Wuhan, March 3 (Xinhua) -- When it comes to the Super League, most fans can think of the "Premier League", "Portuguese Super League" or "Chinese Super League", but on Sunday, a primary school in Wuhan opened a "30,28 Super League" league with <> teams, and ten rounds of events will be held weekly until the end of the semester.
Wansongyuan Road Primary School has a long history of developing campus football and has trained athletes such as Tu Shengqiao, Hao Junmin and Yao Hanlin. In the 2022 China Youth Football League, "Wan Xiao" participated in 6 groups in Wuhan and won the first and second places in 4 categories. Xinhua News Agency reporters found some unique details after attending the opening ceremony of the "Wanchao" league in the new semester and observing many games, which may give a glimpse of the school's many successful experiences in campus football.
61-page order book
After the opening ceremony of the league, the game begins. From the rapid transition from the ceremony venue to the football arena, from the pre-match coach leading the students to the student referee skillfully refereeing, from the ambulances and medical staff prepared on the sidelines to the guzheng playing performed by the students in the midfield, the orderly and orderly organization and execution of the professional "Wanchao" league is impressive.
When turning to the 14-page "Ten Thousand Super League" league order book containing 61 major events, everything seemed to have an answer. The regulations, schedules and other provisions have extremely detailed provisions on the division of labor, competition process, and award selection rules, and the degree of professionalism is almost comparable to that of professional events.
The "Wanchao" league also has some special settings. For example, students must be excellent in cultural performance in order to participate, interspersed with talent exhibitions at halftime, on-field and off-field scoring according to age and formation, and detailed to the point that coaches are required to understand the behavioral norms of advanced techniques and tactics in world football.
Principal Xiong Liping introduced that "Wanchao" has been upgraded from a campus football event to a mass sports complex event in Jianghan District this year, and 6 teams from the junior transition group and 4 adult teams have been invited to join the league.
Of the four senior teams, three are made up of hospital, bank employees and nearby residents, and one is a school coaching team. In terms of format, the fifth and sixth grade teams of "Wan Xiao" are organized into the senior group and will compete with four senior teams. In addition, this arrangement of "playing big with small" also implies the coaching team's deeper thinking about youth football.
Coach Deng Shijun said that this format is actually to provide a high-intensity playing environment for young players. "Football is not just a matter of technique and tactics, it is also about psychological and social aspects. There was a child in the game just now, and he was mentally unbalanced when he encountered a strong confrontation. I think that's where a lot of kids need to improve. ”
A professional-level coach rooted in elementary school
The 51-year-old Deng Shijun, known as the "father of grassroots football" in Wuhan, is the only primary school teacher in China who has obtained the qualification of AFC lecturer and AFC professional football coach, and is also the head of the coaching team preparing to organize the "Wanchao" league.
According to data from the Chinese Football Association, only more than 100 people in China currently hold professional-level coaching certificates. Despite his qualifications to coach top professional clubs, Deng chose to put down roots in school football and has been educating people for nearly three decades.
AFC lecturer and AFC professional-level football coach Deng Shijun (third from right). Image courtesy of the school
"After playing games every weekend, all the game materials will be copied back by the coach for analysis, and a collective analysis meeting of the coaches will be held on Monday to guide the training content of the week."
"In fact, it lies in being serious or not," Coach Deng said, summarizing the uniqueness of "Wan Xiao" in football. "I have always said that we must wait for the flowers to bloom, and only by paying a lot can we bring out the fine products. Make the grassroots solid, 10 years, 20 years, like a fool moving a mountain, take your time. ”
The coaching team currently has 10 full-time coaches. Most of these coaches have experience as professional athletes, and all hold AFC coaching certificates of C and above. Coach Deng introduced that through the government's purchase of services, the school introduces full-time coaches, which not only solves the problem of the working treatment of retired players, but also can improve the professional level of campus football.
Venues that are converted three times a day
Every Sunday from morning to night, 28 teams, divided into kindergarten groups, senior and junior groups, and adult groups, during the "Wanchao" league, the school used an eight-a-side field to the extreme. After a senior vs. adult team, the coaches quickly cut the entire field into three pieces with a fence, and the six teams participating in the five-a-side game immediately began to warm up. According to a coach, the venue will also be divided into six blocks for subsequent children's three-person competitions.
And the fence on the site is actually a common "water horse" on the highway. After years of exploration, coaches have found that this bundled "water horse" works better than a regular mobile soccer purse seine — easy to carry, won't knock over or be blown over by the wind, and bounce the ball to maintain the rhythm of the game.
Relying on the group rotation class format and efficient use of the venue, "Wanxiao" meets the needs of more than 1,000 students attending football lessons every week and more than ten teams conducting "four exercises and one game" on an eight-a-side field.
"Our site will be undergoing repairs and widening in July and August this year." Deng Shijun said that after the upgrade of the venue, he hopes to continue to make the "Wanchao" league bigger and stronger.
Parents inside and outside the walls
Before the opening match of the "Wanchao" league, parents were already standing outside the fence on the street side of the stadium watching the game, and the trail of more than 100 meters was crowded.
On the edge of the field inside the wall, there are actually many parents in the crowd. Zhang Zhihui, the father of fifth-grader Zhang Mulang, volunteers with the parents of several teammates at the league site. These parent volunteers are divided into different roles, some act as photographers to take photos and record videos for the children, some act as teaching assistants to help coaches lead the team, and some do some work on the sidelines to set up equipment and deliver water.
Wang Lingjie, the director of education, said: "Parents have now formed a tacit understanding with the school, and they know how to help coaches and teachers fill their positions. It is also a good parent to participate in the process of their child's development. ”
Deng Shijun said that with the support of the district government and other sectors of society, students do not have to pay for training and competitions in "Wanxiao", and can also receive free football equipment, so the burden on parents is greatly reduced.
According to coaches, with the holding of the "Wanchao" league, parents who used to take their children to play football at off-campus training institutions on weekends have now let their children return to school to play games.