G.C.E Past Students’ Association Whampoa Primary School

05/12/2019

Football Lover “Forever”

Located in Hung Hom, the G.C.E Past Students’ Association Whampoa Primary School believes in an activity approach that provides a happy learning environment for the students. Two millennial teachers, Lee Wing-naam (Naam) and Chau Leong (Terry), manage and coach the school’s football team. Sharing a quote from the classic Stephen Chow movie “A Chinese Odyssey”, the two coaches said: “If we need students to put an expiry date on their love of football, we hope that it will be … forever!” With support from the principal, Lee Yiu-po, who is also a football lover, the school joined the JC School Football Development Scheme this season in order to enhance the students’ love of football and improve the performance of the school team in the long run.

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  With support from the principal Lee Yiu-po (Second from right, back row) and two teachers, Lee Wing-naam (Second from left, back row) and Chau Leong (Third from right, back row), G.C.E Past Students’ Association Whampoa Primary School joined the JC School Football Development Scheme this season.

Adding sweetness to hard work

A teacher in the school for five years now, Naam has loved playing football since he was a young boy. He played on his secondary school and university teams and competed in different tournaments. Since becoming a teacher, he has hoped that football can be a tool in educating the students. He remembers that in the beginning, the school team was just like a team of Boy Scouts. They were all interested in football, and keen to play. They worked hard to improve. In fact, they do play like a team, but they cannot make any breakthroughs in performance and they don’t benefit too much from a boring and routine training approach. Naam and Terry joined the JC School Football Development Scheme this year to be exposed to the fun-filled training approach of Manchester United Soccer Schools. They add sweetness to the hard work of training, and hope to enhance the players’ interest and make breakthroughs, as well as strengthen their sense of belonging to the team and the school.

Act to experience – Dare to try

The two coaches got a lot of inspiration after attending just a few sessions of theory and practice hosted by Christopher O’Brien, Hong Kong Head Coach of Manchester United Soccer Schools. They were particularly impressed with the use of “happy football” to improve player participation. Naam said: “Not only did the students love to play, but even the teachers enjoyed the class with OB. It was full of fun and we enjoyed it very much.” OB always reminds us that “actions speak louder than words” during training sessions. The two coaches revisited their way of training and now try to reserve more time and room for the students to play with the ball afterwards.

When OB came for a school visit, he witnessed everyone involved in the happy football training. He saw the students’ smiles and felt their joy. Naam said: “What we did before was tailor-make different training modules, like tactics & positioning, for different players whilst the others would take a rest. But what we learnt from the scheme is to disregard the players’ abilities and have them all participate in all of the training modules. That means they share a common goal and this makes for a better atmosphere.” Terry once doubted if the students would be able to complete the training since OB’s practice sessions are so intense. However, after the school visit there was no question: “The fun elements drive students to give more and do more during the training sessions,” Terry said.

Students enjoy the training

Michael Hui Chi-man and Trevor Wong Kai-chi are a Primary 6 and a Primary 3 student, respectively. They trained hard during OB’s visit, and explained that they worked hard because the setup made them feel like it was a professional training session. Trevor started to play football this year and felt happy that he could join the Manchester United way of training. He said that Cristiano Ronaldo is his idol and a role model that he can learn from. Michael won the star player award and said that OB’s encouragement strengthened his self-confidence. “Usually, I dare not to try unfamiliar skills. Yet after OB gave me some encouragement today, I tried to do it. Even if I failed, OB still rewarded me with some stickers of soccer idols and gave me a high-five. I feel I am full of energy.” Michael is going to graduate from primary school and said that he will keep on playing football in future.

Football fan principal hopes football can be students’ lifetime companion

During the school visit, the principal, Lee Yiu-po, attended and observed from the sidelines. He also encouraged the students. Mr. Lee is a football fan. When he was a university student, he played football with his classmate, Edmond Hung Chor-ying, now the principal of The Salvation Army William Booth Secondary School. Even now, they play football together for leisure and to keep their friendship strong. Invited by Edmond in 2016, Mr Lee joined the school visit by Manchester United legend Denis Irwin. At that time, he was already impressed with the training and he realised that it helped to broaden his students’ horizons and could be their lifetime interest. “I grew up with football. I’ve personally experienced the benefits of this sport; for example: a healthy life, a positive attitude, and good buddies. These all are my companions. I hope the students enjoy the training; will remember what they have experienced, and will let football be their lifetime companion.”

Experience that money can’t buy

The plan was initially a success. Naam & Terry applied what OB taught them to the school team’s morning training session. Even though it starts at 7:30am, the students are there early. The sense of belonging to the school team is picking up. Even the students who are not on the school team cast an envious eye on the team because they see that being trained in the Manchester United way is very “cool” and they also hope to join the school team.

Although the goal was initially achieved, Terry makes it clear that what “true love” really means is the passion for football. “Money can buy you a Man Utd jersey, but it can’t buy you a school team jersey! You must work hard and earn it. If you really love it, you’ll work hard to get it.” Both coaches believe that this has been an invaluable experience and has benefitted the students. They will need to work hard in future; try to make breakthroughs, and become a solid member of the team.