Meet the snow and ice, come together to | China team No. 88 Beijing Hockey Kid Dreams of the Winter Olympics
9-year-old stayed in Canada The top youth league club will represent the Chinese team in the 2022 Winter Olympics
▲ Yan Juncheng (right) with teammates
▲Yan Juncheng represented the Chinese team in the U20 World Championship
Yan juncheng represents the Victoria Brown Bears of the top North American Youth Hockey League (BCHL) in the game
Youthful faces
He is a player of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (GTHL), the first Chinese player in the Ontario Youth Hockey League (OHL) draft, and a member of the top Youth Hockey League (BCHL) in North America, and he is Yan Juncheng, a Beijing guy.
Yan Juncheng from the age of 17 in the domestic media interview, has said more than once, as an ice hockey player, to represent the motherland to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics is an incomparable glory, after years of hard training and hard work, the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Yan Juncheng will wear the No. 88 jersey to achieve his childhood dream.
As a pathfinder of the new training model, Yan Juncheng used his more than ten years of overseas study and playing experience to set an example for future generations, believing that in the future, more Chinese ice hockey teenagers will go abroad like him, chasing their own ice hockey dreams while taking into account their studies and serving the motherland.
Yan Juncheng
Age: 21 years old
Status: Ice hockey player
His story
He returned from studying in Canada to represent his country in the Winter Olympics
enlightenment
"Do you want to go to Canada and play hockey?" If we go, we will have to face an unfamiliar environment, everything will start from scratch, and we will encounter many difficulties. Yan Juncheng replied, "I think." Getting this answer, Lao Yan and his wife did not hesitate in the slightest and decided to go to Canada with the whole family to help their son complete his wish.
Yan Juncheng began to contact ice hockey by chance, Yan Juncheng often followed his sister who learned figure skating to the ice rink when he was 5 years old, and over time he not only gradually liked skating, but also surpassed in technology and balance. Yan Juncheng's father saw that his son liked skating so much, so he found a coach for him to start ice hockey enlightenment training, but he did not expect that this step would be impossible to receive. In the words of the coach, this child has a high talent for ice hockey, and it is from that time that the Chaoyang Joy City Ice Rink has become Yan Juncheng's most frequented sports place.
At the age of 9, Yan Juncheng participated in the Canadian Ice Hockey Summer Camp, and the organizers of the summer camp found that the Chinese teenager had outstanding ice hockey talent and great development potential, and suggested that he play at a youth club in Toronto, Canada. Lao Yan and his wife naturally did not want to miss the opportunity to let their children play in Canada, the "Kingdom of Ice Hockey", so they asked their friends to help contact a top local league club and decided to give Yan Juncheng a chance. At that time, Yan Juncheng was still a child who was playing in his mother's arms, and suddenly he wanted to start a life in a foreign country, and his parents had to accompany him, which meant that the Yan family had to let go of everything in China. 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 an unfamiliar environment, everything will start from scratch, and we will encounter many difficulties. Yan Juncheng replied, "I think." Getting this answer, Lao Yan and his wife did not hesitate in the slightest and decided to go to Canada with the whole family to help their son complete his wish.
Stay in the ocean
"Is Eddie's (Yan Juncheng English name) really practiced in China? That's nice, like a country in the tropics that has produced an alpine skier. ”
In 2009, on a plane to Toronto, Yan Juncheng, who was less than 9 years old, was not sure what life would be like next. 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 food, clothing, shelter and transportation, as for playing ice hockey and studying, it is up to you." Yan Juncheng nodded confusedly.
After arriving in Toronto, the living arrangements such as enrolment and club membership were gradually unfolded. Everything seemed to go well, but the real test began. The language barrier was the first problem Yan Juncheng encountered. The coach's explanation of the action on the court and the tactical cooperation between teammates require verbal communication. The language barrier affected his communication with classmates, teachers, teammates and coaches, and he began to feel a little nervous and anxious. In order to let his son adapt to the new environment as soon as possible, he hired an English teacher and a personal ice hockey coach for him, and after three or four months of intensive language learning and ice rink training, Yan Juncheng was finally able to communicate smoothly in English.
