Building the Next Generation of Athletes through Badminton Interest and Talent Development at PKBM Mutiara Kampar

Abstract

Kampar is often called a stronghold of Indonesian badminton, yet local badminton administrators have pointed out that athlete regeneration there is hampered by limited standardized training venues and a shrinking pipeline of young players. This article examines the coaching pattern that PKBM Mutiara Kampar, a nonformal community learning center, has built to help close that gap for children in Desa Sawah, the village where the center is located. Using a descriptive qualitative case study with interviews and observation, the study identifies five interlocking patterns: (1) organization, funding, and a fixed weekend schedule provided entirely by the center; (2) a two-court rotation format in which one group of five children is coached while the rest play on the second court, with training that grows harder as skills improve, run by a single coach; (3) match experience through tournaments and try-outs; (4) informal coach mentoring of attendance and motivation, with no written records; and (5) improvised adaptation to limited equipment and manpower. About 20 village children, who are not the center's own learners, train every Saturday and Sunday. The patterns work because they are regular, free of cost to families, and combine instruction with playing and competing time; their main weaknesses are the ratio of one coach to about 20 children and the dependence of all costs on a single institution. The findings suggest that a community learning center can serve as an entry point for athlete regeneration at the grassroots stage even without dedicated sports infrastructure, as long as coaching is run consistently on a fixed schedule rather than treated as a side activity.