China's women's volleyball team celebrates perfect ten
THE TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM
Volleyball is a team sport and behind the on-court team, there is always a supportive coaching team and staff. Supporting the 16 players at the World Cup was a 16-strong team of coaches, analysts, a doctor and a therapist.
Lai was one of the members. Shouldering responsibilities as both vice director of China's Volleyball Management Center and as assistant coach, she has been one of the busiest people at the World Cup. Apart from coordinating between coaches and players, Chinese coaches and foreign coaches and sometimes within Chinese coaches, she also has to do chores such as buying yogurt for the players, keeping in mind everyone's favorite flavors.
Therapist Daniel Wai Hong thoroughly checks each player's physical conditions every year before the new season starts and offers suggestions for treatment. He joined the team after China played five matches at the World Cup and assessed the conditions of players to lower the risk of injuries.
During Rio 2016, assistant coach Yuan Lingxi headed for the arena at 6am every day to film the matches and would return to the Olympic Village at 2am when he would start analyzing China's opponents and file reports.
Former men's national team member Yuan Zhi joined the women's team as assistant coach after his retirement in 2017. He talks little, but speaks with a different style of spikes in imitation of key opponents.
"There are also those who appear in front of the public and those who contributed behind the scenes, and we are the latter ones," said Wei Yongji, who has been the team doctor since 1993, apart from a brief absense from 1999 to 2000.
There are many Lais, Yuans and Weis that are not known by the public, but who remain indispensable for the team to overcome difficulties and reach their peak.
"The spirit of Chinese women's volleyball is a team spirit," coach Lang once said.
There is a large banner in the training center of the women's volleyball team in Beijing, which reads "The moment stepping down from the podium is the moment to start from zero." Having won their tenth major title at the World Cup, Team China is ready to take a fresh start towards Tokyo 2020, now just nine months away.
