Badminton academy aims to produce elite players

The ShuttleStars Badminton Academy was officially launched on June 24 at John Barrable Hall.

According to founder, Dillan Schaap, the academy will provide opportunities to players who already have an understanding of the game and those who have never played badminton before.

Schaap said that they will focus on properly developing players by ensuring that they master the techniques of the sport. Furthermore, he said they will provide a platform where the players will be exposed to high-level coaching.

“We will give players more playing time against players from other areas so that they are prepared for provincial and national tournaments.

“We will also provide a basis for players who perhaps have never played or even seen badminton before to come and learn the basic skills required to start playing.”

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The former junior national said their long-term plan is to expand South Africa’s talent pool by producing competitive players who will one day represent the country at the Olympic Games.

“The goal is to get provincial badminton back on the map by providing coaching strategies and skills training to school and provincial coaches so they can work with us to train young athletes.

“We believe that this will have a direct impact on the strength of our national junior and senior squads as our long-term project. We provide an informative pathway for parents and athletes to understand what steps they need to take to progress from beginner to competitive to the high-performance stage.”

Schaap started playing badminton at the age of nine and has represented South Africa as a junior and senior. He holds a Badminton World Federation level one coaching certificate.

Badminton lovers came in their numbers for the opening and Schaap and his co-coaches Ruan Snyman and Cayleen Miller conducted beginners and advanced training sessions where the players were taught basics such as hand and eye coordination and the thumb and v-grips.

Snyman, who is ranked third in the country and 10th on the continent, said they will create an environment where children will compete while also having fun.

“The idea is to teach the players what the sport is about. We want to help them develop into better players. They must have fun and if they want to pursue it as a career, we will provide a pathway.”

The academy is based at John Barrable Hall. For more information, you may call Schaap on 076 624 0614.

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