Increased take up of Badminton with Plusballs
The Plusballs Method which uses ultra-light, slow-moving plusballs in the coaching of Racket Skills, is well underway in six primary schools in Gloucestershire and will be replicated in many other counties. Qualified and experienced coaches are leading courses of ten, hour-long sessions in primary schools at the end of the school day. The balls provide the “hook” to fascinate and motivate children, which may develop into future long-term participation.
In their first session, youngsters are able to maintain rallies, which would be impossible with normal missiles. What is more, they may strike a plusball over two thousand times in a session, compared with a few dozen in the case of shuttles or normal balls. Such success leads to a sense of achievement, enjoyment, increased confidence and a desire to continue and makes using normal missiles for introducing a Racket Sport to young beginners illogical.
If Badminton and other Racket Sports wish to curtail the decline in junior and senior club membership, offering sustained courses of plusballs sessions to schools (with well-defined exit routes into clubs and sports centre groups for participants) may well be the answer. After all, if more youngsters have early positive racket sports experiences, fewer will find holding a racket or stepping on a court alien and more will persevere.
Qualified and experienced coaches wishing to take the Method into schools (with excellent remuneration) or parents wishing their children to take part in sessions at their schools, please contact plusballs for more details.
Roger Stroud