Teaching Tips: Use Racquetless Badminton to Teach Throwing Skills to Physical Education Students

Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update

A common problem for those teaching basketball, baseball, football and racquet sports is that many students have not developed a required motor pattern - that of overhand throwing.

This is often because these students have not thrown enough to develop the skill. And until they DO develop it, they will have difficulty in learning any sport involving throwing or hitting overhand with a racquet.

Components of the Throwing Action
The throwing action involves three key elements:

1. The Step, in which the leg opposite the throwing arm moves forward, shifting the weight in the direction of the throw.
2. The Turn, in which the hips and shoulder on the side of the throwing arm rotate forward.
3. The Throw, in which the arm follows the forward momentum generated by the step and turn.

An undeveloped motor pattern for throwing is easily recognized: there is typically no step or rotation, and the arm motion is a push instead of a whip-like action.

In developing the ability to throw, the first task is to teach the correct sequence of movement: step, turn, throw. The second task is to provide enough practice to ingrain the correct motor pattern.

Racquetless Badminton is a fun way to provide this practice.

How to Play Racquetless Badminton
The game is played like regular badminton, except the shuttle is thrown back and forth instead of hit with racquets.

The task of the receiving team is to catch the shuttle before it hits the floor. If caught, the receiver has until the count of "three thousand" to return the throw. Fakes are allowed, but only once per return.

All throws must be overhand and must employ proper throwing technique.

Other rules are the same as in badminton: a team can only score when serving; the serve must be cross-court; the service-court alternates with each serve; and a point is scored or service is lost when the shuttle falls within the court.

Advantages
A shuttle can't be thrown great distances, so this game allows for a full throwing action within the confines of a badminton court.

It provides the repetition needed to develop the basic skills of throwing and catching, and also teaches the rules and basic strategies of badminton.

And most important, from your students' standpoint...it's fun!

Dick Moss, Editor, PE Update, Updated, March 2016.

© 2016, Physical Education Update, www.peUpdate.com

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