9-year-old studying abroad in Canada's top youth league club will represent the Chinese team in the 2022 Winter Olympics
Beijing ice hockey boy No. 88 of the Chinese team realizes the dream of the Winter Olympics
face of youth
He is a player of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (GTHL), the first Chinese player to be drafted by the Ontario Youth Hockey League (OHL), and a member of the top North American Youth Hockey League (BCHL). He is Yan Juncheng, a young man from Beijing.
Yan Juncheng has been interviewed by domestic media since he was 17 years old. He has said more than once that as an ice hockey player, it is a great honor to represent the motherland in the Beijing Winter Olympics. After years of hard training and hard work, Yan Juncheng will soon start the Beijing Winter Olympics. Will wear the No. 88 jersey to realize his childhood dream.
As a pathfinder of a new training model, Yan Juncheng used his more than ten years of overseas study and playing experience to set an example for future generations. I believe that in the future, more Chinese hockey teenagers will go abroad like him and pursue their studies while taking care of their studies. My own ice hockey dream, to serve the motherland.
Shunsuke
Age: 21
Occupation: Ice hockey player
his story
Study abroad in Canada and return to represent the motherland at the Winter Olympics
enlightenment
"Do you want to go to Canada to play ice hockey? If you go, we have to face an unfamiliar environment, we have to start from scratch, and we will encounter many difficulties." Yan Juncheng replied, "Yes." With this answer, Lao Yan and his wife did not have the slightest After hesitating, he decided to go to Canada with his family to help his son fulfill his wish.
Yan Juncheng first came into contact with ice hockey by accident. When Yan Juncheng was 5 years old, he often went to the ice rink with his sister who was learning figure skating. Over time, he not only gradually fell in love with ice skating, but also became superhuman in terms of technique and balance.
Yan Juncheng's father saw that his son liked skating so much, so he found a coach to start ice hockey enlightenment training for him.
In the coach's words, the child has a high talent for ice hockey, and it was from then on that the Chaoyang Joy City Ice Rink became Yan Juncheng's most frequented sports venue.
At the age of 9, Yan Juncheng participated in a Canadian ice hockey summer camp. The summer camp organizer discovered the Chinese teenager's outstanding ice hockey talent and great development potential, and suggested that he play at a youth club in Toronto, Canada.
Old Yan and his wife naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity to let their children play in the "ice hockey kingdom" Canada, so they asked a friend to help contact a top local league club and decided to give Yan Juncheng a chance.
At that time, Yan Juncheng was still a coquettish child in his mother's arms. Suddenly he was going to live in a foreign country, and his parents had to accompany him, which meant that the Yan family had to let go of everything in the country.
At that time, Lao Yan asked Yan Juncheng: "Do you want to go to Canada to play ice hockey? If we go, we will have to face a strange environment, and we have to start from scratch, and we will encounter many difficulties." Yan Juncheng replied, "Yes." Without any hesitation, Lao Yan and his wife decided to go to Canada with the whole family to help their son fulfill his wish.
study abroad
"Is Eddie (Yan Juncheng's English name) really practiced in China? That's pretty good, like an alpine skier from a tropical country."
In 2009, on a plane to Toronto, Yan Juncheng, who was less than 9 years old, had no idea what his life would be like.
When the plane landed at the Toronto airport, his father said to Yan Juncheng, "You must know that your parents can only provide you with help with food, clothing, housing, and transportation. As for playing ice hockey and studying, you have to rely on yourself." Yan Juncheng nodded ignorantly.
After arriving in Toronto, living arrangements such as admission and club membership were gradually launched.
Everything seems to be going well, but the real test begins.
The language barrier was the first problem Yan Juncheng encountered.
The coach's action explanation on the court and the tactical cooperation between teammates all require language communication.
The language barrier interfered with his communication with classmates, teachers, teammates and coaches, and at that time he became a little nervous and anxious.
Old Yan and his wife were very worried. In order to allow their son to adapt to the new environment as soon as possible, they hired an English teacher and a personal ice hockey coach for him. After three or four months of intensive language study and ice rink training, Yan Juncheng was finally able to Communicate smoothly in English.
