Dennis Christensen joined the Coaching team at the Centre of Excellence (CoE), in Holbæk.
Badminton Europe’s Centre of Excellence, which provides a high-quality training base for players all over Europe and aims to develop and improve High Performance in badminton, is happy to welcome Dennis Christensen as a new member of the CoE coaching team.
Regarding the CoE, Christensen’s first impression is very positive: “The facilities are outstanding. They’ve got everything here. It’s amazing: beautiful hall, plenty of space to run around, good food opportunities and good gym facilities.” The coach points out how his first impressions on the facilities align with those of the permanent players: “they’ve been here for a long time and know that this is really a fantastic centre”.
The coach has been into the sport since he was seven years old and hopes to inspire others to achieve their most ambitious goals. Christensen’s first job was when he was just 14, as a coach assistant for smaller kids. Since then, his interest in badminton kept growing, until it became an empowering career. “I had a coach at that time, who inspired me quite a bit on going the coaching way”, Christensen confesses.
While working as a National Coach in different countries all over Europe, Christensen also had the chance to take part in the Olympic Games of 2000, 2008, and 2012. The coach believes that, although the qualification period is a tiring process, the Olympics aid in one’s personal development and will “give you a lot of experience to learn from when returning home.” An experience that the players at the CoE will now benefit from.
After the Olympics Games 2012 and an extensive period of travelling, he found an opportunity to open his own business in North Carolina, United States. Badminton NC is the facility which Christensen established for over six years and admits it is one of the most interesting experiences he has acquired as a coach.
The Dane’s fulfilling journey in badminton, together with his exceptional network are extremely beneficial assets to the CoE that can help attract even more new players, either for short term stays or permanent commitment. The CoE’s mission is to make European badminton competitive in a global context and by adding Christensen to the CoE Coaching team, succeeding in this will become more of a possibility. By working with different players of all kinds of competitive levels, Christensen has the ability to provide them with a great opportunity, while achieving personal goals.
From his career so far, Christensen recalls happy moments with players and admits that one of the best feelings is to witness and be part of someone’s triumphs. “Working with people” is the best aspect of being a coach. “You need to be able to tell them to change things, you need to teach and inspire them to do things a different way” he contemplates, saying that there are multiple resources in teaching, and finding the way one responds the best is essential.
Christensen also refers that Covid-19 affected badminton all over the world, and one goal of his is to get everything back, running as usual. The main drive for our new coach is to have small goals day to day, and reach them every week, hoping that players keep coming back and have an exceptional experience.