Observation and analysis of the performing performing the badminton high serve was made. The performer appeared anxious and was obviously unfamiliar with the activity. She had only played badminton on a few ocassions previously and had not been part of any coaching session before. Performer is not relaxed at the start of the serve. She holds the shuttlecock between thumb and forefinger when told to do so but does not position it correctly in relation to the racket. The performer does generally keep their eye on the shuttlecock as required but still fails to make contact with it on ocassion and so misses it completely.
The follow through action is generally poor – often finishing short. Accuracy of the serve is sometimes wayward and not deep enough to cause the opponent difficulty. The performer has never participated in competitive badminton either at college or club level. Therefore it would not be apropriate to make comparisons with elite performers but the performer does have better ability than some performers in the group. D2 Possible Physiological and Psychological Reasons for Strengths The performer has good eye contact with the shuttle and good hand eye co-ordination using his senses with several body parts to carry out the serve.
Performer seems to display a certain amount of strength as he is able to hit the shuttle high into the air. Strength has been described as ‘the ability of a muscle/muscle group to exert force in a single maximal contraction (C Embling and N Culter – Physiological and Psychological Factors Which Improve Performance’). Some transfer of learning could be involved as the performer has had some experience of other racket games. Transfer of learning can be described as “the influence of a previously learned task or the learning of a new task” – C Embling and N Cutler Physiological and Psychological Factors Which Improve Performance.
However transfer of learning can be positive or negative which can result in improvement or detriment on the performance of the new skill. The performer tends to be quite introverted and therefore should be suited to badminton because it is an individual activity. D3 Possible Physiological and Psychological Reasons for Weaknesses The performer has little experience of badminton and does not really understand what is expected of him. He is at the cognitive stage of learning where he is trying to understand what needs to be done.
The performer cannot obtain enough depth in serve suggesting lack of flexibility in the wrist flexibility is the amount of movement in a joint. The candidate does not display the characteristics of skill with regards to the high serve in badminton. I. e. the serve is not efficient, accurate or consistent. D4 Although the main drawbacks of the performer’s high serve in badminton appear to be the inability to produce acuracy and depth. I feel that the basic mecanics of the serve need to be addressed in order to improve these. Therefore I intend to devise a method to improve the execution of the serve.
I feel that I have easy access to the necesary recources to carry out my plan. I will use the school sports hall at an arranged time with my sports studies tutor. I will have use of a badminton court complete with a net. Rackets and shuttlecocks are readily available. I will make data sheets to record accuracy and depth. A tape measure will be required. D5 I feel that the justification for focus on this area is that the accuracy and depth of serve will not occur until the basic mecanics of the serve are correct. Improvement in Exicution of the serve should result in improvements in depth and accuracy.
D6 I intend to devise a plan involving part practice which will break down the skill involved, i. e. the high serve into componant parts. The separate componants will be individualy practised. Part practice is suitable for a serve because this skill is of a serial type where where several elements are put together to create compound skill. (Badminton Technique – J Moncur) The separate componants of the serve will be practiced individually and then, when mastered, will be put back together to create the whole movement. The performer is only a learner and the serve is rather a complex skill.
By using the part method of practice the demand on the learner is reduced. I feel that the use of this method will improve the individual componants which make up the mecanism of the serve and this in turn will improve depth and accuracy. Section E – Method It will be important to make observations both before and after part practice has been carried out in order to assess the effectiveness. Therefore I will observe the performer on one ocasssion before part practice. I will observe ten high serves. I will count how many serves fall within the target area to assess acuracy.