Birmingham Badminton colts - club nights

The overriding aim of the club is to improve technical and tactical badminton skills with appropriate coaching and practises. There will be emphasis on movement and footwork, but also singles and doubles tactical awareness and court positioning. The sessions will also be fun and enjoyable, and also interactive between the coaches and children, to ensure individual objectives are being met. It is hoped this club will be a link to the county squads, & a main focal point for junior badminton in Birmingham.

Dates and times

The junior 'colts' club runs on Thursday evenings 8-10.30pm at Colmers Leisure Centre, Bristol Rd South, Rednal, Rubery, Birmingham. We have 4 courts in the main hall.

The club runs does shut for Christmas and Easter, and at other times if hall is required by the school, for example by the school for exams.

The club operates an advance block payment of fees. This depends on the number of open weeks per quarter, but works out at approx £2.00 per session (i.e. we charge £20 for a 10 week quarter). Any missed weeks cannot be redeemed.

The predominant age range of the club is 13-17 years. Some of the children will have progressed from our sister club the ‘South Birmingham Junior Badminton Club’ (for 8-16 years, based at Colmers leisure centre). We are looking for players who have played badminton before but are willing to improve their game with targeted, relevant coaching. We will be limiting numbers to ensure quality coaching and maximum court time.

The club uses feather shuttles, we also have rackets to borrow. You will need to wear appropriate shirt/blouse and shorts/skirt, please do not wear football tops. You’ll need to wear ‘court’ shoes with a non-marking sole (usually not black soles). The coaches can give advice on a suitable racket to play with, and the best/cheapest place to buy this from. We do sell quality, ‘starter’ Yonex rackets at a subsidised price of £15.

There are shower and changing facilities available. You will need to bring a drink (preferably water/squash), although drinks and snacks are available to buy from the centre.

On reaching a certain standard you will have the opportunity to move into the adult club at Colmers Farm, where you will play mainly mixed and level doubles, and also have the opportunity to play in the local leagues.

We also organise other badminton related activities. These include friendly matches with other junior clubs. There will also be occasional outings to local badminton events, such as the All England Championships held at the National Indoor Arena.

Coaches/organisers

Glen Spencer is the head coach for this club, but there are 5 other coaches who will be assisting: These are Allan Ho, Phil Darlow and Suzanne Preen. Glen, Phil and Allan qualified as badminton coaches in January 1997, each gaining a Coach Part 1 award. Phil and Glen completed the more advanced Coach Part 2 award in 2004 and 2005 respectively. All are assimilating to the new coaching structure. Chris and Suzanne have attained Level 1 and are qualified to assist. All are experienced badminton players, and have been playing for several years at Colmers Farm. The coaches are fully affiliated to Badminton England and are CRB registered (police checked).  Please ask if you wish to see proof of this. We also have emergency first aid training.

We are also placing some of our more 'senior' junior colt club members on Level 1 coaching courses, with the aim that these will further strengthen our coaching team over the coming weeks.

For more information please email Glen Spencer.

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