WHAT BADMINTON CAN LEARN FROM FORMULA 1
CROSSHEAD CROSSHEAD
Implementing technology in the right
places means people can do their jobs better, making well-informed, intelligent data driven decisions
approach to that of others. The thing Formula One teams are really good at is putting information in context. You see, or rather hear it, when racing coverage tunes into team radios and you hear engineers informing drivers that their speed was faster than the previous lap, or that they will catch the driver in front of them by taking a particular action.
What badminton can learn from Formula One is not how to deliver advice and support, but how coaches can deliver this as and when it is needed. Efficiency and processes are what engineers, and by association Formula One, is really good at. Implementing technology in the right places means people can do their jobs better, making well informed, intelligent data driven decisions.
Where I see the real opportunity in badminton is in this behind- the-scenes area. Using experience from Formula One coaches can deliver advice and support with much more confidence and objectivity.
For example, the challenge for competition players is always how to adapt to each individual opponent. Facing a stroke player is
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine 14 | March 2017 INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE
always going to require a different game plan to an aggressive player. At the moment all of this is taken into consideration, but I’d question how many adjustments to equipment and strategy are made in game. For example, if rules allow, could changing racket tension throughout a game make a difference? Is there an advantage of having a dynamic string tension manager with optimised settings? In general, thinner strings are more powerful but thicker strings are more durable - so a combination of both may be better for some player’s performance but not for others. In F1, drivers adjust their brake bias, the amount of braking force applied between front and rear brakes, constantly throughout a lap. This enables them to maximise the entry phase for each corner, for any given condition such as changes in tarmac, wind direction or gradient. Taking a more objective, engineered approach to coaching should involve questioning everything.
Applying an engineering mindset Engineers tend to follow a relatively strict approach when looking to innovate and develop new ideas, following a ‘research, do, review and repeat’ process until the optimum outcome is
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