Andre's in the school team!

The focus has been on Lesley-Anne lately, so it's time to turn the spotlight on my little firecracker. The latest update on Andre's badminton coaching - he made the selection for the school team!

We're very pleased with his progress and this for him is a major milestone because he has been dying to represent his school. Since he's only in p3, he probably won't have this opportunity for a while, but at least he's made the first cut.

Letting him receive additional coaching at the academy was definitely a good decision - he has learnt at a pace that he wouldn't have at school alone, sharing a court with 30 kids. His dedication to training has also convinced us of his passion for the game, which we weren't too sure if it was just a phase at first.

There are several coaches at the academy. One of them who also coaches the school team told us that Andre's progress has surpassed her own expectations. It's very encouraging indeed and we're delighted that he has found a niche interest to call his own.

Here's a clip of Andre doing one of the many different drills at the academy. This one was done in pairs. He's the mini one on the left.



I also tried to record Andre's game play with Kenneth a few weeks ago. It's difficult to get a long clip because Andre is taught to play strategically, ie win the point. Here are a couple of the longer rallies I managed to film. The first clip shows him trying to use his smash to bring home the shot but it's not a sustainable plan because you will eventually run out of steam if your opponent is able to return the shots.



In the second clip, Andre shows more variety of shots and this is what he learns at the academy, to mix up his shots to try and wrongfoot the opponent. Having a height disadvantage means it's more difficult to smash without getting the shuttlecock into the net. His plus point is that he's willing to run down every ball. It's what I call the Michael Chang strategy.



To expose the kids to tournament conditions, the academy encourages them to participate in competitions outside of school. There's one coming up at the end of the year and we'll probably let Andre join just to give him experience. Will continue to record his progress!