- Check the space and the kit.
- Get your child's attention first.
- Show it from two sides.
- Say one thing only.
- End on one that works.
Put the phone down where you can see it. Tap Next with your thumb, or use the arrow keys.
Is the space marked?
- The net line across the middle of the strip
- A service line on each side, 2 m from the net
- A circle about 1 m wide in each far corner (chalk or tape)
A wall with nothing breakable on or near it; a tape line on the wall at about head height; a racket and 5 shuttles or a foam ball.
Three minutes to get warm.
Easy jogging on the spot, then arms and legs. How to warm up well is explained at workonfitness.com.
- Forehand grip. Hold a shuttle by its feathers in front of you at waist height, on the racket side.
- Drop it and hit it at the wall above the tape, with the middle of the strings.
- Let the racket keep going until it points at the wall.
- Do the same with the backhand grip on the other side.
Show it once from the front and once from the side, slowly. Then let your child try.
- Stand 2 m from the wall, with 5 shuttles at your feet.
- Forehand grip. Drop a shuttle in front of you, on the racket side.
- Hit it at the wall above the tape. The racket ends pointing at the wall.
- 10 forehand hits. Pick each shuttle up by hand.
- Change to the backhand grip and do 10 on the other side.
How much: 4 rounds of 10 hits each side
Watch it onto the strings
Best score
The rules
Hits above the tape in 30 seconds; write it down and beat it next week.
- 5 shuttles at your feet, 2 m from the wall
- The grown-up says "Go" and starts 30 seconds
- Drop and hit, forehand or backhand, as many as you can above the tape
- Pick the shuttles up by hand, never with the racket
Fair play: A younger child stands closer to the wall and uses a foam ball.
- Points
- 1 point for each hit above the tape. 2 points if the shuttle comes back off the wall and you hit it again before it lands.
- Fouls
- No point for that hit: it hits the wall below the tape; it comes off the frame instead of the strings; a shuttle is flicked up from the floor with the racket
- Win
- Beat your own best score. Write it down and try to beat it next week.
- 4
- 7
- 10
8 of 10 hits above the tape on each side.
End on one that works. If it was hard today, finish with the easier version.
Well played.
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