There are many aspects to badminton, and becoming a good player means learning new skills and constantly evaluating your technique. Luckily, there are beginner badminton drills for every aspect of the game from serving to conditioning, and when you’re beginning from the bottom, learning the basics of each aspect of the game is essential.

Gripping the Racket

The Best racket should be held as if it is an axe, with the head perpendicular to the floor when held in front of you. the handle should be gripped loosely with the bottom of the racket level with the bottom of the hand and fingers spaced slightly with small gaps between them. The grip should only be tightened upon impact with the shuttle.

Beginner Badminton Drills for Positioning

The ready position is essential and is about 6 feet behind the service line, at an equal distance from the edges of the court. You should get ready with a somewhat wider stance: your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Your weight should be lowered a little and shifted forwards onto the balls of your feet, with your knees bent slightly. You should keep your body relaxed and don’t lean too far forwards. If you hold your racquet in your right hand your right foot should be slightly ahead of your left foot by about half a foot length, if you hold your racquet in your left hand, then your left foot should be slightly ahead. This will put you in the best position to quickly move when your opponent takes their shot.

Beginner Badminton Drills for Stepping

In badminton, the way you move around the court may be a little different to what you are used to. Generally speaking, you should step when moving forwards and shuffle when moving backwards, at first learning not to step backwards may be difficult for some newbies to grasp but it is well worth drilling as it will make moving around the court much faster. This is not set in stone and the exceptions to this rule will become evident when you play and get more experienced.

Beginner Badminton Drills for the Movement.

The following drill is aimed at increasing your speed and acceleration from the ready position described earlier. Many beginners are slow at pushing off because they don’t use their strength correctly.

When pushing off you should use your ankle and calf strength by starting with your weight on your toes or even with your heels slightly off the ground and making a small jump before you move to use the energy stored in your tendons. The jump should be small and fast keeping your feet close to the ground as lifting your legs up high is just wasting valuable time. If done correctly this small jump will allow you to accelerate much faster in whichever direction you choose and is why most professional players do this small jump to increase the power of their push off against the ground.

A good way to practice this is by skipping, making sure to lift the feet only just high enough to let the rope pass beneath to simulate this movement as closely as possible and to develop strength and explosiveness in your calves and ankles.

Practicing the basic shots is one of the best drills a beginner can do. These shots include:

Serving

Drop shots

Net Shots

Smashes

These can be made easier by having a partner throw the shuttle up to be hit, to practice specific shots, rather than trying to practice random shots all at once in a rally. Though as you get more advanced, training will be much more effective if a partner has hit the shuttle to the place where you are to take the shot you are practicing.

You must practice your beginner badminton drills a few times per week before your regular training if possible so you are still fresh when doing them and are more likely to use correct form.