On June 25, summer vacation has begun. In a classroom in Chengdu, the front of the big screen reads "The first lesson of the school year", more than a dozen teenagers look at the PPT display of the e-sports club recruitment poster, whispering discussions, and several teenagers hiding in the corner playing games.
This is an "e-sports growth bridging class" in Chengdu's Pidu District, and these 14-16-year-old "game addicted" teenagers were specially sent by parents from all over the world. Here, they have 12 hours a day that can be used to play games exclusively.
The Beijing News reporter found that for the effect of training, children and parents' demands are completely opposite: these teenagers who are almost deadlocked with adults try to embark on the road of professional e-sports through training here; and parents spend tens of thousands of yuan, only hoping that their children will be "dissuaded". Hou Xu, the founder of the training class, balances the two: in front of the child, he does not admit the theory of "persuasion", but also tells parents that "it is more difficult to be a professional e-sports player than to win the lottery", thus dissuading the child in another way.
E-sports veteran players told reporters that e-sports training in the name of "persuasion" is not a scientific practice, commercialization is incomprehensible, and it is necessary to beware of people touching fish in muddy waters and deceiving children. Hou Xu also admitted that the two-month "youth training camp" may not have a great effect, "we are actually a kind of frustration education, reducing the children's play experience." ”
On June 25, the coach explained the knowledge of e-sports. Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen photographed
Parent-child impasse
On the afternoon of June 23, it rained lightly in Chengdu. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the training session began.
More than a dozen boys sat around the table with sparkling drinks, charging sockets and alcohol spray. The boys either stomped on Jiro's legs or stomped on the storage box under the table. They stared at the palm-sized mobile phone screen, their hands skillfully operating. This is a video game launched by Tencent in recent years.
Among the many boys who were paralyzed in chairs playing games, Niu Wenmo sat up straight. At half past two, the door was pushed open, and someone called Niu Wenmo: "Relatives are waiting for you downstairs", but he did not answer.
It wasn't until Niu Wenmo's team's game character's health was cut by half and the team lost that Niu Wenmo stammered and put on his headphones to leave.
Niu Wenmo, 15, is a native of Chengdu. A coach who did not want to be named in the training class told the Beijing News reporter that his parents spent a lot of effort to cultivate Niu Wenmo, "almost all the training classes have been reported", in the popular saying is "chicken baby".
Parents' expectations bent over. After Niu Wenmo went to a key high school, he wrote homework until midnight every day, and then secretly hid in the bed to play games until two or three o'clock in the morning.
After staying up late to play games for a year, Niu Wenmo had tinnitus, "What is the concept of sleeping only three hours a day?" "Parents took Niu Wenmo to see a doctor, and the doctor thought that the child was too stressed and suggested that he suspend school.
"Although the doctor suggested rest, Wen mo's parents felt that as long as the child quit playing, it would be good." The coach said that Niu Wenmo's parents saw some reports about the "persuasion to leave the class" and sent their children over.
When Niu Wenmo was sent to the training class, his parents put forward requirements such as "don't fall behind to study" and "can you read books in the evening self-study".
At 5 p.m. on the same day, Niu Wenmo welcomed a new "classmate". Han Xiaoxin, 15, was sent by his father from Xinjiang, 3,500 kilometers away. The father and son set off from home at 6:00 a.m. that morning, transited through Urumqi, and flew to Chengdu in the evening.
After sitting down in the office, 15-year-old Han Xiaoxin carried a school bag and did not say a word, and his father's eyes were bloodshot, showing the fatigue of the journey. The day before, Han Xiaoxin had just finished answering the last exam paper, and in exchange for taking the exam, his father promised to send him to "train e-sports".
The life coach took Han Xiaoxin to visit the classroom, and his father poured "bitter water". Since the end of last year, the son's relationship with his family has reached an impasse. The cause was a decline in grades. In September last year, Han Xiaoxin was promoted to the third year of junior high school, and the homework of the key junior high school became increasingly tense, but he could not give up the game and squeezed out the study and rest time.
"I don't go to bed until three o'clock in the morning every day, I don't have the energy to listen to classes during the day, and I have no interest in tutoring classes." Han's father said that the school teachers "beat" Han Xiaoxin, and rumors among classmates that "Han Xiaoxin has become a scum of the school" were also spread. Unexpectedly, these external pressures have been counterproductive.
His father was a veteran, and Han Xiaoxin was raised by his mother. In the impression of Han's father, his son is intelligent and well-behaved, and he is studying in the local key school from primary school to junior high school, "the first place in the math test class", as for why he is obsessed with the game, Han's father does not know the reason. In order to "save" Han Xiaoxin's grades, his mother stared at him to write his homework, "still training him at two or three in the morning."
