Chen Bocheng (right) and Sichuan baseball team members are training.Photo courtesy of the interviewee
China News Service, Chengdu, November 14th, title: Taiwanese baseball coach Chen Bocheng: Do your best for the development of Sichuan grassroots baseball, looking forward to the National Games again
Reporter Wang Peng
“Pay attention to flicking your wrists” and “back and forth heels”… Recently, at a baseball club training ground in Chengdu High-tech Zone, Sichuan, Taiwanese baseball coach Chen Baicheng, with dark skin and capable body, is training more than a dozen Chengdu coaches. In October of this year, after the contract with the Sichuan Provincial Baseball Team expired, Chen Bocheng did not choose to return to Taiwan, but continued to stay in Chengdu to contribute to the development of Sichuan’s grassroots baseball team.
Chen Bocheng, 34, was originally a Taiwanese professional player and became a baseball coach after retiring in 2015. At the end of 2018, due to the need to prepare for the National Games, the Sichuan baseball team wanted to find a Taiwanese baseball coach to join the coaching staff. Recommended by the Taiwan Baseball Association, Chen Baicheng came to Chengdu.
Chen Bocheng trains children.Photo by Wang Peng
“The day I arrived in Chengdu was around 9 o’clock in the evening, but the coaching team and team leaders were waiting for me to have dinner, which made me feel very warm.” Having been in Chengdu for 3 years, Chen Bocheng has never remembered the tolerance that Chengdu people brought him from the beginning. And warm.
“Compared with Taiwan, baseball in the mainland is still in the developing stage, and there are differences in training methods and playing methods.” When he first arrived in Chengdu, Chen Baicheng had repeatedly thought about how to lead the local team well?
In practice, he summed up his own experience, “Leading youth team members in a stricter way. When leading adult team members, they must act as a lubricant in the coaching team. The team must take care so that players can obey and agree. Training plan.”
This set of methods and theories worked quickly. In mid-2019, he led the young players of the Sichuan Youth Baseball Team to win the second National Youth Games preliminaries when the team’s goal was only the top eight. , The final runner-up.
“Just do the best and stand on the podium.” Chen Baicheng recalled that the young players were very unconvinced when they failed to win the finals, and they shed tears. I am very touched. Although I have not won the championship, I have a great sense of accomplishment.”
In the past three years, Chen Baicheng has brought the Sichuan baseball team the playing thinking and training methods of the Taiwan professional team, paying more attention to details and methods, and finally helped the team achieve a good record: the 2019 National Baseball Championship, the 2019 National Baseball Champions Cup runner-up, fifth in the 2020 National Baseball Championship, and fifth in the 14th National Games Qualifying Tournament and 2021 National Baseball Champions Cup.
In September of this year, Chen Baicheng and the Sichuan Provincial baseball team finally came to the field of the 14th National Games baseball game. Although it failed to stand on the podium in the finals, the fourth place was the team’s best result in the National Games.
“As a coach to participate in the National Games, this experience is very special.” Chen Baicheng said, the National Games is very large, high-level, software and hardware facilities are not lower than world-class competitions, the pressure on the players has also increased correspondingly, leading to abnormal performance. “Our coach also has to grow up and face this big event with a different attitude. If I have the opportunity in the future, I would like to participate in the (National Games).”
After the National Games, Chen Bocheng’s contract with the Sichuan team expired, and he was very reluctant to give up. He said that in the future, no matter where he is, as long as the mainland professional teams need it, he will always contribute. Therefore, he did not choose to return to Taiwan, but joined a private baseball club to train local baseball coaches in Chengdu.
“Compared with teaching professional teams, after training a private coaching team, they can train more children, which will help the popularization and development of baseball in Sichuan, and it is more meaningful.” Talking about the original intention of this choice, Chen Baicheng said. Even if the individual’s strength is small, he still wants to contribute to the development of Sichuan grassroots baseball.
“After I came to the mainland to teach baseball, some Taiwanese fans once expressed confusion. Why didn’t I bring what I learned to the grassroots baseball in Taiwan?” Chen Baicheng said that baseball is very important in cross-strait sports exchanges, and it is also in frequent exchanges. , The level of cross-strait baseball has improved rapidly. “I don’t forget my original intention to play. It is a good thing to promote cross-strait exchanges.”
After coming to Chengdu for 3 years, Chen Bocheng has already adapted to the rhythm of life in Chengdu. He who likes spicy food is even more “like a fish in water” here. But at the same time, he also missed his family in Taiwan. In preparation for the National Games, he has only returned to Taiwan once since the outbreak, and even missed the birth of his second child in January this year.
“No matter how smooth the career is, it doesn’t make much sense without the support of family members and affection.” Speaking of his family, this determined man is very emotional. He thanked his wife for taking care of the family so well in Taiwan. He also admitted that what he is most looking forward to now is that his wife and children will come to Chengdu in December this year, and the family will be reunited here. (over)
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