Foreign coach helps develop tennis in NW China

Joshua Robinson looks on as his students practise their tennis in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, November 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)

Joshua Robinson of the United States hopes to inspire more children in a rural county in NW China's Qinghai Province to take up tennis.

XINING, China, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Eight-year-old Li Jiarong never expected that one day she would be able to learn tennis in her rural Chinese village. What surprised her even more was that her coach came from outside China.

"Rachel, you didn't follow through. Give me 10 push-ups," says Joshua Robinson in his nearly flawless Mandarin. Listening to him speak, it is difficult to imagine the coach is a native of the United States, rather than China.

Every afternoon after school, at the local tennis court in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, many children like Li learn tennis under the tutelage of coach Robinson.

"The coach is usually strict, but also funny. I prefer tennis to piano," Li says. After nearly an hour and a half of training, Li's cheeks are red and her forehead is beaded with sweat. Robinson repeatedly stresses the essentials of each movement, and the children do their best to keep up.

Robinson talks with a student after class in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai province, November 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang).

A Wisconsin native, 37-year-old Robinson graduated from the University of Milwaukee with a major in Chinese in 2013. He began playing tennis at the age of 12, and had also been keen on baseball, American football, swimming and other sports from an early age.

Influenced by his mother, Robinson had always wanted to visit China, and in 2009, he finally did so, studying Chinese and working as a private teacher in Beijing.

"In autumn 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 clay courts, like at the French Open, in such a remote county of China," Robinson said. After that, he returned to Beijing to work as a tennis coach. The job was easy and well-paid, but he always wanted to do more.

"I wanted to teach more children to play tennis, but there is no shortage of good coaches in big cities," he said.

Robinson gives a private tennis lesson in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai province, November 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)

In 2017, Robinson decided to start a new career in Qinghai. "The children here are still unfamiliar with tennis, and many of them have never come into contact with it. I went to a couple of schools and only recruited two children," Robinson added, saying that although that experience was a little dispiriting, he devoted himself to teaching both tennis and English.

In spring 2018, Robinson had nearly 20 students, but most of them were only there to learn English.

"Teaching both English and tennis attracted more parents and children, but I just wanted to teach tennis well. Later, I decided to focus solely on tennis, and many children gave up," he said.

To cater to students' varying skill levels, Robinson set up both beginner and advanced classes, with students' ages ranging from four to 13 years old. In order to broaden his students' horizons, at weekends he often takes them to competitions in cities like Xi'an, Lanzhou and Chengdu.

Robinson gives instructions during a tennis lesson in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai province, November 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)

Every summer and winter vacation, Robinson holds intensive training camps. Many children from Chongqing, Beijing, Hunan, Guangdong and other parts of China come to play tennis with the local children.

"China's new education policies are helping make more Chinese parents aware of the importance of sports, which can help their children go to a better school and make their futures brighter," Robinson says.

Today, Robinson's team includes coaches from Tu, Tibetan and other ethnic minorities, which the American finds interesting due to their different cultural backgrounds.

"Even now, many of them still work on their farms. During the busy farming season, several coaches will go home to dig potatoes and help their families with agricultural work," Robinson says, adding that he hopes to train more local coaches in the future to help the spread of tennis in Qinghai and other remote areas of China.

Robinson advises a student during a tennis class in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, northwest China's Qinghai province, November 7 2019. (Xinhua/Wu Gang)

Robinson notes that in recent years, Qinghai has held international-level sporting events, helping more people to learn of Qinghai through sports. The number of fitness venues in Huzhu County is on the rise, and the enthusiasm of local people for sports is increasing.

"Learning tennis can not only improve children's health and agility, but also enables them to face difficulties and deal with pressure. I hope some of them will find new opportunities thanks to the hard work they put into their tennis." ■