Entering the national finals! This Chengdu campus football team was established only three years ago and is the only one in Sichuan.
2024-08-18
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On July 28, 2024, the group stage of the 3rd China Youth Football League (U13) National Finals kicked off, with 72 teams from across the country competing in 5 rounds and 180 exciting matches.This competition is hosted by the Ministry of Education, the General Administration of Sport of China, and the Chinese Football Association. It has gradually become the competition with the widest coverage, the largest number of participants, the highest competitive level, and the greatest social influence. One of its biggest features is that it breaks down the barriers between participating teams from the sports, education, and social levels.It is worth mentioning that in this game, the Chengdu Zhongbei Middle School football team, as one of the Sichuan representatives, stepped onto the highest stage of the national finals. Moreover, it is also the only school football team in Sichuan that appeared in the finals.This team was established only three years ago.How could a campus football team that was only established three years ago break through the siege and reach the national finals, and even compete against a number of professional teams?
▲The football team of Zhongbei Middle School participated in the national finals of the 3rd China Youth Football League
The referee was shocked by the comeback
The weather in Jilin in July is not very hot.
Under the leadership of coaches Zhao Jun and Jiang Zhuqing, 16 members of the school football team embarked on the journey of the competition. The draw group of Zhongbei Middle School was A2, and the opponents were Haimen Kediyuan U13, Hubei Youth Star U13, Jinan Licheng Bilingual U13, Henan U13, and Changchun Yatai U13.
These famous teams in the youth football world have one thing in common: they are almost all professional teams and are among the top three teams in the provincial qualifiers. The only campus team among them, Jinan Licheng Bilingual Team, also has a history of more than 80 years and has achieved excellent results in many domestic competitions.
Zhang Dongming, vice principal of Zhongbei Middle School, said that although the opponents were all strong teams, at the pre-match mobilization meeting, everyone, from coaches to players, had no psychological burden, because the theme of the school's participation in this competition was to train the team and accumulate competition experience.
It was this sense of relaxation that made the team members less nervous.
In the first half, the team conceded a goal. This result was basically within the expected range, "As long as we don't lose by a large margin, we can be considered to have withstood the pressure."
However, at the beginning of the second half, the players quickly changed the situation on the field, scoring two goals in a row, and finally reversed the opponent 2:1 to win the first game.
▲The football team of Zhongbei Middle School during the game
The difficult reversal also created four historical records for the Zhongbei football team in the three years since its establishment:The first time to reach the national finals of the China Youth Championship, the first time to represent Sichuan in a competition, the first time to score a goal in a national competition, and the first time to win a national competition.
When playing against Changchun Yatai, the team's ability to "come back" once again impressed the audience.
At that time, the team was trailing by a score of 1:5, and almost everyone thought the game was a foregone conclusion. However, the team unexpectedly scored two points in a row, eventually tying the score to 3:5. Even the commentator was surprised and praised that "this team is quite interesting, and many professional teams can hardly do that."
What is more worth mentioning is that after the game, the head coaches of two professional teams extended olive branches of recruitment to the players.
In addition to this competition, Zhongbei Middle School also represented Chengdu in the 7th China-Germany Youth Football Invitational Tournament, competing with the German Rhine Neckar U16 selection team and teams from Qingdao, Xiamen, Haikou and other countries, and eventually won the third place and the honor of best scorer.
▲Zhongbei Middle School football team won the third place in the 7th Sino-German U18 Youth Football Invitational
The secret: a steady stream of water
In May this year, in the Sichuan Division qualifiers of the China Youth Championship, the U13 football team of Zhongbei Middle School won the fourth place in Sichuan Province. It was precisely because of this achievement that the school stepped onto the highest stage of the national finals and became the only campus football team in Sichuan to appear in the third China Youth Championship national finals.
Some teams from sister schools found this incredible: How could they do this when it was only three years old?
Summarizing the experience, Ding Shiming, secretary of the Party branch of Zhongbei Middle School, distilled it in four words: steady and long-lasting.
