Mixed-Ability Badminton Drills: One Court, Eight Players

With eight players and one court, split into two groups of four. Give each group a short court turn, rotate the jobs, and change the difficulty for the person hitting. Stronger players can work on placement while newer players practise keeping the rally alive.

The session below uses three drills. Each takes about 12 minutes for both groups, plus the group changeover. Run one before games, or use all three as the practice block of your session.

Set up the groups and the timer

Mix the abilities in each group. For the first two drills, three people play and one observes from a safe place outside the court’s run-off area. The other group rests and watches from the same designated waiting area. Keep bags, spare shuttles and waiting players clear of the court.

Set a repeating timer: 60 seconds of practice, then 30 seconds to rest and change jobs. Four rounds give each group a six-minute turn. Everyone takes each job once, then the other group comes on. Shorten the playing interval if players lose control of their movement.

The observer watches one thing: whether the solo player gets ready before the next shot. Give one useful comment during the break, such as “bring your racket back up after the lift.” Retrieve loose shuttles only when the rally stops.

1. Keep a two-against-one rally going

Put one player at each end of the pair’s side: one near the front, one farther back. The solo player stands opposite. Start with a gentle lift from the pair and rally cooperatively with clears, drops and lifts. The pair shares the work according to where the shuttle lands.

The solo player practises moving and recovering. The pair practises sending a hittable return. Ask them to build a six-shot rally before making the next rally more difficult.

• For a newer solo player: send shots into one straight half of the court. Use a predictable pattern, such as lift, drop, lift, so they can prepare for the next movement.
• For a stronger solo player: use the full singles court and vary the destination. Ask them to place returns away from the pair, while keeping the pace controlled.

If rallies keep ending after one or two shots, narrow the target area or slow the feed. If the solo player is waiting comfortably for every shot, introduce a second destination.

2. Practise a block, then a lift

Keep the same rotation. The pair now has a rear-court attacker and a front-court player. The solo player lifts to start. The attacker plays a controlled downward shot; the solo player blocks towards the net. The front player then lifts to the solo player, who clears back to the rear attacker. Repeat the pattern.

Start with drops or gentle half-smashes that the defender can reach. The attacker’s job is to send an accurate, repeatable shot. The defender’s job is to take pace off it and return to a ready position.

• For an easier round, tell the defender which side the attack will go to.
• For a harder round, vary the attack between two agreed targets. Increase pace only while the defender can still make a controlled return.

Restart after an error instead of racing to keep a broken pattern alive. Keep the same 60-second playing interval; this is a skill exercise, so the group does not need to turn it into an exhaustion test.

3. Give everyone a shot they want to practise

For this drill, all four players on court work in two pairs, one pair in each straight half-court lane. Use straight feeds and returns so shuttles stay in their lane. Each pair agrees who feeds first and which shot the other player wants to practise.

A newer player might choose a net shot from a gentle hand feed. A more experienced player might choose a straight defensive block from a controlled downward feed. Agree the feed, starting position and target before starting the timer.

Use the same four rounds. Swap feeder and hitter after each round, so everyone gets two hitting turns. Change the difficulty in the second turn: shorten the movement if contact was inconsistent, or add a recovery step if the first round felt comfortable. Leave full-court movement for a turn when the other lane is clear.

If there isn’t enough room to feed safely in two lanes, use one pair at a time in the centre and alternate pairs each round. Each player then gets one hitting turn and one feeding turn.

Make the game after practice worth playing

Agree one adjustment before starting a short game. For example, a stronger player could play without smashes, or give the other side a five-point start. After the game, keep, reduce or remove the adjustment based on how the rallies went.

Offer it as a shared challenge: “Shall we try this one with no smashes?” Let the players help choose. Avoid giving people permanent labels based on one evening’s performance.

This is a suggested club session. The BWF Shuttle Time lesson plans support adapting exercise difficulty to individuals and groups; the timings and eight-player rotation here are our practical arrangement.