Han Xiaoxin's mother couldn't bear it, deleted the child's game account, and the contradictions accumulated over the years broke out.
"He was going to jump off the building and I was terrified." Han's father recalled that on the day of the deletion, "the child cried and said that the number had been played for many years and was worth tens of thousands of pieces." After that, Han Xiaoxin shut himself in the room. "The meat Bought at home during the New Year was not eaten until April." As he spoke, Father Han seemed to be about to cry.
After Han Xiaoxin finished visiting the classroom, he sat expressionlessly next to his father. Han's father was still immersed in disappointment, and in front of the child, he began to bargain with the coach. He mentioned that his children needed to return to Xinjiang in advance to participate in the middle and high school bridging classes, hoping to pay less tuition. Turning his head to find that the child was nearby, he explained to the child: "If there is indeed talent, we parents will try to satisfy and fulfill your wishes, right?" ”
Han Xiaoxin watched in silence as the adults bargained, looking like they didn't care about themselves. Once they talked about their favorite game "hero", the teenager who had been silent became lively. Since the third grade of elementary school, Han Xiaoxin has played this game for 12,000 hours. In order to keep his promise with his father, he temporarily left the game, reviewed the middle school exam, and in just one month, the game points fell.
Hou Xu took out the contract, "We are on a 12-point system, and when the points are deducted, you will go home, and the money will not be refunded." "The table on the contract shows that the deduction items include late arrival and early departure, unexcused absence from physical education class, absenteeism, insulting others, confronting teachers, fighting and drinking, checking for sleep, etc., depending on the severity, the deduction score ranges from 1 to 12 points.
Hou Xu promised that if the children who had not yet deducted points at the end of the course could visit the professional club. Han Xiaoxin signed his name at "Party B".
On June 25, an e-sports training class in Chengdu was "the first lesson of school", and the participants in the class were all teenagers around 16 years old. Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen photographed
The first lesson of the school year
Hou Xu, 38, is the founder and boss of this training course. In 2017, he founded an e-sports vocational training center. In the spring of 2021, he held a training camp for teenagers, in which 80% of the participants were "dissuaded" and many parents came to visit. It's a summer school, and when he advertises to the outside world, he has changed his name to "Growth Bridging Camp" in a low profile.
Unlike the spring classes from March to May, the summer classes in June coincide with the summer vacation, and none of the students who come to school have dropped out. Hou Xu told the Beijing News reporter that there are many "students" among the students of the summer school. "There are three children in the class who have just finished the middle school exam, scored more than 650 points, can go to key middle schools, play games well, and come here to experience the atmosphere of professional players." Hou Xu said.
On June 25, the fifth day of the summer school, the training session was suspended this morning. At 9:00 a.m., Hou Xu appeared in the classroom, and the PPT began to play on the big screen, writing "The first lesson of the school year".
On the occasion of various e-sports national competitions, Hou Xu showed the recruitment posters of a number of professional clubs, requiring that the minimum number of points last season be 2500-2600 points, or the top 50 points in the peak of the season, the age is 16-18 years old.
A dozen children sat around the screen and looked at the poster carefully, but none of them scored more than 2,000 points.
At this time, the youth training camp is like an ordinary classroom. Some of the children whispered, some hid in the corner to play games, and turned a deaf ear to the lecture content. Hou Xu asked, "Do you have any questions?" Ben's somewhat noisy class was quiet, Hou Xu named the boy who secretly played the game, and the boy shook his head.
An observer asked the children, "Does anyone think they won't be dissuaded?" ”
"Some people say we're dissuading the agency." Hou Xu quickly "clarified": "What is meant by persuasion, you can do it, I advise you not to do it." In fact, we have never done this, and when we meet anyone who can do it, we all advise parents to give their children a chance. ”
Niu Wenmo raised his hand high, and there was a chorus of boos around him. The friends are full of tongues, and someone broke the news that he said, "You first achieve self-discipline and then say okay?" What time did you sleep last night? This sentence attracted the attention of the life coach, and Niu Wenmo's face blushed: "Yesterday's version was updated, and a new hero was trained."
"Self-confidence comes from your own strength, but you are blindly confident." Someone teased, he did not waver. Niu Wenmo's score was between 1700-1900 points, and the boy sitting next to him said that 1900 points and 2600 points were a very large horizontal gap.
