In Kunming, the Runcheng School affiliated to Yunnan Normal University (hereinafter referred to as "Runcheng School") is a young school that has only been established for seven years. This is also a school with profound heritage, which also adheres to the school motto of "Fortitude and Perseverance" of Southwest United University, and is also committed to the lifelong development of students. Football has injected more vitality and fun into this famous school; Runcheng School has influenced campus football with its own way of running schools.
In February 2018, at the press conference of the Ministry of Education, Wang Dengfeng, director of the Department of Physical Health and Arts, introduced the upcoming policy of linking the best team of each age group of campus football with the level of athletes, and local governments will also formulate and implement relevant policies to support further education. Since then, the saying that "if you play football well, you can also go to a prestigious school" has not gone around in the education community and the football circle.
In the summer of the same year, the enrollment plan of the football class of Runcheng School landed in response. Three years later, the school has become a model school that leads the development of campus football through the elite school effect. To this end, Principal Li Youqin was commended by the National School Football Office, elected as the "Principal of Excellent Characteristic School" of national youth campus football in 2020, and is the only female representative among the five inductees in the country.
In Li Youqin's public resume, whether as a teacher or a principal, almost all the due honors are included, but the praise about football is the first time. "Frankly, I deserve this award." She modestly told Football, "I haven't done enough, this award should belong to the children, teachers, coaches, and all the staff who pay for football." For the work style of "exercising for an hour a day and living happily for a lifetime", she said she would always adhere to and implement it.
With football to promote school sports, with sports to promote the "five educations at the same time", to cultivate the new era of moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic all-round development of successors as the mission of the school... The ultimate direction of this interlocking and progressive education project is the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. "School football is a great place to start." She said, "I didn't tell the children who play football that you must compete for the first place and win the championship, but in addition to making your body stronger, you must cultivate your comprehensive ability through football and be a well-rounded person, which I think is a very important guarantee for the future growth of children and their future contributions to the country." ”
What is particularly touching to President Li is that at the art festival and sports festival held by Runcheng School, the program of the football class can always reflect the brilliance of the "spirit of the women's volleyball team", always convey the determination to "win glory for the country", and always touch her inner feelings of home and country. "I am particularly pleased that they can build up such confidence and ambition from an early age, study hard for the country, play well for the country, and use their better selves to serve our country in the future."
In order to let the football players improve their technical level and expand their international vision, in the summer of 2018, the school organized more than a dozen team members to go to Spain and trained in Valencia Club and Levante Youth Training Center for half a month; the next year, another group of people and horses went to Scotland to train and exchange games for a week at the Celtic Club.
Li Youqin, who pushes campus football and cares for the dreams of team members, admits that compared with the women's volleyball team and table tennis, she watches relatively fewer football matches. However, the "Principal's Cup" of Runcheng School is an exception.
In May 2018, when the first "Principal's Cup" campus football competition was launched, nearly 5,500 students in the school had one more stage to show their individual ability and team spirit. However, a year later, the second "Principal's Cup" suddenly upgraded, relying on the accumulation of previous efforts and the star effect of the football class, the charm and influence of football began to sweep the campus.
A year ago, the school had incorporated "basic football training" into the school curriculum, and "campus football" was listed as a compulsory course in sports, and all students had the opportunity to contact football and practice football skills. With the continuous expansion of enrollment, the school's football activities have now benefited more than 6,600 primary and secondary school students.
The first football class of 26 people enrolled in the fall of 2018 was unfair due to their outstanding strength, and the competition with other classes in the second "Principal's Cup" was unfair, so they were scattered into 13 other classes as "foreign aides". The coaching team and the class teacher consulted to distribute the elite members of this group of campus football to each class according to their number and ability, which not only increased the competitiveness of each class, but also improved the viewing of the event.
Driven by the "high-level foreign aid", the new teammates of the other 13 classes have also been infected, the desire to participate is high, and their own skills are bullish. According to Li Zhaogen, the leader of the junior high school sports team, "We dispersed our stars to various classes, and at the same time spread their football enthusiasm, competitive ability and sports charm, which better reflected the original intention of the Principal's Cup." At the "Principal's Cup", while the "foreign aides" contributed their skills, they also showed a good overall view and centripetal force to varying degrees, which was welcomed by teammates and sought after by the audience.
The annual "Principal's Cup" has been held for four years, which not only brings more excitement to the campus, but also brings unexpected surprises to the selection of football classes. Through this competition, the coaching team has discovered several talented and enthusiastic football players, and with the consent of students and parents, they have also transferred to the football class and become the new blood in the elite training camp.
Including the "Principal's Cup" football game, every time there is a sports festival and sports meeting, Li Youqin always helps the scene all day long, and every time at this time, she and the children cheer together, and they are happy like a child. In the eyes of the teachers, she is a person who "loves education and children from the bottom of her heart".
