The hot weather could not stop the enthusiasm of the players. In the open fan-shaped field, the game was extremely fierce. The wonderful performances such as “strikes”, “hits”, “double kills” and “home runs” were frequently staged, and the game climaxed one after another and was exciting. . On August 21, the three-day social club baseball and softball competition of the 16th Hubei Provincial Games ended at Tianmen. 15 baseball and softball teams from all over the province, a total of 258 athletes, faced the scorching sun and waved their hands. The bat gallops on the red and green baseball field. This is the first time that the baseball and softball project has entered the Provincial Games of our province. The new forces are growing positively.
The high temperature tests the will of the players
Recently, Tianmen has been continuously hot, with the highest temperature reaching 40 degrees Celsius. Just standing on the side of the stadium of the city’s sports center is sweating profusely. The children who participate in softball and softball have to run on the field. Can they withstand such a temperature? ?
“No, no, we train under the sun every day!” Fang Zihan, a student from the Huangshi national team, looked soft and weak, but stood in the scorching sun full of energy. “It’s so fun to play the game. As for the hot sun, it’s nothing. After all, I have practiced several training sessions in high temperature since this summer vacation.” Fang Zihan’s black eyes under the baseball cap shone with excitement.
In order to prepare for the current Provincial Games, most of the participating teams have undergone long-term training and have withstood the test of high temperature in the open air. A parent who accompanied the game on the sidelines told reporters: “In fact, what we most agree with is the spirit of children’s ability to endure hardship, which not only exercises their will but also improves their physical fitness.”
The rural school team should not be underestimated
The competition is divided into U18-year-old baseball and U12-year-old softball. The games were held in Tianmen Experimental Junior High School and Tianmen Sports Center Stadium. Baseball and softball are the same, and the venues and rules look similar. During the game, two teams with 9 players each take turns attacking and defending. The players of the attacking team hit the balls thrown by the pitchers of the defending team with their bats at home plate in turn, and wait for the opportunity to run the bases. 1 point to home plate. The defending team can “block” the runner by continuously touching the attacking team’s base runner or stepping on the base with the ball. The game consists of 9 innings, and the player with the most points wins.
Baseball is still a niche sport in China, and it is not easy for a layman to figure out the rules of the game. But what’s special about baseball is that no matter how tall, short, fat or thin, you can always find a suitable position on the court. For a group of children who are not “selected”, the “winner” can be much larger. Tianmen Jianghan School is located in a remote village, and most of the team members live in ordinary families. The school introduced baseball and softball in 2020, and received 50,000 yuan of sports and education integration development funds donated by the Provincial Social and Sports Center to encourage the school The development of baseball and softball programs, under the guidance of the provincial baseball and softball associations, quickly spread on campus. In this competition, the Tianmen Sports Federation team won 4 games against the Xiangyang, Yichang, Wuhan, and Huangshi teams in the single round-robin group match. In the case of a tie, the opponent hits a “home run” on the last hit to end the game.
The head coach of the team, Wang Siyu, used to be a football coach. In order to develop baseball and softball at school, he often went online, bought books, and called professionals through various channels to ask for advice. He taught himself to become a baseball and softball coach. Talking about this hard-won and slightly regrettable achievement, Wang Siyu said with a smile: “I am not a professional baseball coach, but I am willing to learn and grow with the children, hoping to open baseball and softball in our heaven. a piece of the world.”
Retired players from other provinces help
Baseball and softball is a sports competition that integrates running, jumping, throwing and hitting, which is conducive to strengthening the physique, exercising the will and cultivating team spirit. Based on this kind of thinking, Wulong Primary School, a newly established new school in Yichang Dian Military Region, vigorously promoted baseball and softball as “one school, one product”, and established the first professional baseball team in Yichang City. showed great interest. At present, the baseball team consists of 18 members, who are selected from the middle level of the school’s third to fifth grade students. Roya, the school’s physical education teacher, said that baseball and softball is a sport with complicated rules. It is difficult to get started. It requires children to use their brains, train hard, and give their hearts. This process is good for their minds and wills. exercise. In addition, baseball is a collective project, so it can cultivate children’s team spirit. Through baseball training, the school has cultivated a group of students with excellent academic performance.
In order to better prepare for the Provincial Games held at home, the school also hired coaches from Yichang Xinxing Youth Sports Club to come into the campus to teach. Shen Wenbin, the head coach of the Yichang representative team and the club, was a professional baseball player of the Gansu provincial team. After retiring, he settled in Yichang with his wife and worked in television camera work, but he never let go of his love for baseball. In 2018, he was catching up with the development of baseball and softball in our province. At the same time, he took advantage of the opportunity of the provincial games in Yichang. He had the idea of ”returning”. After obtaining the qualifications, he carried out public welfare many times and walked into the campus with baseball.
Shen Wenbin, who is committed to the promotion of baseball and softball, said that the addition of baseball and softball to the provincial games greatly assisted the promotion of the project in Yichang. “At present, there are many schools and clubs in Yichang who intend to focus on developing baseball and softball projects. This is a process from scratch. I will also do my part to make baseball and softball better and better in Hubei Province. “
Strong international referee lineup
This is the first time that the Provincial Games project has settled in Tianmen, and it is also the first time that the baseball and softball project has entered the Provincial Games. All parties have given high-level support. Chen Jun, the chief referee of this competition, has more than 20 years of international and domestic refereeing experience. He introduced: “There are a total of 23 referees in this competition, including 18 on-the-spot referees and 5 records. Among the 23 referees , 3 international referees, 1 Asian referee, and 3 national referees. Based on the principles of seriousness, fairness and accuracy, we will create a good competition atmosphere for the athletes with high-quality and efficient services.” In addition, the competition organizing committee has strictly reviewed and reviewed competition equipment such as competition uniforms, bats, gloves, helmets, and protective gear. It is determined that the epidemic prevention and control, venue management and control, event safety, medical services and other aspects will be checked at all levels, and all guarantees will be comprehensively done for this event.
In the territory of Chinese baseball and softball, Hubei is a potential “rookie” with good room for growth. Under the guidance of the Provincial Sports Bureau and the Provincial Social and Sports Center, after four years of hard work, baseball and softball in our province has grown from nothing. In 2019, the Hubei team won the U15 social club group championship of the 2nd National Youth Games. In 2020, under the correct leadership and strong support of the Provincial Sports Bureau, the Provincial Social and Sports Center and the Hubei Second Division will jointly build a provincial baseball and softball training base, which can not only meet professional training and competition, but also become an important position for national fitness. Baseball and softball have entered the campus and have now entered eight cities including Wuhan, Yichang, Xiangyang, and Huangshi, and have trained hundreds of baseball and softball coaches, referees and social sports instructors at the grassroots level. The Hubei Provincial Baseball Championship and Hubei Provincial Youth Baseball and Softball Championship have been held for many years in a row, and the number of participants has increased year by year, attracting a large number of outstanding baseball and softball resources and talents in our province, showing a vigorous development trend. At present, 10,000 people in Hubei are engaged in baseball and softball.
The holding of this competition not only builds a high-standard competition platform for young baseball and softball players in our province to show their competitive level, but also plays a positive role in promoting popularization and cultivating reserve talents. Yan Hanhua, director of the Provincial Social and Sports Center, said: “We will take advantage of the situation and use baseball and softball to enter the campus and club as a carrier to further expand our influence and make baseball and softball a new fashion for national fitness in our province, especially for youth sports. , and then help to become a new breakthrough in Hubei competitive sports!”(Text map / All-media reporter Zhang Shiqiu of Hubei Daily)
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