Badminton: Number One Game

Dick Moss, Editor, PE Update.com

“Number One” is a lead-up game that will develop your students' hitting technique and reflexes. Since it doesn't require nets, you can play it anywhere.

Setup
Form groups of six to eight players. Give each player a racquet and each group one shuttle. Use markers or pylons to form a large square divided into four smaller squares. Number the squares from one to four.

Place one player in each square. Call the student in square #1 “Number One,” and so on. Players not in the square form a line and bounce a bird on their racquet or perform other drills.

How to Play
The object of the game is to become “Number One,” and to stay there as long as possible.

Number Three starts by serving the shuttle to any square. The player who receives the serve cannot return it to the server, but after that the bird can be hit to anyone.

Play continues with the bird being hit back and forth between squares (no smashes allowed).

Players who miss a shot must go to the end of the waiting line. The player at the start of the line moves to square number four, and the other players stay in their own square or rotate up a square if there is one vacant.

Players who are Number One must remain especially alert—they are prime targets because the other players want to move up into their square.

References:
1. Gong Chen & Carol Chen, Coaching Badminton 101, Coaches Choice, 2009.
2. John Parkyn & Sharon Foster, “Shuttle Instructor's Manual,” (A Skills Development Program of Badminton Canada), Badminton Canada, 1993.

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