STORIED HISTORY: Gao Chao, a football coach and founder of Beijing-based Silver Tide Football Club, shows off some of the club's achievements on April 1 (WANG XIANG)
Unlike other sports schools, the Sangao training base encourages students to pay more attention to their academic studies. Li, director of the base, insisted a 2-hour daily training is enough for high school students, and the primary mission for them should always be education. "We hope to provide not only top-level football players, but also holders of master's and doctor's degrees. The training base provides students opportunities to make the best of their gifts," Li said.
Thanks to the study in the training base, Han and his classmates have more experiences of attending large-scale domestic and international football games than students in other high schools. Some of the matches they have been to include the China High School Football League and international high school football games in Brazil, the United States and Japan.
"I really love playing football. It has become a habit of mine. I will feel uncomfortable if I stop playing," said Han.
In June, Han will take national college entrance examination. If all goes well, he will enter his preferred university: Renmin University of China.
"In the past, I dreamed of being a professional football player as soon as possible. But now I would rather accept formal college education first. Then, if the timing is right, I will fulfill my dream eventually," he said.
Due to its stellar reputation, the training base not only has many opportunities to compete with foreign juvenile football teams, but has also attracted foreign coaches.
Marko Tomic, a 31-year-old assistant coach at the training base, is from Serbia. He used to be a professional football player in his home country, but had to give up his professional career because of a knee injury. He spent four years at a sports university in his country and got his coach license later. Previously, he coached in Jamaica for several years. In June 2013, he was introduced to Sangao.
"I fell in love with this country when I first came here in 2003. My dream is to become a good coach in China," said Tomic, "I like my work here: the clean and beautiful fields, as well as the students." Tomic believes his students are all talented, but also very different. "Even with great talent, if you want to be a professional player, you still have to work hard," he stressed to his students.
As the high school has been chair school of the football association, the Sangao training base also shoulders responsibility of promoting school football across the whole country. It holds regular training for school football coaches, and exchanges with other high school football teams from other places.
"I cannot glorify Sangao as the best example of school football in the country. But I am sure we can act as a good model for other schools," said Li, "Nearly 100 percent of graduates from our training base have taken advantage of their football talent."
In the past 20 years, about 90 percent of students in the training base entered universities including the prestigious Peking University and Tsinghua University, while the other 10 percent became professional football players.
"It is impossible for every school to follow us. I hope if the country opens football schools in the future, like the reform plan mentions, Sangao can be a blueprint for them. I insist that Principal Liu's suggestion of taking competitive sports back to the coverage of education. This should be the future of sports. Modern education should be open, inclusive and diversified," said Li.
Club for children
When Gao Chao randomly kicked a football beside a bus stop with his friends 40 years ago, he never thought it would lead to him taking up a career in the sport. A football coach of a sports school discovered his talent and recruited him to play football. Gao became a football coach later, and then quit his steady job and opened the Silver Tide Football Club in collaboration with Beijing No. 18 Middle School in 1996. His club, which is very influential in southern Beijing, aims at promoting the sport among children between the ages of 5 and 13.
"I love football. I hope children can improve their health and learn the spirit of teamwork from the sport," 47-year-old Gao told Beijing Review. Football is a group sport that stresses team work. Football not only improves players' physical ability, but also cultivates their sense of teamwork and collective honor, faith and perseverance, stressed Gao.
"Football players must start training when they are kids," He pointed out that in a person's life, the period between 6-11 is a sensitive period for flexibility and suppleness. If children at this age receive professional training, they will have a strong body. Moreover, fast-moving football can improve their reactions, observation skills and creativity, which can help them in other areas of their studies, he said.
