"Little notebook" and "pre match meditation"... What are the secrets to Shanghai volleyball players winning national double championships? Team member | competition | young general

I won the championship in my first national competition, with innocent faces and bright smiles, representing the future of Shanghai volleyball. Recently, the 2023 National Youth U16 Men's and Women's Volleyball Championships have successively concluded, and Shanghai Sports School has won the men's and women's team championship, setting a new record for the best performance in history.

Volleyball is a traditional advantageous sport in Shanghai. In terms of talent cultivation, Shanghai Sports School has provided a large number of excellent athletes for the first team, from teaching to nurturing. Nowadays, Shanghai adult male and female volleyball coaches Shen Qiong and Wang Zhiteng, as well as well-known Chinese players such as Li Guojun, Zhang Lei, Tang Miao, Zhan Guojun, Zhang Zhejia, and Dai Qingyao, all come from the city sports school. What are the characteristics of these young volleyball players today? How did they grow up? The reporter interviewed the coaches and players of the U16 team to listen to their behind the scenes stories.

"From the first point to the last point"

From losing 1-3 to Tianjin U16 women's volleyball team in the first group stage, to winning 3-1 to win the championship in the final, the girls of Shanghai U16 women's volleyball team were like riding a roller coaster and gaining a lot.

"The preparation time is rushed, and our players' average age is the smallest, so we can only play from small to large." Zhang Hong, the volleyball coach of the municipal sports school, bluntly explained the difficulties faced in this competition. "In previous years, the team's preparation and training time was three to four weeks, but this year's situation is special. On the one hand, in order to prepare for the first National Student Games, some players were transferred to the Shanghai Women's Volleyball Youth Team. Therefore, we added a few players from the district, mainly in the age group of 10, with the youngest being in 2011. In addition, we participated in the Shanghai Volleyball Elite Competition in early July, which was basically a substitute for training, and provided targeted guidance in a timely manner after each competition."

On the field of competition, opponents fighting across the net are tall and powerful. As Zhang Hong put it, "Our bodies are crushed by our opponents." After losing the first game to the Tianjin team, the coaching staff gave the players a boost to relieve their burdens. The game never went smoothly, and when faced with difficulties, they had to face them up and down.

Lack of internet advantage, but delicate technology and good ball connection, these characteristics of Shanghai adult women's volleyball team are also reflected in this small women's volleyball team. All teams face a headache when encountering the Shanghai team because they can't fight to death. The girls use tenacious defense and give each opportunity.

Observing the opponent's stance and playing style, learning to observe the gestures on the referee's court, and using the rules of the court reasonably, the girls learn while playing. Zhang Hong said, "Although they are all team members, we hope to use adult mode, such as having everyone speak during the preparation meeting."

Each team member has a small notebook to record post match summaries, reflections, reminders, and speech outlines. Before the final, 14 team members each spoke up, proposing how to play technically and how to play spiritually. Finally, the coach summarized everyone's speeches and extracted several consensus points: "Be good at defense, constantly challenge opponents, and always believe in yourself." Each team member will review and strengthen before the game.

13-year-old Fan Yuansheng switched from receiving to playing a setter in this competition. "Because he practiced a setter when he was a child, he still adapted quite well. I really like Ding Xia, a setter in the women's volleyball team of the national team. Both of us are left-handed and have a certain advantage in the second attack." When he was a child, he dreamed of joining the national team, but now Fan Yuansheng knows how to make one step at a time. "The first goal is to work hard to enter the first team first."

Looking back on his journey to the national championship, Fan Yuansheng mentioned that his mental state, field awareness, and ideological style have all improved. "The coach reminded us to fight from the first point to the last point, challenge the opponent, and implement the key points of the preparation meeting. Don't be superstitious about the opponent's height, because our defense and attacking skills are not bad. The coach is usually very strict with us and points out various shortcomings. During the game, he encourages us more by saying, 'Smile more on the field and let go a little more.'"

Finally, relying on their technological advantages, the Shanghai U16 women's volleyball team managed to advance to the finals. At this time, the girls completely released themselves and won their first national championship with the courage of not being afraid to wear shoes barefoot.

From the initial stumbling and hesitant to look at the coach, Fan Yuansheng's expression ability has become stronger and clearer. The more I memorize the content in my own notebook, some will highlight it, "When watching the opponent's game video, the coach told me that Chongqing's setter is quite stable, so I will write it down and mark it with 'learn more from her', and add a smiling face."

In Zhang Hong's view, the group of team members he led are also undergoing changes. Nowadays, children are more willing to express themselves, and blindly rote teaching is not suitable. "The players' notebooks have text, pictures, and slogans, which are very personalized. The coach and team members receive feedback through interactive communication, helping us constantly adjust our teaching methods."

"To learn how to play football, first learn to be a good person." This is a fine tradition of the Shanghai volleyball team. After defeating their opponents at the home court of Chongqing team, the girls from Shanghai team celebrated and expressed their excitement for the first time, but there was no loud noise.

Ten years sharpen a sword. Zhang Hong said that the talent pool for Shanghai volleyball is not as wide as that of populous provinces, but the cultivation of batches of athletes and the personal skills of Shanghai players have always been among the best among their peers in the country. "As volleyball players, we have a deeper understanding of volleyball techniques and know how to teach them. We hope to inherit the characteristics of southern volleyball techniques."

