Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 16th. Live up to the journey and work hard to realize the dream – an exclusive interview with Wu Sheng, the head coach of the Chinese men’s volleyball team
Xinhua News Agency reporters Lu Xingji, Cao Yibo, Hu Jiali
Compared with the Chinese women’s volleyball team, the historical record and media exposure of the Chinese men’s volleyball team are enough to describe it as “low-key”. Re-entering the Olympic stage is the dream of the Chinese men’s volleyball team. After regretting missing the Tokyo Olympics, their journey to qualify for the Paris Olympics is about to start.
Starting from June 7, the Chinese men’s volleyball team will participate in a rare global event spanning multiple continents for at least two months in history. For the Chinese team, which has rarely appeared in international competitions in the past two years, this not only means an opportunity to win tickets for the Olympic Games, but also an all-round test of competition level, psychological quality and logistical support.
At present, the team is training in Jiangmen, Guangdong, and is waiting for the complicated preparations for going abroad to be finalized. During this period, Xinhua News Agency interviewed Wu Sheng, the head coach of the Chinese men’s volleyball team.
Returning to international competitions is an opportunity for the Chinese team
“If you don’t get this ranking, you won’t even qualify for the Olympic qualifying tournament.” Wu Sheng explained the grim situation the team is currently facing.
Compared with the Tokyo Olympic cycle, the path to qualifying for the Paris Olympics volleyball competition has changed a lot. According to the new rules, the most pressing time node at present is September 12, 2022. The FIVB will determine the roster for the Paris Olympic qualifying rounds on this day. With host France automatically qualifying for the 2024 Olympics, another 24 top-ranked teams in the world will be able to qualify. The 24 teams will be divided into 3 groups, and the top two teams from each group will advance to Paris. If they really miss the qualifying tournament, the Chinese men’s volleyball team will have to rely on the world ranking to fight for the remaining 5 Olympic seats, so the world ranking is very crucial.
Wu Sheng’s concern stems from the fact that the Chinese men’s volleyball team is currently ranked 22nd in the world. If he can’t hold on to the ranking in the near future, he may miss the Olympic qualifying competition. He introduced that the current international ranking implements a points system, and it is necessary to participate in more international competitions and strive for better results in order to increase the points.
The most important international competitions before the September 12th node include the World Men’s Volleyball League from June to July and the Men’s Volleyball World Championships from the end of August to the beginning of September. Among them, the Chinese team has already decided to participate in the latter, and Wu Sheng has planned and prepared for it since last year. However, in terms of participating in the World Volleyball League, the Chinese men’s volleyball team has encountered setbacks.
This league is currently the most reliant emerging commercial competition for the FIVB, and the Chinese men’s volleyball team was once the core team. However, due to the epidemic, the Chinese team gave up its qualification for the World Volleyball League in 2021. Fortunately, the situation has turned around, and the Chinese men’s volleyball team has recently won a replacement seat.
“This is actually a chance for the Chinese men’s volleyball team. I think it is better to take the initiative to win the points in our own hands, and try our best to win the points with our ability, and try to re-enter the Olympic Games. It is better than not having this opportunity. “Wu Sheng said.
Teams are in urgent need of competition inspection
In April 2022, the Chinese men’s volleyball team will gather again for closed training in Jiangmen, Guangdong. Wu Sheng said that at present, the players have significantly improved their physical fitness, and they can also face up to their deficiencies in ideological awareness.
Taking stock of his subordinates, Wu Sheng said that the boys generally have good physical “hardware”, and they can also keep up with the world trend in tactical execution, and the future can be expected. He believes that from the perspective of Asia, the comprehensive ability of the Chinese team’s players is of first-class level, and “even in the world, it will not suffer too much loss.”
“The physical quality of our group of players has reached a very high level. For example, Zhang Jingyin’s touch height can reach 3.7 meters, and there are many players who reach 3.6 meters.”
But the Chinese men’s volleyball team lacks experience. Compared with the relatively mature and powerful teams in the world, most of the main players of the Chinese team were born around 2000. It can be said to be a “youth storm”, but they have to face up to their lack of high-intensity competition experience. In fact, since Wu Sheng took over, the team’s last international competition was the Asian Championships in September 2021, and the record against strong teams in Europe and America is zero.
“What is the real gap with other teams in the world, I don’t have a bottom line in my heart.” Wu Sheng said frankly.
He believes that the Chinese team’s short-term goal is not only to keep the top 24 in the world, but also to identify the gap between itself and foreign teams by participating in international competitions, and then work hard to narrow it.
In the context of the postponement of the domestic league, the lack of high-quality competition and confrontation has brought challenges to the Chinese men’s volleyball team’s preparations, and also added variables to their performance in the world men’s volleyball competition. Wu Sheng said that he can only tell the players about their own shortcomings as bluntly as possible, and can only use the existing conditions to improve the intensity and difficulty of training, and try to increase the technical reserves and psychological preparation of the players.
