The CCTV-5 sports channel aired a special report titled "A PE Teacher's Olympic Dream" days before, presenting the story of Ye Xiangyang, a PE teacher at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Secondary School and head coach of the national rock climbing team's lead group, to the public.
Ye had an impressive career as a sport climbing athlete, being the champion of the national sport climbing championships and the second runner-up at the Asian Indoor Games. He began his coaching career at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Secondary School that only had a climbing wall for training previously.
"My goal is to become the best sport climbing coach in China, so I tried my best to renovate the climbing wall to make it suitable for training. And I also need to win support from the school and parents," said Ye Xiangyang.
With the support of the school, Ye renovated the training site and formed a sport climbing club with well-chosen members. Under his coaching, the school climbing team has achieved outstanding results, including Chen Zhuoying's annual lead champion of the China Climbing League, Li Jinxin's speed champion at the Asian Youth Games, and Li Meini's boulder champion at the IFSC Youth World Championships.
Many parents and students were also drawn to this game and even moved to Zhongshan for training.
Currently, the school climbing team has 17 members, and Ye has been appointed as the head coach of lead group of the national team for his recognized capabilities.
With over 14 years of persistence and dedication, Ye Xiangyang has developed an excellent climbing team from nothing. His story inspires more teenagers to pursue their dreams and shows people the power of perseverance and love in sports.