"Don't be afraid of slowness, as long as the path is right, we will still choose to ride through thick and thin"
"We should be soberly aware that core technology (system) cannot be bought, but the introduction of new production capacity from generation to generation cannot catch up with the world's advanced level, and we researchers (ice hockey practitioners) must compete for breath, otherwise developed countries will always jam our necks in terms of core technology (international competitions)"
These are the words of two great men who thought of the Chinese national U20 youth ice hockey team's 8-2 victory over Serbia, the big "bitter master". After returning to China for more than ten years, leading the team at three World Championships, witnessing the development of Beijing's youth system, I wrote this article with great emotion.
Objective grades
- The Chinese team's promotion to Group B A this time raises the ranking of the Chinese national youth to 28th (top 10 + A6 + B6 + B6), which is similar to the 26th place of the Chinese adult men's team (Group B).
- The Chinese national youth team officially participated in the U20 World Youth Championship since the 2004 season, and its best result was that in the 2005 season, it won the top 4 of the group in the second division (with 6 points), ranking 6th in the entire second division and 28th in the whole division. Of course, this is all unofficial ranking, and the official statement is that the Chinese national youth team has been promoted to Group B A for the first time since the new grouping system was implemented by the International Ice Federation in 2011 (when the Chinese national youth team was relegated to the third division).
The final record of the 2005 U20 national youth team
- Many of the players of the 2005 national youth team were mentors or coaches of this year's national youth team.
- The most important thing is that this time the national youth team is all local players, born in China, with Chinese nationality, there is not a single naturalized Chinese player, and there is not a single naturalized player. It is a real victory for Chinese ice hockey.
The legendary "Kowloon New Year"
Ordered in danger
- "In order to ensure that the Chinese U20 men's ice hockey national team does not drop the group in the new season, and discover, select and train more outstanding young ice hockey players through multiple channels, the Chinese Ice Hockey Association decided to organize the U20 men's ice hockey team in Beijing to represent China in Iceland to participate in the 2023 World Championships." (Beijing Ice and Snow)
- "Due to the pandemic, the team has encountered great difficulties in gathering, selecting and preparing for the battle. With the approval of the General Administration of Sports, this competition is organized and carried out by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau. (China Ice and Snow)
-Due to the epidemic, the national competition of Weihai U18 was postponed
-Since the Yanqing National Championship in May 2021, most domestic players have not played officially for 19 months
The flag on the chest is far more important than the number on the back
- In the official list, most of the players, especially the core players, are younger, basically born after 05, with an average age of less than 18 years old, younger than the main rivals Belgium and Serbia
- The backline that undertakes important conversion tasks of the team is made up of domestic players
-At the most critical moment of preparation, the whole team experienced the first wave of infections
- Serbia, the biggest sufferer of Chinese ice hockey, since joining the ice federation family with Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 03/04 season, the Chinese third-level national team has not won a single game, losing 13 consecutive games.
And the victory of Serbia is decisive
It can be said that the preliminary preparation for this competition is bad, it is extremely difficult, and it is a crisis to save Chinese ice hockey from fire and water. Almost at the same time, the women's U18 abstained due to the above difficulties, resulting in relegation, which added more pressure, shadow and even tragedy to the U20 World Championships.
Why win
-Unite. There is no local protection of the dispute, no boss star is involved in the chaos. The team is unusually united. Selection and formation according to the management laws of ice hockey, select the most suitable players for the head coach, fair and just.
Alexander. McCitjewski, former head coach of the Latvian national team, has participated in major competitions such as the Olympics
-Psychology. Killing, headwind, physical confrontation, this is a rare encounter for men in China, and the most important reason is that the psychological level is too poor. The reason why the criticism can be solved this time is mainly because the growth background of the players is different from that of professional players. More than 90% of the U20 players are students, integrated with the school, integrated with society, and have rich experience. These have strengthened the players' ability to withstand pressure, adaptability, and speed on the field, and coupled with the experience of almost 1,000 games since childhood, the overall quality of the team's players is significantly higher than that of professional teams elsewhere.
33 seconds to kill forever become a classic
-Instructor. The proper command of the coach, the transfer of the group, and the proper selection of players are also an important guarantee for the team's super level of performance. After the first two games, the two-hour video lesson, Wei Ziyao's upward adjustment, and the change of defensive formation in the second group of Beijing were all brilliant strokes, laying the foundation for the team's reborn performance in the next three games and defeating Serbia in one fell swoop.
The coaching staff is indispensable
For collective projects, seven points rely on management and three points rely on strength. I would like to thank the China Ice Hockey Association for the decision-making of the winter management center, the Beijing Sports Bureau for its courage to take on the task of being in danger, and the Beijing Ice Hockey Association for its careful organization and implementation. The management level of the team has reached a level of unity, professionalism and synergy. In preparing for large-scale events, both macro and micromanagement are classics, which are worth learning, learning and thinking.
Final thoughts
-Unswervingly follow the youth training route, cultivate talents to be able to integrate with society, and integrate education.
-As early as 2015, I proposed that the three sports of ice hockey, tennis and golf in China have entered an irreversible sports modernization transformation. The basis is that the number of so-called "out-of-system" and "amateur" players raised by families and the number of professional players already have an absolute advantage (9:1). Nowadays, tennis and golf are full of talents, and they are also leading the world arena. Ice hockey is still far from reaching this height, mainly a team event. But sooner or later. The mantis will only be eliminated by history faster and faster.
The back of Andy Liu when he was a child on the 25th
- Beijing ice hockey focuses on high school leagues and university professional leagues. As well as the option of opening the professional league after opening the full adult team next season. In this way, a complete ecosystem of Beijing ice hockey can be formed.
- The selection of the national team still has to go through the coach responsibility system. Relying on the ranking quota to select the national team is not only easy to make the tryouts a hotbed of match-fixing and tacit ball, but also easy to make the national team itself divided, core players infighting, locker room gangs, and even local team assistant coaches disobeying the head coach leading to a coup-like strike at the scene of the game that seriously consumed the team's combat effectiveness, which is also a very backward selection method.
- The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still need to work.