Overhead clear
Ready when: Lift to the back (i1) done.
What you are learning
The clear: a high, deep shot hit overhead from the back of your side to the back of theirs. It uses the body action of the overhead throw (Overhead throw, side on (b8)), now with a racket. It pushes the other player to the back and gives you time.
Words on this card Shuttle, Rally, Ready position, Back to the middle, Clear, Side-on, Shadow
- Shuttle
- The "ball" in badminton: a cork with feathers or a plastic skirt. It flies fast, slows down quickly and falls almost straight down. A foam shuttle is softer and good for learning.
- Rally
- The shuttle going back and forth over the net until someone misses. One rally wins one point.
- Ready position
- The waiting stance: feet apart, knees a little bent, weight on the front of the feet, racket up in front.
- Back to the middle
- The spot in the centre of your side. After every shot you go back there, so you can reach the next one.
- Clear
- A high, deep shot hit overhead from the back of your side to the back of theirs.
- Side-on
- Standing with one shoulder, not the chest, pointing at where you aim.
- Shadow
- Doing the movement of a shot without a shuttle, as if in a game.
Set up
A net or rope; two cones in the far back corners. A racket and shuttles.
Weather: no wind
Show it first for the one teaching
- As a high shuttle comes, turn side-on and step back so it will fall a little in front of you.
- Racket up behind the head; point the other arm up at the shuttle.
- Hit it at the highest point you can reach, above and in front of the head, as your weight moves forward.
Your part while they practise
From the other side, hit or throw the shuttle high to the player's racket side, so it comes down near them.
Step by step
- The player waits in the middle, in the ready position.
- You send the shuttle high.
- The player turns side-on and steps back behind the shuttle.
- The other arm points up at it; the racket goes up behind the head.
- Hit it above and in front of the head, weight moving forward, high toward a far cone.
- Back to the middle. 10 clears.
How much: 4 rounds of 10 clears 10 min a session 2 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Corner target
Clear toward a far corner, where a third person or a bucket is the target; then rally without dropping it.
Who plays: the player hits and you send the shuttle high. A third person, or a bucket, stands in a far corner as the target. Swap after each round.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Each turn is 10 high shuttles
- The player clears each one toward the target corner
- After 10, rally together with clears only, and count how many in a row
- Fair play
- The grown-up hits with the hand they do not write with, or from the middle of the court.
- Points
- 3 points if the shuttle lands within one big step of the target; 1 point if it lands in the back half of the court.
- Fouls
- No points for that shuttle
- It lands in the front half
- The player lets it fall behind the head before hitting
- It lands out
- Winning
- After one turn each, the player with more points wins. In the rally, beat your record of clears in a row.
- 8 points for 1 star
- 14 points for 2 stars
- 20 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Shadow the movement without a shuttle.
Move the target corner each rally.
What you will see, and what to say
- the shuttle lands mid-court
Turn side-on, reach up
Side-on first, then hit at full stretch. - the player is right under the shuttle
Step back first
Get behind it so it falls in front of you.
Self-check
6 of 10 clears land in the back half of the court on the far side.
Stop and get a coach when
Pain in the shoulder.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains overhead technique, getting behind the shuttle.
awiseathlete.com/sports/badminton/badminton-i2