On December 15, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Training Camp was successfully held at the Hangzhou Binjiang Gymnasium, where basketball teenagers from all over the country gathered to hone their skills and fight for a chance to study and play overseas.
At the same time, this talent training path that has been paved since 2019 is also being continuously improved and matured with the joint efforts of Tsai Chongxin and the Chinese Basketball Association, and is officially moving towards the new year.
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Text / Li Jiajun
Editor / Guo Yang
Yao Ming and Tsai Chongxin delivered speeches!The 2024 Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Training Camp was upgraded and set off again
On the morning of December 15th, the sudden cold air gradually blew away the bustle of the streets of Hangzhou, but dozens of young basketball teenagers in the Binjiang Gymnasium had already changed into light jerseys early, ready to start a three-day training camp selection, and ignited this early winter with enthusiasm and vitality.
At the opening ceremony, after the students and guests reviewed the history of the Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship over the past three years, Mr. Tsai slowly walked to the center of the court and patiently shared his own growth experience and how sports play an irreplaceable role in it.
In addition, Mr. Chua also spoke to all the parents at the scene: "This journey is a physical and academic experience, please don't worry, if you can, please try to support the children's games as much as possible, your presence and presence on the sidelines are very important to them. Before the words fell, many young players also looked at their parents, and in the eyes of each other, some kind of agreement fell on each other's hearts.
At the same time, Yao Ming, Chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, further emphasized the importance and feasibility of the integration of sports and education with his own experience of returning to Shanghai Jiaotong University to study after retiring from the army, and said: "No matter how we go, studying and playing ball can be done without delay. 」
Due to the epidemic in the past, Mr. Cai could only bring encouragement to students and parents in the form of videos at the opening ceremonies of the previous sessions, and now he can attend in person, which not only shows that he attaches great importance to this career, but also announces the comprehensive growth of the scholarship itself after three years of precipitation, and a more confident departure.
In 2019, the Chinese Basketball Association launched the Youth Reserve Talent Overseas Study Elite Program, and four players, Wang Furui, Li Xinyi, Zhang Yijiong and Sun Xiangxiang, were sponsored by Mr. Tsai Chongxin to study in boarding high schools in the United States, and also honed their skills in the competition with outstanding players of the same age. This program was the forerunner of the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Program. In 2021, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship was operated independently, and the Chinese Basketball Association became the official supporter, and so far a total of 15 students have been sponsored to play in Xi in the United States.
Now, after everything is completely back on track, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship continues to move forward with years of experience. It is understood that the number of applicants for the 2024 Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship has reached 259, and a total of 47 outstanding students from all over the country have passed the primary selection and come to the 2024 training camp. They will go through a multi-dimensional and all-round test in the process, and strive for the opportunity to study in the United States next fall.
According to the observation of Krypton at the scene, whether it is the scale of the expansion year by year, or the high recognition and participation of guests, parents and students in this opening ceremony, it is undeniable that the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship has been successfully established and continues to broaden the road of sports and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, so that more and more hopeful stars can be given opportunities to chase their dreams.
Thick and "wide" development
As stated on the official website of the Tsai Chongxin Foundation, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Program aims to cultivate the next generation of Chinese basketball talents with international vision, comprehensive cultural literacy, and love basketball, and at the same time make positive contributions to the sports and cultural exchanges between Chinese and foreign youth.
In the past three years of independent operation, with the strong support of the Chinese Basketball Association and all walks of life, nearly 1,000 applications have been received, and 15 students who went to the United States have made significant progress and achieved certain achievements according to their own pace.
Among them, the first batch of students who went to the United States in 2019, Wang Furui and Li Xinyi, won full basketball scholarships from Northwestern University and Manhattan College, members of the NCAA Division I League, respectively, Zhang Yijiong won a full basketball scholarship from William Juville College, NCAA Division II League, and Xun Sinan of the Class of 2022 received a full basketball scholarship from the University of Alabama, Mississippi State University, and the NCAA Division I League as a 9th grade student. This year, Xun Sinan was also selected for the 2023 U16 National Men's Basketball Youth Training Team, and participated in the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Qatar with the team, winning the title of tournament block king.
Lee Shin-yee pledged to join the Manhattan Academy promotional poster
In the process of improving and shining these players, the scholarship is also constantly improving themselves, step by step from mentality to complete the transformation from trying to affirmation, and now, it is time to release energy.
According to Krypton, from the first four players in the elite program in 2019, to five players in the class of 2022, and then to six players in the class of 2023, the scholarship is trying to give more young students opportunities every year. The parents of 2023 student Niu Qisheng told Krypton: "In just three months from September to the end of the year, I have felt a great change in Qisheng, and I am really grateful to the Cai Foundation for letting my child have such a rare opportunity to study Xi. 」
At the same time, Qisheng's mother also said that a series of experiences and preparations arranged by the scholarship team before the students left gave Qisheng a great touch. In July this year, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship invited 6 selected students from the class of 2023 to Mr. Cai's hometown of Nanxun for a pre-departure training meeting to exchange ball skills, and also visited Cai's house in Hongqiao Lane, Shuanglin Town, to learn about the origin of the Tsai Chongxin Public Welfare Foundation and the public welfare projects done by Tsai Chongxin in his ancestral hometown of Nanxun.
