Reporter Zhu Lingjun

In the national finals of the China High School Basketball League on May 5, the Huipu Middle School team from Linhai, a small city in Zhejiang, defeated the Tsinghua University Affiliated High School Team 14-74 to win the championship. Soon after, they returned to Linhai, paraded by floats, and welcomed by the whole city. Previously, the basketball team of Tsinghua High School has won the championship 73 times and is a regular winning team.

Hot discussion on the Internet, said that the road to winning the championship of Huipu Middle School is sprinkled with the blood of youth, which can be called the realistic version of "Slam Dunk", in the anime work, the silent Xiangbei High School basketball team defeated the perennial champion Sanwang Industrial Basketball Team. Some people say that the winning of the Huipu Middle School men's basketball team has written the legend of small-town basketball. They were curious about how the county middle school basketball team stood out in the national high school league where famous schools gathered and strong players.

craving

Zhejiang Linhai is a county-level city, although Huipu Middle School is a key middle school with a long history and quite famous in the local area, but in the country, the popularity is not high, many people did not expect that this time with the basketball team to become famous.

In 1982, Jiang Xianjun, who graduated from the physical education department of Hangzhou University, returned to his alma mater, Huipu Middle School, and did not envision the future of Huipu basketball. At that time, Jiang Xianjun was given the task of rebuilding the campus men's basketball team. When I first took over, the team was poor - there were no coaches, no team, only a concrete field for training, and parents of children with a little basketball expertise in the city were willing to send them to other key middle schools. There was no way, Jiang Xianjun could only run out to recruit team members by himself. To this end, he ran almost every township in Linhai, and the city held sports meetings, and he also ran to see, "There are many children, and the probability of being able to pick them out is greater." Jiang Xianjun said.

Li Kangle, deputy director of the Huipu Sports Management Center, was selected during that period. "At that time, I was in my third year of junior high school and taking the physical education exam. He saw me on the playground and thought I was tall, so he said yes. I never played basketball at that time. Li Kangle told reporters. In this way, Huipu Middle School played from Linhai to the prefecture, province, and national competitions.

However, when they actually stand on the national basketball field, they realize the gap between them and the strong teams. "Many times, the gap in physical talent is difficult to completely bridge by training and technical tactics alone." Lee said. Therefore, Huipu Middle School tried to bring in more talented players, and spent a lot of effort to invite Loren from Liaoning as the head coach.

"Although the Huipu Middle School men's basketball team is a small county team, none of us are afraid." Lauren, the head coach of the boys' basketball team at Huipu Middle School, has never been shy about talking about ambition. "The slogan we shout every day is to fight for the national championship, which is our only goal in training." He told reporters that the team can win the championship, relying on willpower and the desire to win the championship, "We always take the championship as the goal, use this to motivate the players, everyone twists into a rope." Loren said.

In 2017, Huipu Middle School, which became a regular in the National High School Basketball League, finally broke the monopoly of Tsinghua High School for many years and won the championship. This year, after 6 years of dormancy, the Huipu Middle School boys' basketball team once again reached the top.

way out

Compared with the founding period, today's Huipu Middle School boys' basketball team is more professional.

For example, in addition to coaches, the team also hires physical trainers, rehabilitation engineers, etc., as the team's logistical support. More importantly, it is gradually formed a training model with local players as the team, successively introducing players from outside the province, and establishing echelons. "We started selecting materials from elementary school, and the junior high school selected 15 people from the designated elementary school every year, and after three years, 3% of the basketball seedlings were sent to the high school." Li Kangle said that this not only opened up the channel for basketball talents to go to school, but also initially built a pyramid structure talent training model. At present, there are about 60 men's basketball teams and about 60 women's basketball teams in Huipu Middle School, forming a relatively complete talent echelon.

This development model guarantees the lower limit of the team. In Li Kangle's view, for Huipu Middle School, the way of "combining teaching and sports" that has been explored for more than 40 years is a more suitable path. "The basketball sports school in Linhai has not formed a particularly mature system. Our team is built on the foundation of the school, and with this institution, we can effectively solve some of the problems of team building, daily life, and financial security. Li Kangle said.

In Huipu Middle School, even if the player is eliminated in the selection process, there can be a better way out.

Li Kangle believes that the "way out" is very important. For most students, professional basketball is a distant dream. What many people hope is to win the initiative in future education through the specialty of basketball. During the interview, most of the students told reporters that they would not consider taking the path of professionalism for the time being, they had their favorite university, hoped to be admitted to the target school, and found a good job in the future. The reporter also interviewed a student and parents of students who came to the trial training at Huipu Middle School, and the parents made it clear that they did not want their children to leave the school environment too early.

"Now the admissions policy has changed, and the requirements for cultural classes are very high." Li Kang Lok said that usually the team training does not take up class time, the purpose is to allow players to have enough time to learn. Fortunately, on the day of the finals, all 8 senior students of the Huipu Middle School men's basketball team passed the high-level athlete test of their favorite universities. Among them, Tan was signed by Tsinghua University, and he will go to Serbia to meet the second team of the Chinese men's basketball team (U19 national youth men's basketball) to prepare for the World Youth Championship on June 6. In the future, he also hopes to participate in the CBA draft through the college basketball league and become a professional player. Zhang Haobo and Lan Haoxiang went to Xiamen University, and other students also received admission notices from Hunan University of Technology, Ningbo University, China University of Mining and Technology, and other schools.

