Lilit Poghosyan, Armenia’s U17 National Team coach, continues working towards the development and promotion of badminton in Armenia. Last Sunday, in Yerevan, Poghosyan organized a workshop called “Ready to play” focusing on the importance of basic motor skills in badminton. The workshop was organized through Badminton Europe’s “ADVANCE” badminton coaching education course and brought together twenty-two badminton enthusiasts from Armenia, eager to enhance their understanding and proficiency in badminton.
ADVANCE Badminton Coaching Education through the development of a European Badminton Coaching Framework, addresses the topic of the promotion of education in and through sport with a special focus on skills development, as well as support the implementation of the EU guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes. The project addresses this topic as it seeks to develop and improve badminton coaching education at European level.
The lead applicant of ADVANCE, Badminton Europe Confederation, was organizing four project’s pilot courses held in Denmark, the Netherlands, Scotland and Germany. As part of the program, the coaches had to deliver a workshop in their own countries.
The workshop organized by Lilit Poghosyan, began by shedding light on the significance of motor skills in badminton. Dynamic balance, coordination, quickness, and agility were identified as key components essential for excelling in badminton.
After a quick introduction, the participants quickly delved into an icebreaker activity to get to know each other and build a positive learning atmosphere in the hall. While most of the U13, U15 and U17 players knew each other from previous trainings and tournaments, it was especially notable to have the hobby players join in with the kids to learn and share their experience:
“It is always so motivational to be included in trainings with the professional players from Armenia. We learn so much from them and they are very nice to communicate with. Thanks to Lilit, we are here for a badminton workshop today, something we have never done before. I really love how she manages to connect people through this amazing sport, it’s very inspiring.” – said one of the hobby players.
After warming up their communication skills, it was time to warm-up and get the body ready for some challenging motor skills activities, followed by a quiz game to challenge their knowledge. A quiz game was organized for five teams after the presentations of each component.
When asked about her impressions from the workshop, Lilit Poghosyan answered:
“It was such an amazing experience to organize a badminton workshop in Armenia for the first time. I can see how the players are motivated to be included in different projects and I am happy to see that my efforts of building a badminton culture in my country continues to be a success. With this workshop, I was aiming to help the players understand why we move the way we move and why we do what we do in badminton. I hope the practical exercises will give some fresh ideas of trainings for the players”.
The workshop on the importance of basic motor skills in badminton proved to be an invaluable experience for participants eager to elevate their game. Participants left with a deeper understanding of the critical components of dynamic balance, coordination, quickness and agility and how these skills directly contribute to success in badminton. The practical exercises and insightful discussions provided a solid foundation for participants to continue taking their game to new heights.
