Shandong school nurturing future stars
China’s much-documented investment in youth soccer remains a work in progress — but one that’s not without some notable success stories.
One of those is Chengyang Experimental Elementary School in Qingdao, Shandong province, which has been busy churning out young talent for China’s various national teams.
The school is one of 23 in the district that features soccer on its curriculum. Indeed, it is so focused on the Beautiful Game that it has established a three-tier league system comprised of boys’ and girls’ teams from each class.
Teams of fifth and sixth-graders play in League A, third and fourthgraders in League B, and League C is reserved for first- and second-grade kids.
The cream of the crop represent the school’s various age-group sides.
“The competitions for the first and second-graders are not serious games; they’re more like activities to trigger their interest in soccer, while League A and League B are for real,” school principal Niu Xiujuan said during an interview with China Daily last Thursday.
“We also have activities for students who do not play — designing class team logos, soccer painting competitions and even activities for budding young soccer journalists.”
Each student is guaranteed to have a ball at his or her feet at least once a week in a mandatory soccer class, while every class team is required to train one hour a day.
Putting the kids through their paces on the pitch is a dedicated group of coaches, all with experience at professional clubs on their resumes.
“The most difficult thing about training the first- and second-graders is getting them to concentrate,” said coach Ge Haichao.
“They can easily daydream or forget what you just taught them. I make sure to repeat things to keep them interested.
“Usually, each coach will follow a group of kids from the first grade till they graduate, and then we continue the circle.”
Aside from a bulging trophy cabinet, the system has yielded some impressive results, with one pupil being selected for the national Under-13 girls’ squad and three girls included in the Under-14s.
Another 20 pupils have been picked up by pro clubs and provincial teams.
Two of the latest hotshots are twin brothers and high-scoring sixthgraders Wang Fuwei and Wang Fuyuan.
“My hero is for sure Cristiano Ronaldo and my favorite teams are Juventus and Real Madrid,” said Wang Fuwei, who captains one of the school teams.
“My job is to stop my teammates from fighting each other during training, and I play because I love it. I don’t know if I can turn pro, and now I just consider soccer a hobby.”
The twins’ passion for the game originated from their soccer-mad father, Wang Zhouyan.
“I hope they can turn pro if they have the opportunity,” he said. “No clubs or scouts have contacted us yet, but at least there are middle schools that boast a great soccer tradition for them to go.”
One of the dozens of new soccer training centers springing up nationwide could be an option for the twins.
Last month, China’s deputy sports minister Du Zhaocai revealed that a total of 50 centers will be built by 2020, with 29 already finished.
Each will feature a four-tier selection system — school, district, city and international — with the best young prospects being promoted to one of the national junior squads or sent to train abroad.