"When I first went, my English was not very good. I could understand a general idea, but I couldn't express it accurately. The coach of their school told me that Eddie (Yan Juncheng's English name) was really skating in China. Did you practice? That's pretty good, it's like an alpine skier from a tropical country." Obviously they were skeptical, but they felt that Yan Juncheng really had good ability, so they made such a joke.
But Lao Yan was unconvinced, and when he got home, he said to his son, "You have to work hard and prove that you are no worse than them. Can you do it?" "Yes." When asked about this past, Yan Juncheng said with a smile, He worked hard to fight for this tone, and I'm happy that he finally proved himself.
assimilate into
Yan Juncheng plays an average of more than 80 games a year.
This means that he is either playing the game or on the way to the game.
Another difficulty Yan Juncheng encountered in Canada was integrating into the team.
Before Yan Juncheng joined the team, the coaches and players of the team rarely saw Chinese faces. Ice hockey belongs to Westerners. Can a Chinese do it?
The team competition is very fierce, especially the teams in the top leagues. Therefore, during the game, their playing time is reduced and they sit on the bench. Yan Juncheng has encountered them.
Lao Yan enlightened him: "Competitive sports talk about strength, speak with strength, be confident, show your ability level, you can only rely on yourself, no one can help you. Seize every opportunity and handle every ball well. "
Yan Juncheng listened to his father's teaching, and did the same. Although he was young at the time, he clearly knew that if he wanted to be recognized in a foreign country, he could only rely on his own shot.
Since ice hockey is a team sport, Yan Juncheng not only needs to improve his skills, but also needs to cooperate with his teammates.
When he sees his teammates have better chances during the game, he doesn't hesitate to pass the ball.
It is precisely because of this excellent overall situation that he helped him integrate into the team in a short period of time.
After taking this step, it is a new challenge for Yan Juncheng to adapt to the training content of the Canadian team.
Ice hockey is played, not practiced. This is the theory of many North American hockey players.
When I first played ice hockey in Beijing, the coaches mainly taught techniques and skill training. Since there were fewer children playing at that time, there were fewer games.
Canada is dominated by games, so it requires high physical strength, endurance and on-the-spot agility of players.
In order to adapt to the rhythm of ice hockey in Canada, his parents helped Yan Juncheng adapt as soon as possible in many ways.
One is to change the diet structure, and the other is to ask coaches to teach special training on ice and physical training on land.
Yan Juncheng didn't waste any time. Most people would find this kind of super-intensive training boring, but he enjoyed it.
From elementary school and junior high school to becoming a member of the BCHL Victoria Bruins, Yan Juncheng played an average of more than 80 games a year.
This means that he is either playing the game or on the way to the game.
growing up
In order to be able to join the OHL draft with a higher order, Yan Juncheng has been working tirelessly, but fate played a little joke on him.
As we all know, ice hockey is a sport full of confrontation and risk. Although players are wearing protective clothing, helmets and protective gloves, accidents often happen on the ice rink.
Yan Juncheng, who had just established himself at the club, suffered a collarbone injury, which affected the draft ranking of the Ontario Youth Hockey League (OHL) in Canada.
In 2014, in a regular season, Yan Juncheng's left collarbone was fractured by a quick collision of the opponent's player. This blow to Yan Juncheng can be imagined. At that time, he was very high in the mock draft.
"It was after a confrontation, and it was skillful. The first time was actually not completely broken. Later, the injured area was not fully healed, so I went to the game again. As a result, the same position was injured again and completely broken." Lao Yan gestured to his son who was injured. The position, while spreading his hands helplessly.
In order to be able to join the OHL draft with a higher order, Yan Juncheng has been working tirelessly. Who knows that fate played a little joke on him. The second injury forced him to stay away from the game for half a year.
In order to let his son recover from his injuries, Lao Yan specially made a "little bed" for Yan Juncheng that could not be turned over.
During that time, Lao Yan and his son rested in the same room. The psychological pressure caused by the two injuries caused him to recover quickly with the company of his family. After recuperation and adjustment, Yan Juncheng returned to the field and successfully became a member of the Ontario Youth Hockey League of Canada ( The first Chinese player in the OHL draft.
