Hearing-Impaired Girls Win Football Title, Realize Dreams

The girls celebrate after winning the unde-18 championship at the 2017 First U-18 World Deaf Futsal Championships. [For Women of China]

Things did not proceed smoothly immediately after the football team was established, at Zhanjiang Special Education School, in 2013. First, the girls had never played football before. For them, playing football was like playing a game. Sometimes, they did not focus fully during training.

Their coach, Zheng Guodong, was patient; he always taught the girls, step by step, through sign language. When the girls didn't understand the movements that he was teaching, Zheng would squat down to help them correct their movements.

Zheng, who teaches carving and the Chinese language at the school, is not a professional football coach. In fact, playing football is one of his hobbies. He began teaching male students to play football, during his spare time, in 2002.

"The 2002 FIFA World Cup was popular in the summer of 2002. When I saw boys playing with empty cans on the playground, pretending that they were playing football, I came up with the idea of teaching them to play football," Zheng recalls.

Zheng had to take a different approach to teaching the girls, though. The girls were generally sensitive, and they lacked confidence. They had a harder time opening their minds to the idea of communicating with the outside world.

To encourage the girls to have more access to the outside world, Zheng had them run on beaches and practice playing football in local parks. He hoped the girls would become braver by working out in strange atmospheres, and that they would have an easier time feeling comfortable fitting into society.

Zheng's efforts, and especially his sincerity, gained him the girls' trust. With his help, the girls became more confident and open-minded, and they got used to playing football after school every day. They gradually developed an interest in playing football, and they had a more serious attitude about training.

Zheng Guodong (fourth from left, back row) poses for a photo with his players. [For Women of China]

Many of the girls think of Zheng as their father. Liu Ting, president of Zhanjiang Hearing-Impaired Persons' Association, once said, "Zheng really loves these hearing-impaired children. He is always there for them, and he truly cares for them."

Liang Yanyuan, 17, joined the team in 2014. She is an introverted girl, and she doesn't communicate much with others. She once quit the team because she thought playing football was too difficult. She eventually returned, she developed an interest in football, and she has since been passionate about playing football. She is agile and active in the field, and she is always excited when she scores a goal. She likes giving thumbs-up gestures to her teammates when they perform well in the field.

Chen Chi loved playing football from the beginning. She carries a football with her whenever she returns home for vacation. She practices football every day after she finishes her homework and housework.

The girls bounce balls on their heads. [For Women of China]

The girls don't have their own football field at school, so they practice on the school's playground for about one hour a day, from Monday to Friday. During weekends, vacations and intensive-training periods, they can practice on a borrowed field. They usually train two to four hours during weekends.

Zheng organizes physical training for the girls on the beach every week. Playing football on sand takes more energy than playing on grass. "Training on sand once equals training on grass three times. They will improve their physical power and speed after they train on sand," Zheng says. He usually plays practice games with the girls after they finish training on sand.

The girls also practice bouncing balls on their heads, feet and legs to improve their basic skills.

Zheng always uses sign language to teach the girls the crucial tactical skills. The girls "listen" carefully, and they share their ideas with the coach and their teammates. They also receive instruction from the team's assistant coaches.

The girls train in the park. [For Women of China]

To help the girls strengthen their physical power, Zheng persuaded the boss of a local boxing club to allow the girls to use the club's fitness equipment, under Zheng's guidance.

During their summer vacations, the girls who don't return to their hometowns live in a house provided by Zheng. They watch football games and programs on television during their spare time, and they discuss how to improve their football skills.

The girls train between two and four hours each day during their summer vacations, and Zheng arranges targeted training courses for them.

In addition to their regular training, Zheng organizes football games with other teams.

The girls' efforts have paid off. In 2015, the girls won the football championship during Guangdong Provincial Games for Disabled Persons. Two years later, the girls claimed the under-18 title at the 2017 First U-18 World Deaf Futsal Championships, in Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

This year, the 10th National Paralympic Games and the Seventh National Special Olympics will be held in North China's Tianjin Municipality from August 25 to September 1. The girls and some football players from Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will form a team to compete in the deaf futsal competition.

The girls practice playing football. [For Women of China]

(Women of China)