“I think if you have good technology, it will help you mentally, because if you can’t handle it (in a fierce confrontation), your mentality will be on the verge of collapse.”
In order to relieve the monotonous atmosphere and psychological pressure of closed-loop training, Wu Sheng sometimes adjusts the players in some ways, such as organizing everyone to play football or basketball.
In recent years, some teams that performed well in closed training camps in China, including some teams that were originally capable of confrontation and pressure, often encountered problems of being unable to keep up with the rhythm, lack of excitement, and large psychological fluctuations after returning to the international arena. .
Wu Sheng has a clear understanding of this: “Actually, this is what we are most worried about. You don’t look at training well, you usually play well, but you can’t play in the world.” In his view, this is This possibility is not a reason to avoid war, but makes the need to participate in high-level competition more urgent.
“I believe that if you don’t go out to play again, the pressure on the players will also exist. Only by playing regularly, fighting often, and fighting with high intensity, will the athletes improve further.”
Serve and technical comprehensiveness are the key points for improvement
In what ways is the Chinese men’s volleyball team likely to be impacted? What is the starting point for improving the competitiveness of the team in international competitions? Through a series of analysis and research, Wu Sheng has reached corresponding conclusions and is leading the team to train in a targeted manner.
The veteran coach who has coached many men’s and women’s volleyball teams believes that compared with women’s volleyball teams, men’s volleyball tactics are simpler, and serving and passing are the top priorities of training.
“Our current tactical play is basically the same as (other teams) in the world, including the four-point offense and the back three offense, which can be solved.” However, Chinese players are relatively unfamiliar with the power serve of European and American men’s volleyball teams. At the same time, the quality of his own serving is not high, and if he does not improve, it will be difficult to pose a threat to the opponent.
According to his observation, in the domestic men’s volleyball league, the serving speed of 80 kilometers per hour “already feels very fast”, but when looking at the world arena, it is not uncommon to see serve at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour or even 120 kilometers per hour. For some young players, it may be “never seen before”.
“Whether you can break the opponent’s return from the serve. Whether you can execute your own tactics depends mainly on your return. So serving is a fundamental problem for men’s volleyball.”
In this regard, the Chinese team led by Wu Sheng used the high platform to increase the serving height, and at the same time selected more serving sparring trainers with excellent strength and height to exercise the players’ ability to receive serve. It also allows players to intuitively understand the quality of their serve by measuring the speed of serving.
After taking charge of the men’s volleyball team, Wu Sheng found that compared with the women’s volleyball players, the men’s volleyball players under his command lacked the ability to control the ball, and the rate of small balls and cushion balls was not high. And he observed that because men’s fingers are stronger than women’s, the men’s volleyball teams in the world are generally stronger than women’s volleyball teams in their ability to control the ball. The Chinese team has shortcomings in this regard, which is very unfavorable for tandem and even offense.
“Why did the Chinese women’s volleyball team get such good results? In fact, their strongest point is their comprehensive skills, and the ‘lower three’ is better than other teams.”
As a coach who has been in charge of the women’s volleyball team, Wu Sheng hopes to pass on his knowledge of volleyball to his disciples. He said that even though the men’s volleyball team may have paid less attention to ball control and adjustment in the previous training mode, it is not too late to pay attention to it now.
“The key is to have this mentality. If you are willing to do it, you will naturally progress faster.”
May the result live up to the long journey
Shortly after the exclusive interview with Wu Sheng, on May 12, the Chinese men’s volleyball team announced the list of players participating in the World Volleyball League. The Chinese team is one step closer to embarking on this long overseas competition.
As Wu Sheng said in the interview, considering the length of the schedule and the needs of experienced players, the Chinese team brought as many players as possible this time – the 25-person quota was used.
Due to the impact of the epidemic on international flights and logistics, there are still many practical difficulties in front of them. It can be expected that this trip will be difficult. But the team has a strong willingness to participate in international competitions from top to bottom.
“Whether it’s our coaches or athletes, we all hope that this competition can prove that our men’s volleyball team can still do it, and we will try our best to rush out.”
As an old men’s volleyball player, Wu Sheng himself has a firm belief in impacting the Olympic qualification. He said that participating in the Olympic Games is his biggest wish since he took over the Chinese men’s volleyball team, and it is also the goal of the team for many years. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as the host, the Chinese men’s volleyball team has missed the Olympic Games for three consecutive times.
“(Although) the sprinting to the Olympics has not been achieved from generation to generation, (but) now I should have a group of good seedlings. Through this opportunity, how to bring them to Paris, this is what I want most, and it is also what all the coaches and coaches have. Team members’ shared ideas and goals.”
Talking about the expectations of the results and results of this overseas journey, Wu Sheng said: “Let’s wait and see, I believe the Chinese men’s volleyball team will give a satisfactory answer.”