She said that for three years, the school has always insisted on "four training sessions and one match" per week, that is, four training sessions and one match. It is this model of playing games every week that has honed the players' strong hearts that are particularly able to withstand pressure. "So in the final, even if they were behind in the score, they did not lose their rhythm, which gave them a chance to turn the tables."
In terms of daily management, the school organizes classes and schedules for the team separately. Players will have one-hour physical training every Monday and Wednesday; on Fridays and weekends, there will be one day of competition and two hours of professional training on the remaining two days; winter and summer vacations are not wasted, and the mode of two hours a day, six days of training and one day of rest is always adhered to.
Regarding the training focus, coach Jiang Zhuqing said, "The team's training is based on actual combat, and all training is centered around competition. Therefore, in normal training, the coaching staff has very high requirements. The training content includes agility, coordination, technology, and skills. Not only do they require standardized technical movements, but they also require them to be completed quickly, so that the children can adapt to the rhythm of different competitions."
▲The football team of Zhongbei Middle School participated in the 7th China-Germany U18 Youth Football Invitational Tournament
Many parents have questions when they see this: If so much time is spent on training, how can we ensure children’s cultural learning?
Principal Zou Yan also mentioned the four words "steady and long-lasting".
She introduced,One of the biggest differences between campus football teams and professional teams is that professional teams will devote all the players' time and energy to training, but the focus of campus football is on the word "campus", and the goal is to achieve both training and learning.Therefore, this steady stream of effort can also be understood as "making use of every opportunity" and making use of all available time. The ultimate goal is to allow players to excel in academic performance, football expertise, and competition results.
What if a player's academic performance is not up to standard? "The school will suspend his training, and the whole team will help him. He will be able to participate in training again after his performance improves."
Take the first batch of graduating players from the school as an example. These young football players are all third-level football athletes or above. The highest score in the high school entrance examination reached 633 points, and all players exceeded the key line by at least 38 points. "This result is one of the best among middle school players in the country."
Taking into account both study and training, parents are very supportive
It is precisely because of this two-pronged approach that parents' initial doubts about their children's selection for the team have turned into full support.
The father of team member Sun Hanyan told us, "I was definitely worried at first, but after learning more about the school's goal of 'focusing on learning, supplemented by football, and balancing learning and training,' and especially after seeing the results of the previous class of players, I felt at ease."
Moreover, Mr. Sun also noticed some small changes in his child after he was selected for the team. "Maybe because of the tight training time, the child's efficiency in completing academic content has obviously increased a lot."
The high school entrance exam is stressful, isn't it good to focus on studying? Father Sun doesn't think so. "It's the child's own wish to join the team. We should definitely respect the child's interest, neither blindly follow the trend nor impose interference. While ensuring learning, they can also gain a good physique, which will benefit the child throughout his life."
▲The members of the Zhongbei Middle School football team are doing pre-match training
The brilliant record and the two-pronged approach are also attracting more parents to pay attention to this team.
Some parents are wondering: What kind of children can be selected? Head coach Zhao Jun introduced that the current team members are not specially recruited football specialty students, but are selected from ordinary students in the school. There are three processes: resume screening, on-site evaluation, and family interview. Among them, the evaluation stage will focus on observing the students' basic skills, physical fitness, psychological quality and game insight. "In the future, the team's talent selection will also be open to the whole city, so that more children with football expertise and interest can receive earlier and more professional coaching and training."
Talking about the future development of the team, Ding Shiming said that the school is the first batch of pilot schools for the reform of the national youth football talent training ("631" football project) of the Ministry of Education and a national campus football specialty school. The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Sports General Administration also came to conduct special research."The goal is not to win as many championships as possible, but to respect interests, discover strengths, strengthen the body, achieve a win-win situation for students, parents and schools, and blaze a new trail for Chinese football."
Wen Yinjian Intern Jiang Xingyun
Edited by Yu Mange
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