Looking back at the basketball road of Huipu Middle School, in addition to the unique training model and talent echelon, it is also inseparable from the inheritance and persistence of generations of coaches. Li Kangle, the "layman" who was selected by Jiang Xianjun on the track and field that year, returned to Huipu after graduation to serve as the head coach of the junior high school men's basketball team for 16 years. Previously, the students Sun Xinliang and Sun Geng brought out by Li Kanglek also returned to teach at their alma mater after graduating from university.

For the players and coaches of Huipu High School, they did not accept that winning the championship was a "counterattack", believing that it was more like a natural victory. In the last nine seasons, their worst record was fifth nationally.

atmosphere

The reporter asked many times: "What is the secret of winning the championship in Huipu Middle School?" The answer was: "You may have to spend some time in Linhai and Huipu Middle School to get the answer to this question." ”

Walking on the streets of the sea, it is easy to be infected by the basketball atmosphere here. For example, when you get off at the Linhai High-speed Railway Station, the most conspicuous position at the exit is a group photo of Huipu Middle School winning the championship. In the streets and alleys of Linhai, many places with big screens broadcast videos of Huipu Middle School winning the championship. Many people talk about basketball, from high-speed rail station workers to taxi drivers to kiosk owners, and whenever basketball is mentioned, they will talk to you excitedly. On May 5, the Huipu Middle School boys' basketball team won the championship in triumph, and the whole city welcomed the sea, using the highest etiquette of the float parade to welcome the returning heroes.

At Huipu Middle School, the basketball atmosphere is even stronger. Basketball is the school's most popular elective, and the campus basketball court is often crowded, and many students play basketball during recess and lunch breaks. During the players' training time, students often watch. In the eyes of many players, such motivation is a positive cycle. "Training and competition are more engaged, can't be sorry for the spectators." Some players told reporters that standing on the court is their most confident time, and they hope to continue the glory of returning to basketball and find a better way out for themselves.

The average weekly training time of basketball players in Huipu Middle School is about 20 hours, which is a big gap compared to professional athletes who train more than 30 hours per week, but it ranks first among schools in Zhejiang Province. Someone once put a clip of a high school league game on a professional basketball forum, and many fans were surprised to see these teenagers skillfully playing various tactics such as "elevator doors". But for Loren and his players, it's more of a training routine. In the final on the 14th, at the last moment of the game, Huipu Middle School broke the joint defense system of Tsinghua High School through the "pistol" tactic and won with one hit.

The team spirit of the Huipu basketball team also left a deep impression on the audience.

On the night of this year's final, team captain Zhang Haobo was injured unexpectedly, and after a simple check and bandage, he re-entered the competition, and after the game, he had leg cramps and was carried to the podium by his teammates. At the award ceremony, injured player Zhu Baitao left the field early, and the players brought his jersey to the podium. After the victory, the players tossed Loren high in celebration and hung all the gold medals around Loren around his neck during the group photo. The MVP (Best Player) said: "We are not the perfect team, nor the strongest team, but we are the most united team. When he received the MVP trophy from Yi Jianlian, he couldn't cry, "The trophy is very heavy in my hand, but the MVP is not mine, it is the honor of everyone in Huipu Middle School." ”

continuation

Li Kangle is thinking about how to make the basketball team of Huipu Middle School go further after the aura of champions slowly fades.

"There was a strong sense of unreality after winning the championship, but I quickly sobered up and thought about what to do next." Li Kangler said, "Looking at the strong high school basketball schools in the country, their characteristics are very distinct, such as the flexible and powerful policy of Tsinghua High School when recruiting talented students, and Guangdong Experimental Middle School signed a co-construction agreement with Guangdong Hongyuan Basketball Club in the early years, and the development momentum is rapid." "Next, Huipu Middle School must find a new breakthrough point as soon as possible to continue the pride of small town basketball."

The beauty of campus basketball is sometimes fluidity. For example, Loren will retire early next year, and what will be his last full season leading back to Pu Junior High School to play in the high school basketball league will follow. Sun Geng feels that no team can always maintain stability at a high level, even Tsinghua High School, there have been troughs. "Echelon building is important, but it's also important to replenish fresh blood." Sun Geng said: "At present, we are still trying to maintain national enrollment, but this is actually very difficult, as a county-level city, Linhai is not as attractive as a big city in all aspects." ”

Sun Geng occasionally complains about the "cruelty of competitive sports." Last year, Huipu High School lost in the semifinals and missed the final, finishing third. At the time, such news received little attention, in stark contrast to this year's buzz. Sun Geng is a little pessimistic: "For many players, it may be difficult to win the championship in the future. He hopes that after this group of players graduate, more people will take up basketball-related positions and feed back basketball education. (Jiefang Daily)