“I am pleased that many interested coaches also found their way to Mülheim,” Matthias Hütten, U15 coordinator, said after 57 players gathered in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The German Badminton Association (Deutscher Badminton Verband) launched its post-summer training program for elite youth athletes as the DBV U11 and U15 squads convened from Sept. 25 to 27 at the Westenergie-Halle in Mülheim an der Ruhr, badminton.de reported. The venue regularly hosts the international badminton elite during the annual German Open tournament.
Fifty-seven players train in Mülheim
Fifty-seven athletes from the under-11 and under-15 age categories descended on the Westenergie-Halle for three intensive days of skill development and tactical instruction. More than 20 home and regional coaches joined the camp to observe and assist on the courts. The coaching staff featured Diemo Ruhnow leading the U11 prospects and Lennart Engler directing the U15 squad.
The camp structure intentionally prioritized coaching education alongside direct player development. Organizers designed the joint session to align youth training methods across regional federations, ensuring that both young competitors and their everyday mentors received high-level instruction.
Matthias Hütten details coaching development goals
Coaching education served as a central pillar of the three-day gathering in Mülheim, running parallel to the intensive player sessions. Hütten emphasized that reaching the coaches who work with the athletes week in and week out remains vital for long-term national development.
“With Diemo and Lennart, two international top-level trainers led the courses,” Hütten said. “For long-term development, it is important that we reach both the players and the supervising trainers.”
Upcoming autumn camps in Germany and Denmark
The Mülheim sessions marked only the first phase of the federation’s autumn youth calendar. Both age groups have one final centralized training measure scheduled before the end of the year.
The U11 group will wrap up its annual training cycle with a concluding camp. Meanwhile, selected players from the U15 squad will travel abroad to Aarhus, Denmark—the home club of coach Lennart Engler—where they will train under the supervision of Diemo Ruhnow and Dirk Nötzel.
