Category: Academy news

We have limited places available across some of our junior badminton coaching groups from September and are booking these places now.

Beginners – places available in Haywards Heath on Fridays 5pm-6pm
Intermediate – places available in Haywards Heath (Fridays) and Crawley (Sundays)
Advanced – places available in Crawley (Tuesdays)

These are coached sessions run by qualified, insured and experienced coaches Zeyar Win (Level 3) and Andrew Craig (Level 2).

If you are interested in joining FastStep Badminton Academy, an appointed County Development Academy, please get in touch.

We’re pleased to say our head coach Zeyar Win has been appointed U11 lead coach by Sussex County Junior Badminton for the 2015/16 season. The U11 squad will be a development base for young players in the county next season and it’s great to have Zeyar helping them develop.

Zeyar’s hard work at grass roots level in Sussex has also been recognised by Sussex County Badminton who have presented him with the Bruce Peapell Award this season.

Meanwhile Andrew Craig has passed his UKCC Level 2 Badminton Coaching award, further strengthening the FastStep coaching team.

From September FastStep Elite squad will run twice a week, giving our stronger players the opportunity to get a valuable second weekly session.

Invited players can train on Tuesdays at K2 Crawley and Thursdays in Haywards Heath. It is not compulsory to attend both. The Tuesday session replaces FastStep Performance sessions.

We’re looking forward to some friendly team competition as we host our (nearly) end of term team competition for members of our Stars squad this Friday, 26 June 2015.

We’ll be using the National Badminton League format, with shorter games and fun extras like powerplay shuttles and timeouts.

Usual time and place, but bring extra competitive spirit and be prepared to support your team as you aim for victory!

FastStep will be providing free badminton coaching at the K2 family fun day on 26th April.

The junior badminton coaching session will run from 12.30-1.30pm in the main hall.

There are loads of other activities to try on the day, from bowls and climbing to trampolining and squash. See full details of the K2 family fun day.

We’re excited to announce the launch of FastStep Performance, a new training squad within FastStep Badminton Academy for national badminton circuit players.

FastStep Performance is a highly-focussed weekly training cell aimed at preparing players for competition on the national junior or senior badminton circuit. It will include a mix of ages, but all players will share a common goal to succeed.

Players are also expected to attend one of FastStep’s other weekly squads or a credible alternative. FastStep Performance will be lead by Academy head coach Zeyar Win.

FastStep Performance runs every Tuesday from 7pm-9pm, starting on Tuesday 24th February 2015, at K2, Crawley, home to this year’s English National Badminton Championships.

Operated by long-term FastStep partner Freedom Leisure, K2 provides a superb base for the squad with excellent road access and facilities.

Very limited places for FastStep Performance are now available to current members and other interested players. Please contact us to register your interest or for further details.

We’re pleased to say that following player/parent consultation we’ve decided to increase the Haywards Heath Stars sessions to 2 hours, running from 6pm-8pm on Fridays.

The change is effective from 14th November onwards. We’re hoping it results in more matchplay opportunity but without losing any valuable technical and tactical coaching time.

FastStep Badminton Academy brought together its strongest young players from its fledgling Elite squad to face the experience of Hassocks Badminton Club in a highly competitive pre-season friendly.

It was a battle of new versus old with FastStep’s Elite squad only formed this year to nurture some of the best young badminton talent in the region. Meanwhile Hassocks this year celebrates its 40th successful year.

From the outset it was a close contest with FastStep just missing out on levelling the tie after 8 matches when the deciding game went to sudden death on 20-20 and Hassocks sneaked the crucial point to put them ahead. Hassocks extended its lead in the final round of matches to secure a 7-5 win.

It was an enthrawling spectacle enjoyed by some of FastStep’s younger players who were invited to watch and learn. Both sides agreed the fixture should be repeated again.

FastStep Badminton Academy provides coaching for young players of all standards in Haywards Heath and Crawley, see www. faststepbadminton.co.uk for details. Hassocks Badminton Club is a competitive local club that meets on Wednesdays 8pm at St Paul’s Catholic College, Burgess Hill. See www.hassocksbadmintonclub.co.uk for details.

Next time you have a Lucozade Sport drink, don’t bin the bottle, check for a code under the wrapper that we can use to earn free equipment.

If we collect enough codes we can buy equipment that will benefit all FastStep players, so encourage friends and family to help out.

You can either enter the codes yourself by registering at www.lucozadesport.com/kit-out-project – you can register as a player/supporter of FastStep Badminton Academy. Or if it’s easier, just email the codes to Andrew.

Thanks!

FastStep Badminton Academy offers junior badminton coaching for beginners, intermediate and advanced players in Haywards Heath and Crawley. The sessions provide an energetic and enjoyable way to learn badminton or improve your skills.

• FastStep Smashers (beginners & improvers) in Haywards Heath and Crawley
• FastStep Stars (intermediate) in Haywards Heath and Crawley
• FastStep Elite (advanced) in Haywards Heath