I am enjoying this week! Today was a nice day and we did lots of good exercises. I liked the small group session because the coaches and staff watch every movement you make and try to improve and help you with the exercises. After the evening meal we played a fun soccer match against the coaches.

by Margret Johannsdottir (Iceland), player

This morning we worked on some tricky spin-shots at the net. Later on, in the afternoon, my coaches helped me to improve in some of my weak areas. Finally, in the evening, after a two hour long football match and a lot of cheating by the coaches we were beaten once more.

by Akis Thomas (Luxembourg), player

I think that the Summer School is good meeting lots of new friends and the training is good but the hall is very warm. The food is nice and there is a swimming pool to relax in when we are finished with all the training.

by Joshua Magee (Ireland), player

In the Summer School I learned many new things from our experienced coaches and I have a wonderful time here. The other important thing is that I found many new friends only after three days. It will be a week of funny activities and hard trainings. I am very happy to be part of the Summer School.

by Stefan Garev (Bulgaria), player

The Summer School is a good chance to meet people from different countries who play at the as my level. It’s good for improving your badminton skills. The training is hard and very intensive.

By Tanja Scanferla (Italy), player

Today was the best day so far. I am just a beginner as a coach and quite new to badminton but I feel like a learned a lot in these 2 days. More than I ever could imagine I am going to. It feels like everything is falling in place. Players and coaches are getting to know each other better, feel more comfortable around each other and it is such a positive and great atmosphere all around. I enjoyed today very much; the morning sessions were very productive and thoughtful, practice was very successful and fun, and football match was hilarious. The coaches won of course.

by Andrea Lalic (Montenegro), coach

About the Summer School:
For the young players, I believe that it is a good opportunity to learn new techniques in badminton. As well as it is a chance to get to know other players of other countries and to make new friends.
For me, as a coach who is learning, it is also a good opportunity to learn new concepts and strategies about Badminton - doing practices with other coaches of other countries and having new experiences together.

by Francesc Pi (Spain), coach

After another early start the coaches and players spent the morning on net play. The afternoon was spent on the individual session with all players motivated and working very hard. However the main event of the day took place in the evening with the coaches vs. players football match. To ensure no cheating could take place from either side a referee was in charge for all games. After some close early games with Keady Smith particularly active (it was just a shame she was playing dodge ball instead of football and spent the match running away from the ball), the coaches made it through to the final against the top players team. In a tough but very fair game the coaches won. The winning goal was scored by staff coach Alex who lived up to the early hype (all by himself) and scored a wonder goal only surpassed by the celebrations. This means the coaches keep their winning streak alive. And I am sure if you ask any players or the fans watching the more talented team won. So another busy day ended on a low for the players, but the wining feeling kept the coaches going late into the night, not celebrating but planning for the next day’s session!

by James Barclay (England), coach