Badminton KCELL inaugural Kilcullen session

KCELL, one of the proposed Badminton Ireland regional feeder cells, kicked off on Sunday last with 32 children between the ages of 8-17 taking to the courts in Kilcullen, for the first instalment of the August sessions in the lead-up to the cell official launch in mid-September.

With two 90-minute sessions divided between the younger children (8-12 years) and the older group (13-17) all attending players were put through their paces by European Bronze medallist Joshua Magee ably assisted by Joris Grosjean (France), Rachael Darragh and Mark Phelan.

The focus of the initial day one sessions was to educate all players about the importance of both a proper warm up and cool down before and after any intense training session. Both sessions were also coached on the forehand and backhand net shot with a premium focus on correct footwork on the approach and recovery.

At the end of each session all actively participated in a tough physical 15-minute session, which some of them would not have been used to purely due to time constraints within their own club set up. They also got an opportunity to see Joshua Magee’s European Games bronze medal which for the younger group and the mammies was a real treat.

“It was great to see so many enthusiastic children get so involved in the first sessions,” Joshua Magee said. “All the kids really gave it everything and over the course of the two sessions we could see a marked improved especially in their footwork.”

Course director Mark Phelan said it has been a long road to get to this stage. “But it is all worth the effort when you see so many children with the support of their dedicated parents getting stuck in from the very start. We will learn as we go but the aim for us is to be here for the long haul and to really enhance the already great coaching the kids get from their clubs with that bit of extra over coaching from Ireland’s top players and coaches.”

After the first Sunday session Joshua, Rachael and cell director Mark Phelan were invited to KFM studios for an extensive interview on the afternoon Sports Beat show hosted by Cein Meade. To listen to the full interview click here.

For more information on KCELL go to kcellbadminton.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/kcellbadmintonacademy. If you or your child are interested in getting involved in KCELL email Mark at markphelan.gpm@gmail.com

(Picture: 13-17 years-old group alongside Joshua Magee, Rachael Darragh & Joris Grosjean after their 90 minute training session.)