After lunch, the boys got together again and laughed and played games. The only girl in the class sat silently in the corner, brushing the video from her phone. She had only been here for two days and was not very familiar with her. She whispered to reporters that she felt that she would not be "dissuaded", and the persuasion she understood was not to be a professional player, but to leave early from the camp. She said she would abide by the school rules, the game operation was not bad, and her parents told her that only a few people in each class would be dissuaded, and she was confident that she could stay.
The girl mentioned that she liked to watch the game live, and a northern boy sat next to her, showing off her experience of live broadcasting. They are both just 15 years old, the platform stipulates that minors can not live broadcast, boys help friends live broadcast "on behalf of", for three consecutive hours without saying a word. "I don't know how many people watched."
On June 23, the trainees played a "training match" under the guidance of their coaches. Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen photographed
Different "dissuasion"
Coach Lee is only 21 years old, thin and small, and he can't see the age gap when he sits with the children. Once a professional club coach, he is now responsible for stopping children from swearing while playing games.
Old Li is a "man who came over". Born in the countryside, he dropped out of school at the age of 16 to go out to work. I washed dishes in restaurants, fried lobsters, and was overwhelmed by pig herding tables and broke several ribs when raising pigs. In the 2020 epidemic, during the period of idleness at home, Lao Li came to prominence in the National Electronics Technology Competition, and then became an e-sports coach, and at the end of 2020, he went to this institution as a teacher.
Lao Li agrees with most parents that part-time work is too hard, e-sports professionals eat youth meals, and reading is a wider road. His method of "persuasion" is to speak out about his own experience and let the trainees weigh the pros and cons by themselves. "Even if you are really talented, let him know which way is easier to become a professional player and study well."
These children, who are in a stalemate with their parents, can quickly mingle with the coaches including Lao Li after arriving at the training class. Old Li called "Grandma Li" on social media, and the students thought his lecturing style was nagging but full of love.
"The baby is willing to learn when she comes back, he said he wants to eat hot pot, our whole family, including mother-in-law and grandfather, accompanied him to eat hot pot, he was very happy." We have now enrolled him in the tutoring class sprint exam. After the spring class in May, a parent sent a message to Old Li.
Spring class students Xiao Li and Xiao Zhao also want to become professional players. But after the spring class, Xiao Li returned to high school, and Xiao Zhao went to work in the factory.
"Because when I watch the game, I feel that the level of professional players is like that, I can go to my own line, I feel that I was delayed by learning before." Xiao Li said that after the middle school entrance examination, he could not adapt to the life of high school, and had the idea of playing professional e-sports, his parents did not agree, and also found a psychological counselor, and finally agreed to let him take a year off school.
Xiao Li played a game at home for half a year, "stuck in points, can't go up", his parents sent him to Chengdu, two months later, he recognized that professional players are a "more bitter road", and was successfully "dissuaded".
Xiao Zhao is a left-behind child, his parents were not around since he was a child, and he spent his 17th birthday in the training class. In the training class, he once put down his bold words in front of the coach, "If you can't go to the king within the specified time, you will go home", and then he failed, went home to reflect for three days, and went back again. "Since then I've learned not to be aggressive."
But not everyone can be easily "dissuaded". Wang Mengqing, 16, has been persevering, and he is recognized as the most talented student in the spring class, with a score of 2400. In order to fulfill the promise of "if there is talent, send him to play professional", Hou Xutuo arranged online trials for him in three clubs, but in the end they did not pass. The reason for the club's failure was "problems with mentality, poor stress resistance and short temper".
In fact, before being sent to the Chengdu Youth Training Camp, Wang Mengqing signed up for the club trial on his own, but failed due to "Hero Chi Qian".
When the spring class started in March, Wang Mengqing's mother once faced the media camera and expressed her own insistence on playing e-sports for her children, "When the child first told us, we really couldn't accept it, and then we slowly felt that we had also come at this age, and also had dreams, try it once." But according to Hou Xu, the parent still calls him from time to time, asking him to think of countermeasures and persuade his children to go back to school.
"Parents ostensibly tell their children that they respect their children's choices if they have talent, but in fact 99% want their children to go home and study." A coach who did not want to be named said, "Parents in the news report, see the e-sports player Wanli pick one, thinking that their children must not be elected, before sending their children." ”
The coach said that after some parents sent their children, the "additional requirements" made privately have made their attitude clear, "Parents will privately advise that even if the children have talent, do not play professionally, and even parents have made requests, let us contact the club, do not let the children pass the trial." ”
Hou Xu said that at first, he thought that the "persuasion" model could be established because of the screening requirements for professional players, so as long as the children found that they were not qualified enough to play professionally, they would give up and return to the ordinary path of study.
