Recently, a video of a 9-year-old football player crying in an interview after the game went viral. The protagonist of the video is named Zhang Dong, he is the captain of the football team of Sun Wenying Primary School in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, after insisting on training and competition for 4 years, his team finally won the championship in the ningbo Haishu District Primary School Football Tournament, when interviewed after the game, Zhang Dong could not help but shed tears, this scene touched many netizens, everyone cheered for the football teenager at the same time, they all said that if there are more football players like Zhang Dong who are full of desire for victory, the future of Chinese football can be expected.
Why can Zhang Dong's tears touch people? The first is because of his perseverance and spirit of not giving up lightly. According to domestic media reports, Zhang Dong trained 6 times a week without interruption, and has insisted on 4 years so far, and in last year's league, Zhang Dong was replaced halfway because of injury, and his varsity team only won the fourth place, but he did not give up, but won the championship with his teammates a year later. At a young age, he experienced trials and setbacks, but what is valuable is that Zhang Dong was not knocked down by difficulties, but gritted his teeth and persevered, and finally won the laurel, looking at Zhang Dong, who cried "crumpled" in the camera, many adults were deeply impressed by his tenacious and non-conceited strength.
Secondly, Zhang Dong's story, for Chinese football, which is currently in the trough period, is like sending charcoal in the snow, which can play a positive role in motivating. The situation of qualifying for the top 12 of the national football team is precarious, the Chinese women's football team that has not yet determined the manager will also undergo reconstruction, and some clubs have an existential crisis, making the already unstable professional league system more fragile... The overall deterioration of the ecological environment of Chinese football is bound to affect the youth training level, if there are fewer and fewer children playing football in the future, then the future of Chinese football is still difficult to see the dawn. At this time, the emergence of Zhang Dong, a 9-year-old football teenager, has made many people feel inspired, and everyone seems to see the hope for the future of Chinese football from this persistent child.
Zhang Dong's tears are also reminiscent of a video called "Football Squad Leader Crying on the Sidelines After Losing" that went viral 4 years ago, which originated from a special report on the "Hundred Teams Cup" produced by Beijing Television. In a game in the U9 age group, the team stars that participated for the first time belonged to the zero-base team, and as a result, they fell behind their opponents by a large margin after only half a goal in the first game. At half-time, as the only child on the team who could play football, the squad leader cried very sadly and expressed his dissatisfaction with the phrase "three idiots play with me". In the eyes of many netizens, the most lacking thing in Chinese football is the shame and desire to win of this squad leader, but some people believe that football education is off track, and it is important to value victory and defeat, and it is equally important to cultivate the spirit of unity, friendliness and mutual assistance of children from an early age, after all, football is a collective sport.
Compared with the squad leader on the "Hundred Teams Cup", four years later, the expression of Zhang Dong, a 9-year-old football teenager in Ningbo, did not cause any controversy in an interview, he has been emphasizing his persistence and efforts, but also thanked the school and parents for their encouragement. However, Zhang Dong's sentence of "very tired" still makes people feel the hardship and difficulty of his usual training.
What should youth football look like to best contribute to the sustainable development of Chinese football? On the one hand, China has built a "characteristic school + high-level football team of colleges and universities + pilot county (district) + reform pilot area + 'full of stars' training camp" such a "five-in-one" campus football three-dimensional promotion pattern, football venues, football courses, football training camps, various intramural leagues, invitational tournaments mushrooming. According to official FIFA statistics, The population of football in our country has now increased to 26 million, ranking first in the world.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
But on the other hand, in the process of moving towards professional players, the conversion rate and the success rate of teenagers are not high. Although the top-level design of campus football is very thoughtful, it is subject to the uneven level of grass-roots coaches and the contradictions and conflicts with the sports department, and at present, the overall level of competition is still limited. The youth training system of professional clubs does not pay much attention to the integration of sports and education, they themselves have a high elimination rate of taking the elite route, the selected children are squeezed out in large quantities due to cultural class time, lack of independent judgment and creativity in the process of growth, coupled with the youth super league, which is defined as the highest level of youth football in China, due to the epidemic, youth players lack a stage to fully display themselves, many young talents with the purpose of playing more games and exercising more to play the second division or even the championship, And many of them seem to be more eager for stable incomes, and have long lost their ambition to run to the top league and even stay abroad. What is even more frightening is that the concept of winning and losing that has been instilled since childhood and the cruel elimination mechanism in the echelons at all levels of some professional clubs have made young players form a conservative mentality of "preferring not to do it, not to make a mistake", every time there is a big competition, these players always have a championship thinking, very early on they carry heavy psychological baggage, and they naturally cannot play the usual training level with poor psychological resistance ability.
How to carry out youth football, With a century of football accumulation and in the nearly 10 years of youth training reform in the achievements of England football should have a voice, the FA formulated the "Mini Football and Youth Futsal Handbook", for 5-10 years old children in the final how to participate in football has a detailed elaboration. Peter Sturgis, a futsal lecturer who works for the FA, begins by writing, "We want children to enjoy participating in and even falling in love with football at a very young age. Mini soccer and futsal are designed to help children create an exciting, memorable environment in which to immerse themselves. We ask all coaches to treat the little players first and foremost as children, not children who may be good at playing football, and the most important message we have to send to children is that football is a fun and enjoyable sport. ”
England manager Southgate wrote, "As a parent of children, I would like to see children improve their ability to play and learn through the sport of football, and they should try out various skills without stress and be happy as a result." ”
In another book, The Rules of Mini Football, it says, "If children want to participate in football and enjoy the joy of football, they need to do: feel success, actively participate in the game, learn teamwork, understand the rules of the game, develop football skills, participate in it regardless of level, exercise." ”
The Rules of Mini Football also writes, "Mini Football does not set unrealistic expectations, and many parents do not know what to expect from their children, so they simply emphasize the outcome of the game while ignoring the growth and performance of their children in the game." At a time when children's spare time is filled with homework today, mini soccer offers something unique: it's a self-organized game for kids, with limited instruction, where kids can play and enjoy it, and everyone can participate. ”
The Rules for Mini Football also elaborate on the role that parents should play in children's participation in mini soccer, "Remember that children are often overguided by those who are eager to achieve, and for beginners, more praise and positive hints are more important." Studies have shown that children have difficulty understanding negative cues, but always reinforce those positive cues. Positive cues help children downplay the outcome of the game and focus more on their performance, with the aim of reducing children's worries and anxieties about failure. In the game, children do not deliberately make mistakes, we must accept the idea that mistakes are a necessary part of the learning process. Of course, we also need to make sure that the children follow the rules of the game, and finally, guide the children to learn to cooperate with them when working with adults (referees, coaches), not against them. ”
Despite their brevity, the FA's guidebooks for youth football outline the essence of the primary stage of English football's youth training, where football is more than a win or a loss, and children should enjoy the fun of football and show their talents, harvest happiness and growth. For Chinese football youth training, especially for campus football, this may also have certain reference significance.