Brabrand IF Badminton continues to create new offers for the department’s members: In a short time, the department invites to Delicious Saturday for the department’s young members. Behind the initiative are, among others, the 18-year-old coach and firebrand Oliver Kaihøj, who himself has played badminton in Brabrand IF since he was very small.
Normally it is very quiet in Brabrandhallerne during the Christmas holidays – but this time it was different. Two days leading up to the New Year, Brabrand IF Badminton filled the Brabrand halls with life and movement.
Every day the young badminton players – most from BIF but also a few from other clubs – were met by a group of young coaches who were ready to lead them through joint warm-up and a few hours of training before lunch in Café BIF. In the afternoon, a joint tournament was organized where all participants were challenged.
Behind the initiative was 18-year-old Oliver Kaihøj, who had gotten a couple of other youth coaches and a couple of assistant coaches to join the project. This meant that both days from 9-16 was attention and focus on all players.
“We had a few mega-cool days where we just enjoyed ourselves, and the participants got to play a lot of good badminton. It’s great to feel that it really means something, especially to the youngest players,” says Oliver Kaihøj.
He was responsible for the planning, and had, among other things, gotten Netto on Silkeborgvej to support the project with, among other things, snacks and fruit.
“A couple of parents asked if they should bring some cake. The parents are generally really good at coming and helping.”
Delicious Saturday on the way
And now he is ready with the next new initiative, which he will start in February and March together with his good coach-colleague in Brabrand IF Badminton, Rasmus Tran.
The offer has been dubbed Delicious Saturday. Again, it will be an initiative that utilizes the Brabrandhalls, when they would otherwise lie empty. On Saturday from 17.30 the participants are offered pizza in the fireplace room.
And then there is the opportunity to do whatever you want in the hall: play badminton, football, board games, or whatever else you want. During the evening, the trip goes to Rema 1000, where mix-your-own sweets will be bought as part of a real cozy evening.
For the youngest participants, Delicious Saturday ends at 9.30 p.m. The elders are allowed to stay until 22.
The first time will be Saturday 28 February, when Delicious Saturday is for the members in u9 to u13. The concept is repeated on Saturday 14 March, where the target group is u15 to u19.
“It looks like it will be a great success, there are already many registered. I expect that we will be able to do it again and again,” says Oliver Kaihøj.
He explains that it is important to have some activities to gather around when you come down to the hall.
“I think it’s super cool that so many people want to join us when we invite the members to something. All we need is to write around whether we should do some things together. Then people respond positively. Then it’s really nice to start new things.”
Have back up from a parent
He was not very old when he first showed up at Brabrandhallen and set about learning the game of badminton from scratch. When he got older, he switched to Viby Badminton Club. And he became interested in coaching when he attended post-secondary school.
Although he has a busy day at HHX, where he is in 2nd grade, he continues as a coach for a number of youth teams in Brabrandhallen twice a week, Monday and Wednesday.
He can just get home and throw his bag in the entrance hall and reach the afternoon training – first the u9 team and later the slightly older u13-u15 and u17/19 players. For the youngest, however, he has back up from a parent, who jumps in when it is difficult to reach it.
“It usually fits really well. Then I can just get home and have some dinner before my own badminton training in Viby in the evening.”
On Wednesdays, he is in charge of training together with one of the other very young badminton coaches in the club, Anders Thyssen Jonstrup. The two also form an enterprising couple, which, among other things, are coaches at the badminton department’s summer school. In addition, several of the oldest youth players are here ready as assistant coaches.
Related reading
