Foreign coaches embrace their roles in China
What they say
Even with differences in culture and occasional homesickness getting in the way, foreign coaches who are assisting with China’s winter sports have embraced their mission.
Any spare time Bjorn Kristiansen can fit into his tight schedule with his Chinese team in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, he spends on his mobile phone making video calls to check what’s going on back home with his wife and children.
Being away from home is a normal part of life for the Norwegian, who started coaching cross-country skiing in 1994, but settling down with his Chinese athletes so far away remains a challenge.
“I still quite miss them, although my family is behind me. My wife has been used to me being away and she knows how it is to be a sports widow,” Kristiansen told China Daily in a prefab cabin — his temporary office — beside a ski course at Pyeongchang’s Alpensia Ski Center.
“It’s a once in a lifetime chance because you get to build up something from zero,” he said of his motives to accept the Chinese I walked away from the Canadian women’s team last year to return to China. Why? Because your athletes were my first coaching position and they are like family. When families came asking for help I said OK. I want curling to be healthy and strong in your country and I want our game to be strong in the world. It’s a beautiful game. For me the personal satisfaction is to get China to win its first gold medal (in 2022). Marcel Rocque, a Canadian coach of China’s national mixed doubles curling team Zhang Hong (retired gold medalist in women’s 1,000 m at 2014 Olympics) is a good skater and for me it’s a surprise if you look at the whole picture. You have to make a better system to raise up the younger ones and give them a coaching offer.
Understanding the unique culture and sports system in China requires time and patience, but it’s well worth the effort, said Peter good education to make the results happen not just by chance. It’s like a pyramid, you have to make a good foundation to build on, and it takes time. Peter Kolder, the Chinese national long-track speed skating coach from the Netherlands An athlete in Europe is more or less self-motivating. They just gather together in training camp for a week per month and then go home. Then I realized that in China you have athletes, open-minded and dedicated, staying together in a camp 11 months a year, which is super tough. I admire their work ethic and collectiveness. Bjorn Kristiansen, China’s national cross-country skiing head coach from Norway Kolder, a long-track speed skating coach from the Netherlands.
“If we want this sport to be big then every country has to be involved. China is such a big coun- try that it could make a difference,” said Kolder, the current Chinese national youth team coach.
With the language barrier easily handled using translators, any misunderstanding caused by the difference between the Chinese and Western sports systems needs to be dispelled by efforts on both sides.
“From Canada, for me it’s a learning curve. I have to learn the Chinese culture and the many layers of decision-making in the sports system,” said Jeff Pain, coach of China’s new skeleton team. “So each of us needs to learn about the other so we can find our own best way for the Chinese to grow.”
Kristiansen echoed Pain, applauding the governing body’s effort to optimize administration for better efficiency.
“It seems now you have some visionary people around who want to change the structure. It goes directly now instead of between layers of people,” said Kristiansen.
Other than that, there seem no complaints in their adventurous life in China.
“I enjoy China more and more, with so much history and culture around. I miss my three kids and my wife but I am really enjoying it now. I have nice people around here so I have two families now,” said Kolder.