His rich game experience and excellent ice hockey skills have been recognized by coaches and teammates in the team.
This is not all of Yan Juncheng's injuries. In 2019, he was already playing for the Victoria Bruins of North America's top youth ice hockey league (BCHL), and he suffered a torn medial ligament in the knee during the game and could only return to China for rehabilitation.
"What I thought at the time was to hope to get better soon, because I really wanted to play games." Yan Juncheng said, fortunately, this injury did not affect the next national competition.
After recovering, Xiaoyan became stronger and eager to compete.
At the beginning of 2020, he led the Chinese team to participate in the U20 World Championship held in South Korea as the captain and won the bronze medal in Division B Group B.
Injuries again and again did not stop Yan Juncheng from galloping in the arena. The young Yan Juncheng is maturing and improving little by little.
Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared, and it is the unyielding enthusiasm that he showed during the injury period that allows him to reap the results and keep moving forward.
accomplish
Through his hard work, Yan Juncheng was recognized for his golf skills, and at the same time, he achieved good results in his studies. After completing his studies in both civil and military affairs, he represented his motherland in the Winter Olympics.
In addition to the improvement of his golf skills, Yan Juncheng has also achieved remarkable academic performance in the years he has played abroad, especially in the school he attended in middle school, "Upper Canada College" (UCC).
Those who are familiar with Toronto must be familiar with the name of this school. Founded in 1829, "Upper Canada College" is a famous local private school. The school's ice hockey team can play various games. In terms of schoolwork or ice hockey, there is a great improvement.
At that time, when he heard that he had the opportunity to go to school while playing football, he was naturally very willing, but it was not easy to enter such a "top-notch" school. Admission to the school required not only good academic performance, but also sports, music, art, etc. There are many requirements, so during that time, Lao Yan and his wife made hard work together with their children. In addition to the normal school classes and club ice hockey training, they also "overweight" their homework to prepare for the entrance exam. In the end, Yan Juncheng successfully became this school. A member of all private high schools with a history of nearly 200 years.
During his studies at the Upper Canada Academy, his grades were good enough to quickly become the team's main force on the ice rink and served as the team captain. This educational experience laid the foundation for his subsequent recognition by higher-level clubs.
For many Chinese hockey teenagers, the path Yan Juncheng has traveled over the past ten years is what they want to follow. They want to become Chinese athletes who can gain a foothold in high-level clubs overseas like Yan Juncheng.
More importantly, this growth model explored by Yan Juncheng is different from the traditional Chinese sports training method.
For example, Yan Juncheng gained recognition for his football skills through his hard work and at the same time achieved good results in his studies. After completing his studies in both civil and military affairs, he represented his motherland in the Winter Olympics.
It is understood that in the past few years, young players of the right age have come to Canada one after another to start studying and playing overseas. The overall situation is improving. Many of them are likely to become the core and pillar of Chinese ice hockey in the future. It is said that Chinese ice hockey players are advancing bravely in constant exploration, and such a talent pool plays a very important role in the development of Chinese ice hockey.
As the first to take this first step, Yan Juncheng has already had the opportunity to realize his original dream and represent the Chinese team in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It is an incomparable honor and pride to fight for the motherland as an ice hockey player.
Text / Our reporter Zhang Kunlong
Photo courtesy/respondent
Shunsuke
Overseas playing experience
2009 to 2017
Canada's top league (AAA) Toronto Marlboro team played and served as vice-captain
2017-2018
Captain of the Canadian Varsity High School Top League (CISAA) Upper Canada College Varsity Team
2018-2021
North America's top youth hockey league (BCHL) Victoria Bruins played and served as vice-captain
Shunsuke
National brand experience
2016
Represented the Chinese team in the U18 Youth World Championship
2019
Represented the Chinese team in the U20 World Championship as vice-captain and won the scoring title
2020
Represented the Chinese team in the U20 World Championship and served as the captain
2021
With the Chinese national team to Russia to prepare for the Olympic Games