Badminton Drills for Children

Teaching badminton to children requires fun and occasionally competitive drills. Each drill can focus on a wide array of skills or specific ones, but children will only improve if they are interested in what they are doing. Rules should be minimized, but proper technique and form should also be emphasized. Team drills can be used to build friendships while also developing badminton skills.

  1. Progressive Clearing Drill

    • Two children face each other on the same side of the court. The first child clears the shuttle to the second, who then clears it back. The children are only allowed to move one foot to clear, which helps emphasize racket control. After some repetitions, the children move to cross-court positions to put more distance between them. To continue adding difficulty, after a while, the children will start clearing to their opponent's unoccupied corner, forcing them to chase the shuttle to clear it. The drill teaches basic badminton skills, clearing, accuracy and footwork.

    Fancy Footwork

    • Movement is an essential part of badminton. Proper balance and quick speed make for good players. In order to teach proper footwork, shuttles are placed on the back corners of the court. The child moves as fast as he can from one corner to the other and back while facing forward and attempting to use a backhand or forehand shot to launch the shuttle over the net. Variation can include tossing the shuttles to the child to hit, or simply having the child place shuttlecocks on the corners instead of hitting them in order to practice balance.

    King of the Court

    • This drill is fun with a lot of players as it demonstrates competitiveness, patience and stamina, while utilizing all of the badminton skills. Normal badminton rules apply, but the length of each game is shortened. First to three or five points is a good way to play. The first two opponents are randomly selected and play their game. The winner becomes "king" and stays on while the other child switches with the next player in line. The new player challenges the king in an attempt to "de-throne" him. Additional rules may be put in place to make the game more challenging or fun, such as only backhand or forehand shots, or that the shuttle must land in certain areas for extra accuracy points.

    Multiple Shuttles

    • This is a high-energy drill that will keep kids moving and challenge them to make as many plays as they can in a short amount of time. Using many shuttles, a feeder plays them all over the court, where the child waits. The child starts in a ready position, attempts to return the shuttle using a forehand, backhand or overhead, then returns to the set position. By that time, the next shuttle will be on its way. The drill improves speed and accuracy, and the child will enjoy the excitement of seeing all of the shuttles coming his way.