Jayce
Medalists from the 2023 U17 European Championships have commenced a nine-day high-performance training camp in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.
This event, organized in close collaboration with the Portuguese Badminton Federation, is a crucial part of the BEC World-Class Program, dedicated to nurturing Europe’s top junior badminton talent through various projects.
The camp aims to enhance high-performance thinking among Europe’s top U17 and junior players, develop their badminton skills in specific events, and provide them with high-level sparring opportunities by training alongside experienced players. A total of 37 players from countries including Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, Serbia, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Latvia, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Romania, and Wales are participating in this intensive camp.
The camp relies on a strong coaching team, including José Antonio Crespo, John Dinesen, Gloria Pirvanescu, Nadia Zhibo, and Jeroen van Dijk.
Mari Carmen Casermeiro, BEC representative and Training Group Team Manager, shared her insights from the federation’s perspective:
“This camp offers an excellent opportunity for collaboration and mutual progress among Europe’s future badminton talents. Having such an experienced group of coaches involved is a significant added value to ensure the camp’s success. This is just the beginning of the BEC World-Class Program, and we look forward to seeing the growth and development of these young athletes.”
Professional Players Share Their Experience Portuguese women’s singles player Madalena Fortunato shared her experience from the first day of the camp: “It’s a great experience to share this kind of training with players from different countries. Their perspectives are different from ours, and there’s always something new to learn. Even though we’ve just started, I’ve already learned a lot. We help each other, and the coaches are doing a great job. I’m looking forward to seeing our progress.”
Over the next nine days, the world-class junior training group will not only hone their on-court skills but also gain valuable insights from top players like Isabel Lohau, who will share her journey to becoming a world-class athlete and how to cultivate a high-performance mindset both on and off the court.
In the exciting and intensive days ahead, these young athletes will return to their home countries with new skills and experiences, ready to apply the lessons learned from this high-level journey.