On June 23, Hou Xu received the students and parents who came to report. Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen photographed
Alternative business opportunities
The terms "discouragement camp" and "internet addiction experience camp" first appeared in 2018, from the "League of Legends" project experience camp held by a professional club. According to its official introduction, the club originally held the event to make the public aware of the concept of "e-sports is not equal to a game", but each time it was held, it became a "quit internet addiction experience camp" jokingly called by social platforms.
Sinbad, a senior in Guangdong, was inducted into the "Persuasion" experience camp in 2019 with 19 other people, with an immersive experience of about 8 days. He recalled that the organizers first took them to take pictures in team uniforms and made handsome posters in the style of professional players, and then they ate and lived with the professional players, trained for more than 12 hours a day, and experienced the cruel elimination method. The whole journey is free.
"We played training games and we lost all day, and we didn't win a single one." Sinbad said that these ordinary people who attended the experience camp were stressed every day, and "two or three of them really cried." On the last day, the regular team had a formal match with the professional team, and the result was "zero to three", and ordinary people were "crushed".
Sinbad believes that the so-called "persuasion" is only created by netizens to laugh at themselves, and after participating in the training camp, although he was temporarily hit, he quickly calmed down. "The so-called dissuading ninety percent of netizens should not be true."
As a veteran player, Sinbad could not understand the commercialization of the "dissuasion camp". He reminded that there may be people who do not understand education who fish in muddy waters and deceive children. "E-sports education you do well, is the skills training, for the industry to send talent, you do not do well, is to discourage." He said that in the player's discourse system, the "persuasion camp" is also used to satirize those training classes with poor educational quality.
"Some of the classes in the market are not very formal, and all he does is to put the child in that place, take him to play the game non-stop, play until he vomits, and then it ends, thinking that it seems to be dissuaded, but this is unscientific, playing is human instinct, and we must obey human nature for education." Zhou Lingxiang, co-founder of a large-scale e-sports broadcast platform, said.
Zhou Lingxiang believes that the e-sports experience camp for good teenagers can take the correct understanding of the e-sports industry as a starting point for teenagers.
"In order to attract people's attention, the Internet always promotes the anchor's annual income of tens of millions, a certain event makes a lot of money, how good the professional players are, many children see it, simply think that playing games can make money, is this not a dream thing? In fact, it is misguided. Zhou Lingxiang said.
He had been entrusted by friends to come into contact with such "misguided" children. "After coming to me, I first told this child that I am an expert and my opinion is authoritative, and then analyzed his choice and told him that the industry does not welcome people who are not capable now, and if you want to engage in this industry, you have to study well." He talked to the child for two hours, and the child confided in him what he thought of his father, and then he heard from a friend that it was the first time in more than a year that the child had opened his heart.
From "persuasion" to resolving parent-child contradictions, Hou Xu is keenly aware of the business opportunities. He mentioned that the reason why the name was changed to "Growth Bridging Class" was that once when chatting with parents, parents mentioned that their children needed to leave the camp early and participate in the junior high school bridging class, "I was inspired to move, the youth training camp is also a bridging class, it is a growth bridging class, because the problem we solve is actually the problem of adolescent internal drive, helping them regain motivation." ”
According to industrial and commercial information, a certain e-sports education consulting co., LTD., on which Hou Xu's training camp is based, was established on February 25, 2021, just before the start of the spring class, and Hou Xu served as the legal representative. The company is registered with the Pidu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, and its business scope includes education consulting services (excluding education and training activities related to licensing approval), family education consulting services for parents, etc.
For such e-sports training classes, the reporter learned that it belongs to the quality education and training. A staff member of the Chengdu Municipal Market Supervision Bureau said that if such training courses do not issue vocational certificates and do not carry out cultural education and training, they can apply for the business license of education information companies.
Hou Xu admitted to the Beijing News reporter that the reasons for children's game addiction are complex, and the two-month "youth training camp" may not play a great role. "The problem of children's addiction to games is at least a problem of five parties, parents, children, schools, society, game developers, I think parents have the biggest problem or responsibility." We are actually a kind of frustration education, reducing the child's play experience, but on the other hand, parents need to give their children more realistic care. ”
"It's a balance principle." Hou Xu said that the real learning life and the virtual game world are at both ends of the scale, "He is easy to get happy in the virtual world, but the reality is all kinds of pressure, and the balance is out of balance." ”
(Niu Wenmo, Lao Li, Han Xiaoxin, Wang Mengqing, Xiao Li, Xiao Zhao, and Sinbad are pseudonyms)
Beijing News reporter Yuan Suwen
Edited by Yuan Guoli
Proofread by Zhao Lin