🏏 Took my nephew to the court after the tournament and now I'm taking coaching too

I never planned to watch the badminton tournament. I was flipping channels and the first match was on. I stayed for 20 minutes, then an hour, and by Thursday I was leaving work early to catch it. I've played at a court near my house for years, mostly Sunday games with friends. Nothing serious. Watching the pros made me feel like I'd been swinging a racket without knowing what a racket was for. The footwork was the thing. They're never standing still. Between every shot there's a tiny hop, ready for anything. On our court I take 1 step, hit, and then stand there admiring my shot like an idiot. My friend Kiran, who's followed the sport for years, said it's been getting more popular for a while. I told him I'd only just noticed. He said, yes, because you only watch cricket. Fair. Last Sunday I took my nephew to the court. He's 11 and he'd watched 2 matches with me. Usually he just swings at the shuttle and runs around. This time he asked me to teach him a clear. I didn't know how to. I know the shot, but I couldn't explain it, so we both watched videos. By the end he was beating me on footwork, and he let me know about it. Several times. So I signed up for coaching. 8 sessions, evenings, at a small academy near Ameerpet. The coach looked at my grip in the first minute and said, who taught you this? Nobody, I said. Apparently I've been holding the racket like a frying pan for 6 years. Session 2 is tomorrow. I'd love for the sport to get more courts and more coaches, but for now I just want my grip fixed.

I'll disagree slightly. Badminton has always been big around me, we played it in the gully with no net. A rope tied between 2 lamp posts, and a shuttle held together with tape until it fell apart. So maybe it's just that TV caught up. Still, good for you for getting proper coaching. Pick shoes with a proper grip before session 3. I wore running shoes and nearly lost an ankle.

The frying pan grip made me laugh because the same thing happened to me, in a school hall. Our coach spent the whole first class just on how I held the racket. I was bored and annoyed. By session 4 my wrist stopped hurting and the shuttle finally went where I pointed. Stay with it. Your nephew sounds like he'll be a handful in a good way. Is 11 too young for coaching?