Junior Performance Programme

England Junior Performance Programme

ENGLAND JUNIOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME – NEW STRUCTURE FROM SUMMER 2024

Badminton England announced earlier in the summer the planned changes to the England Junior Performance Programme, which came into effect from July 2024.

Changes have been made further to recent recruitment to the EJPP team at the beginning of the year, which included an additional EJP Programme Coach and five Age Group Coaches.

You can find out all about the key changes made to the Programme and the activity that the EJP Programme delivers in the EJPP Programme Brochure here.  This brochure also includes a link to a video that was released by the EJPP Team in the Summer explaining more about the changes and the rationale for them.  N.B Please reference key documentation below regards to the latest Criteria and Process for Camp / international Tournament invites below.

EJP PRINCIPLES & KEY PERFORMANCE BEHAVIOURS

One of the key principles of the England Junior Programme is develop and work with individuals who are positively looking to display and develop the following key performance behaviours, with Programme activity delivered in line with supporting development and challenging individuals on these key areas:

  • Professionalism
  • Communication skills
  • Performance focused attitude (desire to learn and improve)
  • Independence / self-reliance
  • A well-rounded badminton player

Please click on the link EJPP Key Performance Behaviours to read further detail around the performance behaviours we are looking for individuals to develop as they move through their junior career, which will ultimately stand them in good stead moving forwards into Senior badminton. These align to the expectations of individuals on entering the National Badminton Centre senior training environment / Senior Squad.

*NEW* JUNIOR PROGRAMME CAMPS & INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS FOR 2024-25

With Discover, Engage and Progress no longer existing following the changes that will come into effect at the end of June 2024, this means, as noted, that the process for invitation to EJPP activity (camps, training days and international tournaments) will change with the aim to create more opportunities for players to engage in EJPP activity as invitation will not be set by a static year-long programme / squad system and instead looks to be more flexible in recognising individuals for their recent form and also behaviours aligned to the EJPP Performance Behaviours.  Not being invited to one Camp / Tournament, does not mean an individual will not be invited to the next.

Please find below links to documentation that explains the new invitation process in further detail and which will apply for invitation to all EJPP Camps and International Tournaments moving forward from end of June 2024 where we will be running Camps by age group due to the removal of the Squad system. Invitations to Camps / Training days includes consideration of several factors during a defined period. For travel with the EJPP to identified international tournaments (from U13 age group up to U19), we will be considering individuals for invite that have attended the linked EJPP Camp.

Invitation Process for EJPP Camps / Training Days can be found here.

Invitation Process for EJPP International Tournaments can be found here.

Information on the events taken into consideration for U11 to U15 age group Camps / Internationals can be found here (updated January 2025) and for U17-U19 Camps / Internationals can be found here (updated January 2025).

N.B Some flexibility in this process will be considered by the EJPP Team for upcoming Camps as we understand that the process will be taking into account domestic Gold tournaments that have already taken place earlier this year, before this full detail was announced. However, please be advised that from September 2024 onwards, in order to be considered for invite to a Camp, individuals will have to have competed in their own Age Group Gold within the period in the lead up to each Camp taking place.

We will shortly be publishing further information on updates to the England Junior Performance Programme in the next few weeks. We would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding as we now look to move things forward with the EJPP.

ENGLAND JUNIOR PERFORMANCE HUBS 

Badminton England is pleased to advise that it is supporting the initial set-up of two ‘Performance Hubs’ from September 2023 – one in the north and one in the south of the country, with the aim to expand on these over the next few years to other areas of the country to provide more access to more players (U15-U19), to train regularly together.  These Hubs, whilst not a new concept, are intent on providing the opportunity for small groups of the best junior players (EJPP and identified players) within a region to access additional high-level weekly training and match play on a regular basis, up to a maximum of twice a week.

We understand and support all the great work that is going on around the country by coaches and training environments and we wish to add to this work.  We are fully aware that there is a significant development opportunity that exists in relation to players increasing their rate of development when training regularly with players of a similar level and when weekly training hours are increased.  As a Programme, we want provide support for this increase in weekly training, with delivery of high quality and intense sessions, where players are committed and bring a great work ethic in order to reap the benefits.  We believe this is a necessity if we are to keep pace with the best players in Europe and the rest of the world.

The Performance Hub sessions will be part-funded by the Performance Programme and will be ‘invitation only’ sessions to identified players.  To note, attendance at a Hub following invitation is not mandatory and the sessions are not intended to replace weekly training and instead are aiming to provide additional weekly quality training hours where this can be fitted into player’s weekly schedules. We understand that access to these sessions will vary based on individual circumstances and such things as distance of travel which may impact a player’s ability to commit. However, we fully believe that the following principles, regularly seen to increase rate of development in athlete’s across sports, can be achieved by this initiative:

  • Increase the number of quality of weekly training hours and intensity in a player’s weekly schedule to aid rate of development and levels of consistency
  • Players of a similar level training / sparring together regularly increasing the rate of development as a collective group
  • Regular, healthy competition / sparring between players of a similar level can link to increasing levels of motivation

We also aim for the sessions to achieve the following:

  • To support players with their ongoing development and building of relationships between players and coaches
  • Provide players with additional coaching perspectives
  • Opportunity for the sharing of knowledge and session themes based on Coach’s experience of where the game is going internationally in the world of junior badminton and in turn, be aligned and aid development in relation to EJP themes / focus areas delivered at EJP Camp activity
  • To provide variety in a player’s weekly training through training with different players

Player identification and invitation to Hub sessions are from Badminton England via nominations from National Pathway Coaches, Age Group Coaches and Hub Coaches. If you have a player who you believe may fit into any of the below Hubs, please direct your query to one of the National Pathway Coaches or Programme Manager, who will discuss this in line with current player level and capacity within the specific Hub.

The following expectations are set for all BE Hub sessions, which define what is expected from individuals in sessions and also from the session themselves and align to the EJPP performance behaviours noted above. High standards are set within sessions and expectations include professional warm up/cool down routines, hard working attitudes, good communications between players / coaches to create a collaborate environment, working as a collective to ensure each person gets the most out of all sessions and a ‘no phone’ policy for the duration of the sessions.

The below provides the session/s details for the Hubs that launched from September 2023 with invites having been sent out to identified players and with player’s contributing to the subsidised cost of these sessions:

North Performance Hub

Venue Sheffield Girls High School, 10 Rutland Park, Sheffield S10 2PE
Day Wednesday
Time 6-9pm
Coach/es Jonty Russ + invited Coaches
Session start date from 6th September 2023

Surrey Performance Hub

Venue Wimbledon Racquets & Fitness Centre, Cranbrook Road, SW19 4HD
Day Monday / Thursdays
Time 5-7pm
Coach/es Stuart Wardell / Toby Penty + invited Coaches
Session start date from 11th September 2023

Midlands Performance Hub

Venue Loughborough University Badminton Centre
Day Monday
Time 7-9pm
Coach/es Dave Lindley & Jonty Russ + adhoc invited Coaches
Session start date from 13th November 2023

NBC Performance Hub

Venue National Badminton Centre
Day Tuesday & Wednesday
Time 5-7pm
Coach/es Alex Lane, Jess Pugh & NPCs + adhoc invited Coaches
Session start date from N/A

For further information on the Hubs you can contact Nikki Tarrant (Programme Manager) at nikkitarrant@badmintonengland.co.uk

England Junior Squads

See who is on our England Junior Performance Programme (EJPP).

Selections & Policies

See the latest Team Selection announcements and policies for the England Junior Performance Programme (EJPP).

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