Phoenix Badminton Club began its life from coaching classes held at the Guttmann Sports Centre in Stoke Mandeville in Aylesbury in the early 1990’s. Then called Guttmann it was consisted of beginners of many ages. Several teams were entered into the lower divisions of the junior Aylesbury league. With 100 adult members and 75 junior members, Aylesbury Phoenix Badminton Club has five level two coaches. The club will take on two more coaches this month who will be taking their level one coaching course.
When the stadium closed for refurbishment, the name was changed to Phoenix and sessions for different ages and abilities were established. The club expanded to set up premier squads to meet the players’ needs in order to develop their full potential.
The adult and junior club was run as a separate entity and it was only in recent years that the two fully amalgamated as one club. The club became Silver club marked in 2006 and is now a BADMINTON England Premier club, having recently been re-accredited.
Phoenix Badminton Club is constantly changing, expanding and trying new ideas. Its values are holistic in the approach to the player. Each member is encouraged to discover their strengths whether this be in playing ability, organising, citizenship, fair play etc. Each player is expected to commit 100% effort to all training and playing opportunities.
Last season Phoenix Badminton Club entered 10 teams into the adult Aylesbury league and three into the Wycombe league. Five junior teams were entered into the Aylesbury junior league and two in the Wycombe junior league.
Players are given opportunities to practice technique, movement, and tactics. Close attention is paid to attitudes, training, peers, volunteers, coaches, to themselves and their expectations to matches and competition. Players are helped to build their awareness of psychology, and how this applies to badminton. All these ‘soft’ skills transfer across into daily living as individuals grow in confidence, self-esteem and self-awareness.
The club is a registered charity and prides itself on helping other groups in the community. Their annual 24 hour badminton marathon events are popular with club members and friends alike and while helping with their own funding, they enjoy passing over a percentage to other charitable groups. This year Phoenix Badminton Club is donating £416 to Wheelpower.
Phoenix are proud to be an 'Inclusive' Club and have recently set up a weekly session for Wheelchair players at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
Once a year the club holds a presentation evening, which is a family event. Players are awarded and recognised for a variety of talents, from playing and winning to attitude, effort, fair-play, movement skills, captains are rewarded for all their hard work and the captain of the year has a special award.
Parties for Christmas, Halloween, summer picnics and trips to the Yonex All England Open also appear on their calendar of events.
With two evening sessions for adults now firmly established over the last three years, the club is a well-seasoned family. The sessions are open to anyone and fees are paid by the session. These evenings are informal and great fun. Everyone is given the opportunity to enjoy badminton at their own level and fair-play, and helpfulness go hand in hand.
Free coaching by an experienced and qualified coach is offered on Monday sessions.
Diversity
Phoenix Badminton Club’s junior players range from six years up to 17 years and they have five different sessions aimed at different age ranges and abilities. With their premier squad being available to the best and/or most promising players. Phoenix has links with local schools and get involved with BADMINTON England’s Bisi festivals, as well as the local college. They use a variety of advertising, including local radio, newspapers, email and website to help keep the club at the forefront of people’s attention.
This year Phoenix Badminton Club has started a weekly session for wheelchair players, complimented by an additional 10-week coaching program. This session has now grown to six regular members, with additional players attending. They are planning to set up a similar session for junior wheelchair players, later this year. In august the club had a guest coach to run their adult club sessions and they also ran a coaching session for adult beginners, aimed at encouraging new players to take up the sport.
Future Plans
Phoenix Badminton Club currently run nine regular sessions throughout the year and all are full, so are looking at increasing the number of sessions. Phoenix is a very active member in the Community Badminton Network and were heavily involved with the organising and running of a World Record Attempt to raise badminton awareness in the area.
Phoenix Badminton Club Chairman, Derek Moule said, “We actively encourage any member expressing an interest in coaching, to qualify, offering financial support as well as resources and mentoring. Ultimately, in terms of facilities, we would love Aylesbury to have its own badminton facility, as presently we use six different venues…who knows what the future may bring!”
Phoenix Badminton Club are holding a Badminton Bonanza on the 9th October 2010 at Stoke Mandeville Stadium for social players. There is also planned to have a wheelchair singles player competition later this year.
Club Contact
Name: Aylesbury Phoenix Badminton Club
Contact: Derek Moule (Chairman)
Mob: 07836 797197
Web: www.phoenix-badminton.co.uk
Email: derekmoule@btinternet.com