"Grinding" is about technology and patience

Like the Shanghai U16 women's volleyball team, the Shanghai U16 men's volleyball team is also dominated by a group of "little ghosts". Wang Yingyi, the volleyball coach of the municipal sports school who leads the team, has been engaged in youth training for 25 years and has twice won the top ten youth training coaches in Shanghai. Speaking of winning this championship, he remained calm and composed as if he had won an award himself. "This year, some strong teams from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Henan have not encountered each other in provincial competitions, so we mainly compare ourselves to learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses through training."

The U16 men's volleyball competition adopts a single round robin format. Among the five matches, Wang Yingyi's most memorable one was the first match against Shandong Danxian team. "The first game was already the most difficult to play, but I didn't expect the first game to be a decisive match." After experiencing a five game battle, Shanghai team won two games first and was tied by their opponents for two consecutive games. Fortunately, in the final decisive game, the Shanghai team withstood the pressure, opened the score, and secured the victory. This game laid the foundation for Shanghai's final five wins in five matches, and Shan County in Shandong also finished second due to this defeat.

The results of five victories may seem ordinary, but one oversight in the process could result in a complete defeat. And every detail is the focus of Wang Yingyi's attention. "In the last game against Chengdu team, as long as we win the game, we will be the champions. Chengdu team lost 0-3 to Shan County in the previous game, and their strength was average. The coaching team was afraid that the players would underestimate the enemy and that they would be too eager to win, and having too many ideas would affect their performance. Therefore, before the game, we analyzed the pros and cons, including all possible situations on the field. Before the game, let the players meditate for five minutes, clear all the previous games and distractions, think about the content of the preparation meeting, and how to play this game well."

Before the game, Ming remembered that it was effective, and the team members came on lightly and excelled in completing the game tasks. At this moment, Wang Yingyi is still reminiscing about the previous game, fortunately unifying everyone's thoughts in a timely manner. "The fourth game is against Taiyuan team. Before the game, we organized the whole team to watch the video of the match between Taiyuan and Chengdu team. However, the players were already thinking of playing against Chengdu team for the last time. I also realized that there was a sign of this in the team atmosphere, so I emphasized the importance of forgetting about Chengdu team and focusing on the game in front of us."

Experienced Wang Yingyi has long been accustomed to the psychological fluctuations or thoughts of team members, but he never dares to take them lightly. In summarizing this game, he believes that the biggest improvement for the team is the game experience and the confidence of the players. "Only with more game experience can the ability to interpret opponents and read the game improve. Therefore, we need to review every game, watch the videos of opponents and ourselves, and find shortcomings."

This Shanghai U16 men's volleyball team lacks strong attacking ability, but with strong passes and few mistakes, it is precisely through tenacious defense and effective organizational attack that it has become the "sugar in the eyes of opponents.". In a tug of war between the two sides, it is often the opponent who is worn out of patience first.

14-year-old receptionist Wang Yuhai performed well this time and won the Personal Sports Ethics Award. When it comes to the experience of the competition, Wang Yuhai candidly said, "Going to other places to compete has broadened my horizons, and several months of training have also yielded perfect results. In the future, when encountering difficulties on the field, team members should remind each other and encourage each other. I still need to do better in this regard."

Wang Yuhai, who is still in the developmental stage, is not particularly outstanding in terms of height or strength. For young athletes with potential in this age group, Wang Yingyi knows how to train scientifically. "Receiving and not participating in receiving and serving serve is the attacking point that participates in each round. Like other players, it undertakes defense, especially the front line interception. For Wang Yuhai, it is necessary to strengthen technical training, pass, receive, and intercept defense, and improve ball control ability."

Wang Yingyi is well aware that youth training is like "simmering slowly over a small fire". "Every four years, when a new team member arrives, they need to grind for two years first, and then strengthen their strength and attack when their body develops."

The word "grinding" sharpens skills and patience. Wang Yingyi's harshness is well-known in the industry. The southern team values small skills, which not only requires the players to practice hard, but also requires coaches to invest a lot of energy. The Shanghai team trains for five hours a day. "There is no shortcut to strengthening the techniques of the next three routes, just increasing the number of touches to improve training efficiency."

After leading a group of outstanding players into the adult team, Wang Yingyi emerged and impressed them, but he never boasted. "Cultivating an athlete is like an assembly line, from the district to the city sports school, and then to the professional youth team and adult team. What I do is one part of the work, in order to improve my child's future development."

Wang Yingyi treats the team members just like his own children, managing everything. He demanded that team members avoid eating junk food, carbonated drinks, and cold drinks on a daily basis. "Before joining the team, we would inform parents that training and daily life should be managed in a standardized manner, and the use of mobile phones should be restricted. These are regulations that our volleyball team has adhered to for over a decade."

Wang Yingyi's good intentions were not in vain, as he watched the children gradually mature in their interpersonal skills. "Once I caught a cold during training on the field, and the team members helped me bring the water over. At that time, I was quite moved and found that they had grown up."