Among the 68 children, a child from Shenzhen caught the special attention of Sun Wen, vice president of the CFA, and technical experts. During one training session, Sun Wen had been standing on the sidelines observing the child's performance.
"Green and purple and gold, long my heart. But for the sake of the gentleman, contemplating to this day." Talented children are always cherished.
The child's mother also accompanied her child to Suzhou. She said her child, who is on his first day of middle school, has a heavy school load and doesn't have time to train and play until the weekend. Playing soccer with her is a group of boys. She loves playing soccer and dreams of being selected for the national team and winning glory for her country in international matches.
This child is 13 years old. If you want to continue on the soccer path, you have to have a better environment where she receives higher quality training and plays higher quality games. Just training and playing on the weekends is not enough for her development.
It takes a skilled craftsman to carve jade into tools. Having coached at the grassroots level in China for three years, Bakewell has heard and witnessed many regrettable stories. "I believe a coach can't train a mediocre kid into a great player, but he can definitely train a great kid into a mediocre player," he said
During training camp, McRae fretted during a coaching business seminar, "I've been in China for five years now, and I'm acutely aware of the pressures on junior high school players that keep them from enjoying soccer. Personally, I think these pressures come from the coaches, whose penny-pinching mindset robs the kids of the opportunity to grow."
Lazar Jovesic, another Serbian coach who attended the camp, said he had coached a girls' team at a youth training club in Shanghai. Some of the children on the team were not local. They had to go back to their old schools to stop training because they couldn't settle their school registration in Shanghai. Jovicic felt sorry for these children. He said, "At their level, they could have come to this camp." There might have been a few talented kids among them, so their talents were buried.
The children attending the camp were all born in 2010, just in time for China's vigorous development of school soccer, from which many of them emerged as talents. However, campus soccer is mainly popularization, coaching level is uneven, the cultivation of elite talents need resources quality platform. Relevant experts believe that this platform must be attached to the campus and cannot be separated from it. Soccer elite need to receive normal education like ordinary students.
Soccer has a low success rate and players grow up with uncertainty. A small accident may change the trajectory of their growth. Most parents nowadays understand this, so while their children are playing soccer, they also attach great importance to their children's studies.
"If you can't play soccer, you can go to college." The mother of the Shenzhen child said. She is very concerned about her child's education after being selected for the high-level reserve team and entering the base.
In this regard, Suzhou offers lessons to be learned. Most of the 24 players selected for the elite camp are from Suzhou. According to Wang Jianjun, vice principal of Suzhou Sports School and head of the soccer program, they stick to the path of integrating sports and education, sending their children to ordinary schools to receive education, and training and competing after school and on weekends, "Parents recognize our approach and are willing to give their children to us. There is no lack of good seedlings here."
It is because Suzhou has explored a set of mature sports education integration model, the Foot City Office has set up a women's soccer high-level reserve talent base in Suzhou, which is more likely to solve the problem of players' education.
According to the person in charge of the Foot City Office, the base has docked with two nearby schools, and the players will be dispersed into different classes to receive the same education as other students. On campus, they are ordinary students with a circle of friends and social circles other than their teammates; after school, they will receive high-quality training at the base. If classes are delayed due to training and matches, special teachers will be arranged to make up for them.
"The physical condition and technical ability of the player lays the foundation for future development, and the level of general education and logical thinking will raise the ceiling for the development of talented players. It is difficult for the ball to reach higher levels when educational facilities are not authentic. We will prioritize the comprehensive education of children." The head said.
The design concept of the Foot City Office coincides with the relevant thinking of Chinese soccer expert Zhang Lu. A few years ago, Zhang Lu conducted an in-depth study on the issue of talent development. He came to the conclusion that the seedlings found in school soccer, when they reach the golden age of personal development in the middle school stage, must be concentrated on the cultivation of professional institutions, and at the same time, normal cultural education must be ensured; in the high school stage, the future direction of the children is basically determined, and then they will be diverted to go to school and play soccer.
Foreign coaches and experts at the camp agreed that the design of the Football City Office's high-level reserve talent training program is logical and clear, in line with international soccer law and based on current domestic realities, and that the key is to stick to the implementation. "We are afraid of halfway. This program is good, so create conditions to allow it to continue." One expert said.
At the end of camp, the coaches and survey specialists voted to generate 24 players who were the camp's elite players. At the end of the next camp in March, some kids will join this list. If there are no surprises, the children on the list will enter the base for training as high-level reserves for the Chinese women's soccer team.
As a result, their lives will be different. (End)
