom blog about badminton and coaching, mainly because i want to protect some form of privacy without disclosing too much of the players that I’m coaching.

My coaching principle is very much influence by my experience as a player and my intention is to EMPOWER my players not only to be competence in the knowledge of badminton but also have the right attitude,discipline outside the court. I’ve been coaching the youngsters age between 5-12, and 13-18 years old. Most coaches would want the easy job by choosing the talented players to train. The fast and effective way to get credibility. For me, i started out coaching a not-so-talented players and i worked very hard and have to challenge myself to think of a way how to improve their weaknesses. That is when i realize that a coach’s job is not easy – you need to solve problem and to gain the player’s respect and trust by being a role model and their mentor.

Players who joined my training knew that I values relationship and quality of training. It’s about the of passion for the game of badminton and I’m hoping among these players, maybe one or two could fulfill and reach a higher level that i can never reach before. Most of them want to fight for a chance to be selected for the national junior squad. My objective is very clear – to guide these players to be the future champion. It’s not easy to produce a champion. There are too many requirements for the players themselves plus the external factors such as support system and good timing. Successful player like Chong Wei fulfilled all this requirements and emerged as one of the world top player today.

Over the years, I’ve seen with my own eyes how many talented players end up going no where in their badminton career. In Malaysia, the chances for girls to represent the country is higher than the boys. However, it will be very difficult for the girls to go far in the national team if there is no better sparring partner and international tournament exposure.

As a psychology major, my badminton coaching will be very much base on cognitive learning. Besides that, my area of interest would be in motivation and peak performance. Overall, badminton coaching in Malaysia has becoming more competitive.What makes me a better coach than others? Psychology knowledge. The key is to understand the player’s psychology being and help them to overcome their needs and fears and at the same time motivate and empower them not only be a better player but also a better person.

I remembered when I’m in the midst of giving up studying psychology, my godfather told me – if you give up now, you are going to miss the chance to be the first Malaysian badminton coach with psychology qualification/sport psychologist. I’m glad that i persisted and today, i believe with the experience and knowledge that i have, i hope i can make a difference in Malaysian badminton in empowering the future champions.