A 36-year-old Spanish football coach is doing his best to bring football to youngsters in central China's metropolis of Wuhan.
In 2014, Sergio Ledesma Vera, a former professional coach in Barcelona, came to the capital city of central China's Hubei Province, where he serves as an international coach in the children's training camp.
Sporting a buzz cut, Sergio seems full of energy. Having graduated with a masters degree in sports psychology in 2009, he has previously worked as a football coach, a competition judge and a sports facility manager.
Sergio has his own unique ideas about how to get children interested in playing football.
"In Spain, children began to play football when they were three or four years old. Without utilitarian goals, they are really interested in football. The sport is indispensable to their daily life," said Sergio.
"I came here to stimulate Chinese children's interest in and talent for football," he said.
In 2014, the Wuhan Football Association implemented a training project for children, introducing over ten international coaches to the training camp. Sergio is among them.
After three years in Wuhan, Sergio only speaks several simple Chinese sentences, but he says the language barrier never hinders him to communicate with the children.
"Football is the common language shared by us. I use two-color chess pieces to illustrate game strategies and tactics and they can easily understand what I want to express," said Sergio.
"In the fast transition from offense to defense, as a yellow team member, if you are encircled by your opponents, what should you do?" Sergio asked the children, who immediately raised their hands.
But Sergio holds that theoretical education alone is not enough. In order to teach them more effectively, Sergio also takes turns as a player and participates in games with them. Every morning, he formulates training schedules with Chinese coache,s and in the afternoon he plays with the children.
"They are talented young players selected from schools across Wuhan. Most of them are eight to fifteen years old. They go to school in the day and come to play football after school. Now I am teaching 20 children born in 2009," Sergio said.
Taking their ages into consideration, different training methods should be used to maintain their interest in the sport and in the training, he stressed.
In winter holidays, Sergio will take the children to play in matches. "Playing in a match can help them gain experience and make progress. They have great potential, and will be future stars. I am looking forward to their growth!"