"When I first went, I was not very good at English, I could understand a rough idea, but I couldn't express it accurately, and the coach of their school made an analogy with me, is Eddie's (Yan Juncheng English name) really practiced in China?" That's nice, like a country in the tropics that has produced an alpine skier. It was obvious that they had a skeptical attitude, but they felt that Yan Juncheng really had good ability, so they made such a joke. But Lao Yan was not convinced, and when he returned home, he said to his son: "You have to refuel and prove that you are not worse than them, can you do it?" "Yes." When asked about this past, Yan Juncheng smiled and said that he had worked hard to fight for this breath, and he was glad that he had finally proved himself.
Into
Yan Juncheng plays an average of more than 80 games a year. This means that he is either playing a game or on his way to playing a game.
Another difficulty Yan juncheng encountered in Canada was to integrate into the team. Before Yan Juncheng joined the team, the team's coaches and players rarely saw Chinese faces, ice hockey that belongs to the sport of Westerners, can a Chinese do it? The competition of the team is fierce, especially the top league team, so it is reduced to play time when playing and sits on the cold bench, Yan Juncheng has encountered, and began to be very uncomfortable, depressed. Lao Yan enlightened him: "Competitive sports are about strength, speak with strength, be confident, show your ability level, you can only rely on yourself, no one can help you." Take every opportunity and handle every ball. ”
His father's teaching Yan Juncheng listened to it and did the same, although he was not very old at that time, he clearly knew that if he wanted to be recognized in a foreign country, he could only rely on his own one shot to fight. 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 observes that his teammates have better chances in the game, he will not hesitate to send out a pass. It is precisely because of this excellent big picture that he has been integrated into the team in a short period of time.
After taking this step, adapting to the training content of the Canadian team is a new challenge for Yan Juncheng. Ice hockey is played, not practiced, which is the theory of many North American hockey people. When I first played ice hockey in Beijing, the coach mainly taught technical and skill training, and because there were fewer children playing at that time, there were fewer games. Canada is dominated by competition, so the physical strength, endurance and agility of the players are very demanding. In order to adapt to the rhythm of ice hockey in Canada, parents help Yan Juncheng adapt as soon as possible in many ways. One is to change the diet structure, and the other is to ask the coach to teach special training on ice and physical training on land. Yan Juncheng did not waste the slightest time, this kind of super intensity training would be boring for ordinary people, but he enjoyed it.
From elementary school to junior high school to later becoming a member of the BCHL Victoria Brown Bears, Yan Juncheng averaged more than 80 games a year. This means that he is either playing a game or on his way to playing a game.
grow
In order to be able to join the OHL draft with a higher pick, Yan Juncheng has been working tirelessly, who knows that fate has made a little joke with him.
Ice hockey is known to be a sport full of confrontation and risk, and although players wear protective suits, helmets and protective gloves, accidents on the ice rink are frequent. Yan Juncheng, who has just gained a foothold at the club, suffered a collarbone injury that affected the draft ranking of the Ontario Youth Hockey League (OHL) in Canada. In 2014, in a regular season game, the opponent's rapid collision caused Yan Juncheng's left collarbone to fracture, which was a blow to Yan Juncheng, who was very high in the simulation draft. "It was after a confrontation, it was cleverness, the first time it was not completely broken, and then the injured place did not fully grow well and then went to the game again, and the result was that the same position was injured again and completely broken." While comparing the position of his son's injury, Lao Yan said helplessly. In order to be able to join the OHL draft with a higher pick, Yan Juncheng has been working tirelessly, who knows that fate has made a small joke with him, and the second injury has forced him to stay away from the field for half a year.
In order to let his son rest assured of his injuries, Lao Yan specially made a "small bed" for Yan Juncheng that could not be turned over. During that time, Lao Yan and his son rested in a room, and the psychological pressure caused by the two injuries quickly recovered in the company of his family, and after recuperation adjustment, Yan Juncheng returned to the field and successfully became the first Chinese player in the Ontario Youth Hockey League (OHL) draft in Canada. His extensive game experience, excellent hockey skills, and recognition from coaches and teammates in the team.