"These experiences have made the child feel more intuitive about this help, become grateful and sensible, and even insist on training when he is sick, and he is afraid that I will not tell me if I am worried. Qisheng's mother said to Krypton with relief and distress.
2019 student Wang Furui also shared at the pre-departure training meeting
The cultivation of personal qualities and character is part of the original intention of the establishment of the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship, and it is also a point that is more and more valued in this process. This is why the scholarship not only helps the trainees prepare physically during the pre-departure training, but also uses different experiences and activities to make the players feel warm, so that they can better devote themselves to the training life.
Preparing the players and sending them to school is only the first step, and the scholarship will also provide follow-up and coaching for each selected student throughout their study abroad period to ensure that the students can devote themselves to training and learning Xi in the best possible condition. In this regard, the parents of the Class of 2022 student Song Yijia said: "Mr. Choi Chongxin, including all the staff of the scholarship, they are really very passionate about this work, and what makes me feel the most is not only the financial help, but also their investment in each child. 」
Class of 2023 visits Joe Tsai Gymnasium
This year, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship was held offline in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen for the first time, and joined hands with Shao Ting and other Chinese basketball celebrities to let more and more people understand and participate in the project in a more intuitive way. With the further expansion of its influence, the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship is no longer a public welfare project that can only affect a small number of people, but also a new and vibrant talent training path.
The new ideas of Chinese basketball youth training, and the social responsibility that comes with it
As we all know, the construction of the foundation in the youth training system is a very high threshold work, which requires practitioners to have a high level of professionalism and almost paranoid persistence. And, of course, the infinite love of basketball. Under Tsai's leadership, the Tsai Basketball Scholarship continues to use its influence to bring incremental growth to basketball youth training, successfully focusing on cultivating the next generation of basketball talents, and the program continues to attract people's attention because of its excellent ideas and visible results.
High attention and high expectations also bring significant social responsibility, and it is precisely because of this responsibility that the scholarship has been constantly improving this talent training path.
In recent years, discussions about whether professional athletes should stay abroad and what it can bring to the sports section will always appear in the comment section of the sports section, and the Tsai Chongxin basketball scholarship and the success stories of several outstanding players in the past have brought the focus back to the youth training stage and given a valuable reflection from the root.
Wang Fei, former head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team and head coach/jury member of the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Training Camp, told Krypton: "Because of the experience of the professional team, I knew less about the children who came out of the school system before, but in the past three years in the Cai Scholarship Training Camp, I found that there are also many children with good conditions, and it is a good thing to be able to let them go abroad to exchange and Xi with their peers through this way." 」
Director Wang Fei delivered a speech at the opening ceremony
In order to ensure the comprehensiveness and professionalism of the selection process, the project invites people from sports, education, public welfare and other fields to form an expert jury. In addition to Wang Fei's guidance, this year's jury also included Song Xiaobo, former captain of the Chinese women's basketball team and member of the Chinese Basketball Hall of Fame, Kuang Lubin, deputy director of the Coaches Committee of the Chinese Basketball Association, and Li Jintian, head of the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship Program, to examine the candidates from multiple dimensions.
"It's a process of reading and playing at the same time. As Mr. Joe Tsai said at the opening ceremony, in addition to talent and skills, the scholarship will also focus on logical thinking, personal qualities and academic performance, and provide comprehensive assistance in the process of studying abroad, so as to help students achieve "no delay in playing ball and Xi learning" and improve their overall quality.
After careful consideration by the jury, the new batch of students will be announced in April next year, and they will enter the United States in the fall of that year. As these young talents go abroad to improve themselves, we should not put too much pressure on them at the macro level, but should hope that they can focus on their own improvement, as long as they can continue to complete self-transcendence, the feelings and persistence of these practitioners are valuable and meaningful.
Since the Elite Plan put forward this new idea, the industry has witnessed the continuous consolidation and improvement of this logic. There is no doubt that the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship has become an indispensable and important part of China's basketball talent training ecosystem. However, as supporters and advocates of Chinese basketball, we should not only appreciate the sense of responsibility of the Tsai Chongxin Basketball Scholarship, but also continue to pay more attention to and actively participate in the youth training work.
"Don't be discouraged for those who didn't make the cut, this experience is just a small part of your dream-chasing process, and every bit of your contribution now will be transformed into your strength in the future. 」
Mr. Cai Chongxin's words at the opening ceremony that can benefit the students for a lifetime are not applicable to the workers who are rooted in the pyramid base, and the accumulation of little by little may not bring obvious direct impact on the youth training career, but only if the right thing is adhered to, the day when Chinese youth training and even Chinese sports usher in the harvest can come earlier.