Our Coaches
Aaron Perry - Head Coach
Aaron began playing Badminton at the age of 14 and was very soon playing a minimum of 4 times per week. Several local competition titles followed in both Kent and Sussex, along with selection for the local Senior league teams. Division league titles were quickly added, and Aaron qualified for his coaching badges as soon as he was eligible to take them. He coached sessions for a National leisure centre before taking further education. Aaron has captained the Reading University team, and also captained AIT Open A to the Premier title in the last 2 seasons.
Elissa Seddon
Elissa began playing badminton at the age of 8 and was soon playing in interregional competitions and local tournaments. At the age of 14 Elissa started playing local league in Ladies and Mixed. In 2019 Elissa was selected to represent England in the 4 nations graded international in Ireland where she won her 1st Gold. Since then Elissa has represented England a further 3 times and won a further 2 golds 1 silver and 1 bronze internationally.
Elissa has been playing badminton for 28 years representing Sussex County from under 21’s to now senior county and England. She has 18 years coaching experience, she began her coaching with East Sussex Juniors coaching the u11’s and the u13’s teams respectively. From here Elissa opened her own academy to encourage grassroots development within the sport. She now coaches up and down the South East of England developing players of all ages including GCSE students.
Elissa also competes in the Kent premier divisions, Brighton & Worthing, Surrey and Mid-Sussex leagues. She also competes on the National Badminton Senior and Masters circuit with an impressive 135 titles to her name so far.
Nigel Perry - Level 2 Coach
Nigel was heavily involved in the creation of AIT Junior Badminton, having had previous experience in running, promoting, and expanding a junior club. A C.V including ongoing CPDs from Kings College (Understanding ADHD) UoK (Understanding Autism) UoS/CIMA (Musculoskeletal System) and UEA (Youth Mental Health Awareness) aligned with a short course CPD in Sports Nutrition enables the club to attract and coach a diverse intake of junior players. A competitive background in Kent BAR TT racing has resulted in an interest in cross – sport training techniques. He is currently studying Sports Psychology. Nigel has qualifications in Sports Nutrition Training, Understanding ADHD, Youth Mental Health: Helping Young People with Anxiety, Understanding Autism and The Musculoskeletal System: The Science of Staying active into old age.
As well as playing a full part in coaching, Nigel also oversees the transition of the club’s Juniors into the Senior section of the club. He has been active in both Kent and Sussex for about 10 years.
Emily Mercer - Level 2 Coach
Emily has been playing badminton since the age of 13 and played regularly in the local leagues before becoming captain of Lincoln University Ladies Badminton team. She became a Level 2 Coach in August.
Ben Collins - Level 2 Coach
Ben’s extensive background in elite sports as a former Professional Golfer competing against the world’s best has uniquely shaped his approach to badminton coaching. Understanding that each athlete is built differently, he focuses on finding what works best for the individual, rather than adhering to a one-size-fits-all theory.
Lucy Satterford – Level 2 Coach
A Kent County player, Lucy competes regularly on the National tournament circuit and has over 25 medals in her collection in Doubles, Singles and Mixed Doubles.
Ciara Aylott - Level 1 Coach
Ciara is a regular first team player for both AIT and has represented Kent at U-18 level.
Emma Kennedy – Level 1 Coach
Emma has represented Kent County across 3 age levels, and has achieved selection for several Inter Regional tournaments.
Bhavana Ratakonda - Level 1 Coach
Bhavana has represented Kent County in Singles competition, and has had several successes in tournaments across the South East.