CCC Kei Heep Secondary School

26/03/2020

Teacher and Red Devil fan improves to help young players build football future

Located in Wong Tai Sin district, the CCC Kei Heep Secondary School (KHSS) football team has not had outstanding performances in academic tournaments. But over the past two years, under the leadership of an enthusiastic teacher and team manager, Anthony Chu King-yin, some students have made plans to join professional teams. Anthony, a Manchester United supporter from a young age, hopes that he can attract more students to join the school team and pursue their football dreams through what he has learnt from the JC School Football Development Scheme.

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  CCC Kei Heep Secondary School participates in its first extracurricular football scheme.

As a teacher for 20 years and a Red Devil fan, Anthony was eager to learn the Manchester United way of training

Anthony has been teaching at KHSS for almost twenty years. Although he only has a HKFA Youth Leader Certificate, this does not affect his sense of responsibility to the team. He has led them for 18 years and is committed to doing his best for his students, including taking professional photos and leading them in inter-school competitions. He frankly said that he is facing challenges – mainly, a lack of new recruits. “In the C-Grade team, this is a tangible problem,” he explained. “We only have enough students to form a team. The A-Grade team has players eligible to join the Eastern Long Lions Reserved team. However, a lot of students are about to graduate, and we don’t have enough young players to take up their positions.”

Daring to make a change is the beginning of success, and Anthony took a big step toward that change when he dared to lead the school team in an outsourced football development scheme for the first time. He believes that this was a great opportunity to learn the Manchester United way of training and to allow the players to broaden their sights while attracting new players to join.

Running is so much fun!

The JC School Football Development Scheme covers theory, practical sessions and inter-school match days, which is quite a heavy load for a teacher. As a loyal supporter of Manchester United, Anthony enjoys the scheme very much because he can learn from the successful experiences of his beloved team, while enjoying fun and systematic practical sessions during the weekends. Anthony pointed out: “Physical exercises are a nightmare for the players. However, OB hosted a different kind of session. He blended the physical exercises into the warm-up exercises, skill trainings, and even in the games! Even though we ran hard, we enjoyed the fun in it!”

The scheme also strengthens the social skills of teachers and students and brings them closer together. Anthony feels he is fortunate to participate in the scheme with a group of teachers who are passionate about football. For example, they met for a Korean barbecue after finishing the practical session in early January this year. That brought the group even closer, and this is what Anthony wants to bring back to the school.

Enjoying comprehensive training

Anthony’s vision was first realised during the school visit day when the school team players reacted positively to the training session held by OB. Anthony expressed: “As I said, they don't like physical exercises. But today’s atmosphere was totally different. They had no complaints; trained happily, and even talked directly to OB!”

Ng Hon-chung and Chan Yu-hei, captains of the A Grade and C Grade teams respectively, expressed their appreciation for Soccer 4. Hon-Chung said: “It is speedy. We can train up our bodies and our minds by rushing up and down the field.” Yu-hei pointed out: “The format helped me to enhance my interactions and cooperation with my teammates. It has also strengthened our team spirit.”

Making positive changes to actively promote football

Both captains have noticed that Anthony has changed after attending the Scheme. “He often shares with us what he has learnt from the scheme – including warm-ups and how to use the ball – and we practise some basic tactics in daily training, like the overlapping run and one-two. We think he is more serious and professional than before.”

The two captains promised that they will be role models for the juniors and will help Anthony to promote football in school. Hon-chung said: “We will encourage and invite classmates to join the training sessions so that they can experience football as a fun and exciting sport.”

Last year, Shum Ka-ming, an alumnus of KPSS, made his debut in Hong Kong Premier League for the Eastern Long Lions. This year, Hon-chung is going to follow in Ka-ming’s footsteps and join the Eastern Long Lions reserve team. He understands that he will face a lot of challenges on the road ahead, but he is determined to tackle them without hesitation.

Planting seeds in anticipation of a bountiful harvest

Since 1937, Manchester United has had at least one Academy Player listed in the squad for each game. This tradition has been kept for more than 4,000 games. Anthony agrees with the United motto “Believe in Youth” and tries to apply its principles to KHSS school team. He thinks that he can set up a solid foundation for the growth of the young players. “Even the performance of Manchester United has not reached their potential recently,” he said. “They insist on the tradition of promoting new players, same as my school team. Performance is not the only goal to achieve. When I see the junior players promoted from C Grade to A Grade, I feel as if their growth and development is my achievement as well!” Anthony believes that after finishing the scheme, the number of students joining the school team will increase in the coming year. He supposes that he can apply what he has learnt from the scheme to help the school team players.

“When one wave leaves, another succeeds. The new generation replaces the old.” Anthony always encourages talented students to dare to face the challenges. Even if they may not become professional football players, they can learn the truth of many life lessons in the process and apply it in daily life. Anthony says that he continues to work hard to cultivate the young students and looks forward to harvest time.