As the promoter of the "Principal's Cup" and the advocate of the educational concept of "love + wisdom", Li Youqin explained her proposition in this way: "First of all, you must love the students, you must love football, and you must love our daily work. So how to communicate with students and parents at work, how to communicate with teachers and foreign teachers, how to teach children to complete both good learning tasks and training tasks? It all takes wisdom, it takes methods. In this regard, I feel that learning and playing football are in the same vein. ”
A strong principal is a strong football, which is a recognized fact of campus football. Li Youqin, who has an international perspective, set the tone of "high starting point and high standards" for the development of football from the very beginning. When the school was established in 2014, they formed a middle school and primary school team; in September 2015, in order to solve the problem of football teachers, they took the initiative to invite coaches from youth training institutions to serve as coaches for school teams and football electives; in 2016, they invited professional coaches to the school to open football elective courses... Until July 2017, named "Yunnan Youth Campus Football Elite Training Camp" by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, Li Youqin seized the opportunity and borrowed from many sources to launch the football class enrollment plan the following year. At this point, the school's football career has taken another big step forward.
The establishment of the football class in 2018 means that campus football has entered the stage of "popularization and improvement". At present, the huge lineup of 5 foreign coaches and 5 Chinese coaches in the school's junior high school is enough to make many professional clubs ashamed. Relying on the strong support of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, the Yunnan Provincial School Football Office, and the Kunming Municipal Bureau of Education and Sports, 5 foreign coaches with professional player experience and UEFA coaching certificates were stationed in the school, and they stayed for four years.
Mason, a dual Citizen of France and Togo, has played as a striker in the professional leagues of the two countries and is currently the head of the foreign coaching staff and the head coach of the football class, responsible for offensive training and overall tactics.
"If I hadn't come to China, I would have been training in other countries," he said, a coaching career that has been close to a decade after his football career was terminated due to a foot injury, "I am really lucky to work in the beautiful Kunming, and I feel that I am the happiest person to see the players improving day by day." "Holding a UEFA B-level coaching certificate, he can take a step further and step into the threshold of a professional team manager," Honestly, I didn't think about this at all, every day at Runcheng School, I have a lot of fun. ”
Mason's compatriot Piso, who is responsible for defensive and header training, has traveled to three continents in Asia, Africa and Europe as a player, playing as a defender in professional clubs in four countries, and at Runcheng School, his experience, vision and sense of humor have benefited the players. Among the other three foreign teachers, Mustafa is the goalkeeper coach, Magnon is the physical coach, and the only female coach on the team, Fido, is also "the one who speaks English and Chinese best", patience and affinity make her face the primary and secondary school students with ease.
It is understood that in addition to the permanent Runcheng School, foreign teachers also undertake the task of rural volunteer teaching assigned by the Yunnan Provincial School Football Office during work breaks and winter and summer vacations. As close as the surrounding county towns and as far away as the green fields of Nujiangshan District, they have left their figures and sweat.
The stable team and professional division of labor have allowed Mason to take root here the youth training ideas inherited from France. In order to maximize the advantages of foreign teachers and systematize the concept of youth training, the school has introduced 5 teachers majoring in football and formed a Chinese coaching team in the football class. In addition to their own physical education classes, this young team also has to get along with foreign teachers day and night and seamlessly connect. In view of the training needs of the women's team and the teaching expertise of Fido, the Chinese coaching team also specially introduced a female member Pu Liye. It can be said that the cooperation and exchange between Chinese and foreign coaches has reached the point of "one-on-one, people staring at people".
Zhao Feng, head of the Chinese coaching team, believes that even the most advanced youth training ideas should be combined with the actual situation of the teaching objects, "We have learned a lot from foreign teachers in the past few years, and also provided indispensable help for the training they lead." For example, in-depth communication and daily management with team members. In this regard, Mason fully agrees with his Chinese colleagues: "Our cooperation is very pleasant, these ten people are a team, no one can do without it." ”
For the six training sessions a week for the three football classes, the Chinese and foreign ten-person coaching team worked very hard. In general, the motivation for local coaches comes from the love of football and the responsibility for the school, while the pressure of foreign coaches is relatively greater. Seeing that the five-year term of appointment will expire, whether the foreign teacher can renew his contract depends on the evaluation of the players and the school, the assessment of the Yunnan Provincial School Football Office, and their own wishes. "I love football too much, and I love China, especially the kids, colleagues and schools here. We would all love to stay. Mason said.
From the first day of the establishment of the football class, Li Youqin only put forward one hard requirement: the cultural class of the football class must not be relaxed. That is to say, the timing of the venue, the logistics of life, sports nutrition specials can be discussed, and even all the way to the green light, but the identity of the children in the football class after entering the school is first of all "student", and the football specialty cannot bring them academic discounts and special treatment. She said: "I believe that through effective guidance and management, learning and playing football can complement each other, and the two also need love and wisdom, and it is not an either-or contradiction." ”
Yang Jingjing is the full-time class teacher of the first football class, after entering the school for 14 classes of freshmen to explore the exam, the results of the football class are not ideal, but Yang Jingjing, who has no other choice, is full of confidence. In the summer of 2021, the inaugural soccer class delivered a shocking graduation answer. At Runcheng School, which is known for its teaching quality, this class collectively defended the honor of campus football pioneers with a fountain pen, and this football team completed a beautiful reversal in the examination room, ranking first in the average score of the middle school examination!