This is not all Yan Juncheng's injury, in 2019, he has played for the Victoria Brown Bears of the top Youth Hockey League (BCHL) in North America in 2019, he suffered a torn internal ligament of the knee during the game, and could only return to China for rehabilitation. "All I thought was to get better quickly, because I really wanted to play." Yan Juncheng said that fortunately, this injury did not affect the next national brand match. After recovering, Xiao Yan became stronger and more eager to play than before. At the beginning of 2020, he led the Chinese team to participate in the U20 World Championships held in South Korea and won the bronze medal in Group B of the Second Division. Repeated injuries did not stop Yan Juncheng from galloping on the field, and the young Yan Juncheng was maturing and improving little by little. Opportunities are left to those who are prepared, and it is the kind of strength that he shows during the injury that does not accept defeat, so that he can reap the results and continue to move forward.
implement
Yan Juncheng won the recognition of his skills through his hard work and sweat, and at the same time achieved good results in his studies, and finally after completing his studies of "literature and martial arts", he represented the motherland in the Winter Olympic Games.
In addition to improving his skills, Yan Juncheng's years of playing abroad can also be remarkable in academic performance, especially in the secondary school "Upper Canada College" (UCC). People 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 ice team can play a variety of games, if you successfully enter this school, whether it is for Yan Juncheng in terms of coursework or ice hockey, there is a great improvement effect. At that time, as soon as he heard that he had the opportunity to play ball while going to school, he was naturally very willing, but it was easy to enter such a "top-notch" school, and the school's enrollment not only required good academic performance, but also had many requirements for sports, music, art, etc., so during that time, Lao Yan and his wife accompanied the children to make hard efforts, in addition to normal school classes and club hockey training, and "increased" review homework to prepare for the entrance exam. In the end, Yan Juncheng successfully became a member of all these private middle schools with a history of nearly 200 years. During his studies at Upper Canada College, he excelled enough to quickly become a team player on the ice rink and captain of the team, an experience that laid the foundation for him to be recognised by a higher-level club.
For many Chinese hockey teenagers, the path Yan Juncheng has taken in the past decade or so is something they want to follow, and they want to become a Chinese athlete like Yan Juncheng who can gain a foothold in high-level clubs overseas. More importantly, the growth model explored by Yan Juncheng is different from the traditional Chinese sports training method. For example, Yan Juncheng won the recognition of his skills through his hard work and sweat, and at the same time achieved good results in his studies, and finally after completing his "civil and martial arts training", he represented the motherland in the Winter Olympic Games. It is understood that in the past few years, there have been young players of the right age in China to come to Canada, open the road to overseas study and play, the current overall situation is good, many of them are likely to become the core and pillar of Chinese ice hockey in the future, it can be said that Chinese ice hockey people are bravely moving forward in continuous exploration, such a talent reserve has a very important role in the development of Chinese ice hockey.
As the first to take this first step, Yan Juncheng has the opportunity to realize his original dream, representing the Chinese team on the field of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, as an ice hockey player to fight for the motherland is an incomparable glory and pride. Text/Reporter Zhang Kunlong
Photo courtesy/interviewee
Overseas playing experience
From 2009 to 2017
He played for and served as vice-captain for Canada's Top League (AAA) Toronto Marlboro
2017 to 2018
Captain of the Canadian Varsity High School Top League (CISAA) on the Canadian College Varsity Team
2018 to 2021
He played for and served as vice captain for the Victoria Brown Bears of the Top Junior Hockey League (BCHL) in North America
National brand experience
In 2016
Represented the Chinese team in the U18 Youth World Championship
In 2019
Represented the Chinese team in the U20 World Championship as vice captain and won the scoring king
In 2020
Represented the Chinese team in the U20 World Championship and served as the captain
In 2021
Accompanied the Chinese national team to Russia to prepare for the Olympic Games
Source: Beijing Youth Daily