Australian men’s singles specialist., Anthony Joe, is currently training with other international athletes in Denmark at the European Centre of Excellence.
As part of the Badminton Oceania Player Development programme, the aspiring shuttler is attending the intensive training camp for the first time.
Anthony Joe training
The first camp consists of four weeks throughout July and August, before Joe travels to compete internationally, then returning to the centre for two more stints of training in October and December.
The European Centre of Excellence has a strong reputation for building stronger players to compete on the world stage and it seems like Anthony’s focus isn’t just on racket skills, but the holistic elements of professional sport too.
“The centre is a professionally conducted athlete hub for Badminton with top class facilities for not just Badminton but the athlete lifestyle in general. It was the best option in terms of an athlete lifestyle and focus.”, says Anthony.
Anthony is joined by numerous European athletes, including Sweden’s Felix Burestedt (ranked 82) and the Czech Republic’s Milan Ludik (ranked 116), giving him chance to build strong relationships with fellow players.
Having a strong network has proved essential for players like Anthony who regularly travels and trains independently. As they all work towards the same goal, such friendships are important for arranging training sessions and also giving each other constructive feedback.
“I had previously met a few of the players in the centre through previous competitions although a majority are new faces to me.”
“All players assist each another with feedback and put in 100% so each player can get the most out of the experience.”, says Anthony.
Anthony Joe networking with other players at the European Centre of Excellence
Three coaches are currently working with Anthony at the centre: Peter Jensen, Kestutis Navickas and Jereon van Dijk – all three have celebrated illustrious badminton careers and are bringing new and alternative strategies to Anthony’s game.
“Some things I’ve learnt mainly pertain to a mindset during a match, the focus required and the optimal strategies you might need to employ under challenging circumstances.”
“The training style mainly revolves around short, high intensity intervals which leaves little room for mistake to efficiently maximise your time on court.”, says Anthony.
Anthony will continue to train at the European Centre of Excellence throughout August before returning to Australia to compete in the tour of Australia: Perth International (5-8 September), South Australia International (12-15 September) and Sydney International (18-22 September).