It is understood that the football class only has Thursday suspension from Monday to Friday, the other 4 days of training for 1 hour a day, and the weekend intensive training or game exchange, 2 hours each day. With no less than 8 hours of football time per week, it is usually easy to widen the gap in learning. So, how did they complete the reversal of the middle school entrance examination?
Yang Jingjing gave two answers: one is to win in learning efficiency, and the other is to win in the psychology of war. "We can only find ways to help students improve their learning efficiency, teach them to learn to see stitches and needles, and do a good job of time management." She said that one of the positive effects that football brings to learning is that children who play football are sunnier and stronger. In that football class, no one had the so-called "pre-test syndrome" or "mental imbalance", so the recent middle school exam "the whole class played very well".
The big reversal of the football class examination not only inspired the whole class and even the whole school, but also shocked many parents. This fact strongly negates the previous stereotype of athletes with "developed limbs and simple minds", and also shows Li Youqin's far-sighted vision in campus youth training. "I am particularly happy to see that the children study well, play football well, and develop their comprehensive quality in an all-round way."
What moved her even more was that in the first football graduation class, many people could fully enter a more famous high school with their middle school examination results, but 80% of the students chose to stay in their alma mater and become the fourth batch of students of the high school of Runcheng School. That is to say, when this decision was made, the college entrance examination results of the first batch of high school graduates had not yet been announced.
In addition to the reluctant learning environment and football atmosphere here, the children also learned to be grateful to the teachers and cherish the team. "The high school will devote all its resources to these children until they get into college and become better players, better talents." Li Youqin said, "It would be a pity if such a wonderful group of children were to disperse after graduating from junior high school." ”
In order to meet the wishes of the children and live up to the instructions of the principal, Yang Jingjing also entered the high school together and continued to lead the mostly football students to complete the next three years of schooling. Even though they had to take separate cultural classes, they still got together for soccer training in the afternoon tutoring class.
The educational concept of "love + wisdom" advocated by Li Youqin has been jointly practiced by teachers and students. The application of this concept at the level of campus football coincides with the European youth training idea of "love + brain".
Hu Yixuan, who was in the third year of the junior high school, began to participate in football training when he was in elementary school, and is currently the holder of the guinness of the two-year campus topsing record - 11,049 two-hour non-stop bumps, which have been reported by many media. Compared with the current training, he feels that the previous coaches emphasized more on "dare to fight and dare to break", or "physical confrontation is not good to lose", but in Runcheng School, foreign teachers have repeatedly instilled that players should "think more and use their brains", and also pay more attention to the details of technical cooperation.
Judging from the practical experience of Runcheng School, the integration of sports and education is also the integration of "loving nature" and "wisdom education" to a certain extent. In other words, football training and cultural education are different ways for children to build their hearts.
On the surface, children who play football tend to be energetic and outgoing, giving the impression of "sunny, healthy and positive". However, Li Youqin noticed that these children did not all look like this when they first entered the school, some were more introverted, some were more impatient, some were sloppy in doing things, and some appeared to be weak-willed.
"What completely changed their mental outlook was the campus and football." She said that football is a team sport, children must not only cooperate to win, but also to share the failure; both to suffer hardships and perseverance; to play the ball well, but also to be good at using the brain..." So I appreciate our coaching staff, especially pay attention to the intellectual development of the players, thinking enlightenment." ”
Although there is not much communication with the coaching staff, with her English communication skills, Li Youqin also got some first-hand information from foreign teachers, including the "if you want to play football well, your mind must be very smart" that they are always chanting.
Runcheng School's annual sports festival, in addition to traditional sports such as athletics and balls, also has "campus Guinness" fun projects such as jumping rope and bouncing balls. Li Youqin said that the primary purpose is to let all children participate, and secondly, the school attaches great importance to team sports, so as to hone the children's team spirit, improve the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the class, and finally sublimate into "the confidence to win glory for the country."
In the last three Yunnan Youth Campus Football Best Team Competitions, the junior high school boys' team of Runcheng School has achieved excellent results, of which Wang Haoyu was selected as the best team in the country. In the past three years, a total of 22 people have been selected into the best team of the yunnan provincial campus football junior high school group, and these children have also obtained national first-level and second-level athlete certificates respectively.
What is even more surprising is that the outstanding performance of the school's youth training players in terms of cultural achievements and comprehensive quality is a fairly rare phenomenon in the province. If we can go down the "all-rounder" model and continue to improve and improve, it is not a meaningful exploration for Chinese football, which is almost nowhere to go? For campus football, which is spread across urban and rural areas across the country, this is a real grassroots force.
By the end of the interview, 2022 is not far away. On that day, the sunshine in Kunming was exceptionally dazzling, and what was even more dazzling was the confident faces and vigorous lives on the football field.