USA Badminton
The first
national level USA Badminton (USAB) High Performance Development Conference
which was held from November 11-13, 2012 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center,
Colorado Springs ended on a very positive note. Nine (9) clubs attended the
conference.
USAB in collaboration with the USOC are promoting the idea of an American Athlete development Model to improve the quality of U.S. elite athletes. This plan aims to involve clubs and athletes with the goal of placing a U.S. badminton athlete on the world stage and Olympic podium.
USAB will form a coalition of clubs who wish to be certified as a USAB Training Center (TC) or USAB High Performance Club (HPC). CLICK HERE for TC or HPC Certification Criteria.
Definitions
High Performance Clubs: These are sites with an USA-standard facility and a national and/or international-level coaching staff that enable elite U.S. athletes aspiring to be international-level athletes to train at very high intensity.
The USOC staff who worked closely with USAB to ensure that the conference was a success were excited to meet and form relationships with the owners, administrators and coaches from the nine major clubs. The club owners and administrators were also very pleased to be able to connect with the USOC and realize the variety of services that the USOC can provide to enhance the performances of their coaches and elite athletes.
One subject that got everyone intrigued was the concept of an American Badminton Athlete Model. The discussion raised everyone’s hope because it was clear that when the jig saw pieces are completed it will lead to an U.S. badminton athlete on the world podium.
The long and intense conference included various presentations and discussions on numerous topics. Among them were:
-
Discussion
on what it would take for the USA to be world-class,
-
The
importance of long term planning
-
Conditioning
for Badminton
-
Coach
Development’s role in high performance athlete development & tools for
coaches
-
Safe
Sports training
-
Long
term athlete development
- The concept of an American Badminton Athlete Model
- The concept of full-time in the U.S. badminton context
- Funding and membership
As a follow up to this conference, lookout in the future for club profiles to be published in a sequential manner. The next phase of the high performance development project is a USAB High Performance Coach Conference which will be held in the Bay Area in March 2013.