XINING, Northwest China, Jan.19 -- Eight-year-old Li Jiarong never expected that one day she would be able to learn tennis on her own doorstep. What surprised her even more was that her coach was from outside of China.
"Rachel, you didn't follow through. Give me 10 push-ups," said Joshua Robinson. It would be difficult to guess that Robinson is a foreigner if you only listen to him speaking Mandarin.
Every afternoon after school, at the local tennis court in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, located in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, many children like Li Jiarong are exposed to tennis under the leadership of coach Robinson. Huzhu is the only autonomous county of the Tu ethnic group in China.
"The coach is usually strict, but also humorous. I prefer tennis to piano," Li Jiarong said. After nearly an hour and a half of training, Li's cheeks were red and her forehead beaded with sweat. Robinson repeatedly stresses the essentials of each movement, and the children do their best to keep up.
Robinson, 37, from Wisconsin of the United States, graduated from the University of Milwaukee with a major in Chinese in 2013. He began playing tennis at the age of 12 and was also keen on baseball, American football, swimming and other sports since an early age. Influenced by his mother, Robinson had always wanted to visit China. In 2009, he came to China, studied Chinese and worked as a private teacher in Beijing.
"In the autumn of 2013, I came to Qinghai for the first time. I was deeply impressed by the blue sky, white clouds and snowy mountains. I was even more surprised to find the same clay court as the French open in such a remote county," Robinson said. After that, he returned to Beijing to work as a personal tennis coach. The job was easy and lucrative, but he always wanted to do more.
【体坛英语资讯:Foreign coach helps develop tennis in Northwest China】相关文章:
★ 体坛英语资讯:Sun hopes to shine again in doubles
★ 娱乐英语资讯:Radcliffe receives death threat
★ 体坛英语资讯:Tanzania dances for joy at torchs sub-Sahara debut
★ 娱乐英语资讯:Jolie looks to Africa again for a fifth child
★ 体坛英语资讯:Shaq: I will give Yao fancy new wheels as wedding gift
★ 体坛英语资讯:Kansas tops Memphis to clinch first NCAA title
★ 娱乐英语资讯:Penelope Cruz is dating Javier Bardem
★ 娱乐英语资讯:Smoking doubles stroke risk in younger women
★ 体坛英语资讯:NBA star Yao marries long-term girlfriend Ye Li
★ 娱乐英语资讯:Hollywood actors union, studios extend contract talks to avoid strike
最新
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15
2020-09-15