The sport of badminton got a major boost from the London 2012 Olympics, and may have inspired you to take up this great sport. If you’re looking for a badminton coach in London, here are five of the best:
John Webb
John Webb has over 15 years’ of badminton coaching experience as a Badminton Association of England instructor.
As a junior, John won the Hastings Junior Championships. When he realised that Badminton was his dream profession, he trained under badminton mentor Lorraine Collins as assistant coach.
John has competitive senior experience as a former county player for Sussex, and still plays Division 1 club badminton.
Check out the UpMySport website for contact details if you want private coaching in London (John coaches inMarylebone, Finsbury Park, Old Street, Brixton, and Chiswick). Group lessons are held at Brixton Recreation Centre, and St Augustine’s Sports Centre in Kilburn.
Dave Deo
Dave Deo offers private lessons in Barnet and West London, and he can be contacted through the BadmintonSensei website. He is a UKCC Level 2 badminton coach and Badminton England tutor.
Dave is the in-house coach for London Badminton Bonanza, resident badminton tutor at South Thames College, and coaches for the Middlesex County Badminton team who he also represents in competition.
Voted Barnet Coach of the Year in 2010, Dave is a popular badminton coach in north London, and brings both technical and tactical expertise to his lessons.
Joel Gayle
Founder of the Joel Gayle School of Badminton in east London, Joel and his team of badminton coaches (all minimum Level 2 Badminton England coaches) offer private lessons throughout London. You can contact Joel through JoelGayle.co.uk for more info.
Joel was National Singles Champion at 18, reaching a ranking high of 7 in the UK. An expert in doubles as well as singles, Joel completed 2013 with an unbeaten record of 100% wins in all his doubles matches that year.
Joel coaches the Queen Mary’s University badminton team.
Ian Robinson
Currently the head badminton coach at Fusion Leisure in Waddon and Thornton Heath, Ian has been coaching badminton in Croydon for over 11 years.
Ian is a UKCC Badminton Coach Level 2, and Badminton England registered.
You can contact Ian for private badminton lessons through the UpMySport website.
Daryl Jacobs
If you’re looking for a coach with competitive match-play experience, Daryl fits the bill. In 2008 he was runner-up in the Yonex English National Under 19 Men’s Championships, and in 2012 he was a finalist in all three events (men’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles) in the Norfolk Open Championships at the UEA SportsPark.
Daryl offers private badminton lessons in west London, and can be contacted through the UpMySport website.
So if you’re looking for the best badminton coach in London, you’ve got six great options right here.
About the author of this blog: Dominic Londesborough is a personal trainer in London, founder of Fitness4London, and runs the Fitness Buddy social network (where you can find a Badminton Buddy in your part of London).