From June 3 till June 12 twenty members of our Red Lions Youth Academy participated in the U14 Football Association Cup in Hezhou Football Town (Guangxi Provence). Our U14 talent team competed in a group with Lingshui, Liaoning Dandong Hantong, Ningbo Yinbo and Wangyue Shandong. It was expected to be a big challenge for all of us since it would be the first time for our youngsters to compete against professional youth teams. Their was also excitement, because this tournament would facilitate the opportunity to learn from-, and connect with domestic teams from all around the country.
On Saturday the first of June, our brand new U14 delegation departed to Guangxi. Before departure, we found out that Guangxi was about to enter their rain season. Unexpectedly, the entire 10-day trip turned out to be rainy and cloudy, which would make the tournament even more challenging. Since Qingdao provides no direct flights to Hezhou, our team had to fly to Guilin first and then transfer to a bus. The total journey consisted of more than 10 hours, which is quite a lot for young players aged 13 or 14 who seldom go for travels this far. Late at night we finally arrived at our destination. with only one day left to prepare for our first game.
After the drawing lottery a team from Hainan was picked as our first opponent. Our one day preperation proved to be insufficient to recover from the exhausting trip. The Hainan Team played very strong and managed to beat us with a discouraging 0:7 lose. This tragic defeat made our youngsters reconsider their understanding of the game. Readjustments on both a tactical and psychology level were made by our coaches.
After a rainy training on the 4th, our second match against Dandong would kick-off on the 5th. Rain was pouring out of the sky again, but our team's performance looked significantly better than before. It resulted in a slight loss of 2:3, which let many players into tears, while our coaches comforted them by telling that if they would continue to work hard, success would come. That might have sounded unfulfulling, because the next match would be up against Ningbo, which was considered the most powerful team in our group.
There is an old saying in Chinese that goes 'dedication will pay off' and the rainstorm on he 6th did not stop our players to get ready for their next match. Everyone was commited to drill their tactics over and over again. No one wanted to give up. Even the staff of our venue was moved by the spirit of our young players. They praised us for insisting to train in this weather. Our third match (on the 7th) ended in an unexpected but glorious victory of 5-2. This surely lifted everyone's mood and long-lost smiles reappeared on the faces of our young players. That win hugely boosted the morale and confidence towards our fourth and final match on the 10th.
On the 10th our young Lions faced Shandong Wangyue. In this derby, far from home, our U14 team played better than ever before. A convincing 4:0 win delivered a happy ending to a challenging Cup. Although we only ranked third in our group (with 2 wins and 2 losses) we were all reminded by the valueable lesson to not give up easily. With continued training sessions, our U14 team is expected to live up to its potential in the future. More victories will come!
Interested to try our academy? Call our office staff (0532-80931366; work days, 09.00 - 17.00), scan QR code below, or simply join us for a free session at Laoshan Football Park or Licang Sports Park.
