Page 21 - Sphere No.26 (Mar 2010)

Issue 26 19
Desk Duties
I am responsible for external affairs related to track and field sport as well as some administration work such as
arranging courses and sports meet schedules. As I’ve been an athlete, I know what
athletes really need and give them appropriate support. We have good connections with
sports companies and try our best to get sponsorship for athletes. For young people in
the training classes, we offer them various activities to balance their study and training.
For example, we used to give lectures to grade six students in primary school to prepare
them for life in middle school. Many schools co-operated with us on that project. We also
give lectures to track and field athletes and coaches.
What was it like competing at the Olympic Games in Sydney?
It was very different from what I’d imagined. The scale was much bigger. Inside the Olympic
Village, the living conditions were very good, and you could meet people of so many different
nationalities. The atmosphere in the stadium was also different – there are no empty seats at the
Olympic Games, with 50,000 to 60,000 people watching you compete. The strangest thing was
I didn’t feel nervous at all once I walked into the stadium. The pressure disappeared. All I wanted
to do was run and compete.
What makes 110m hurdles Olympic gold medalist Liu Xiang so special?
He is very disciplined and self-controlled. Many great athletes when they reach a certain level get
distracted by fame and success, but not him. He believes in his coach Sun Haiping. They have a
very good relationship, maybe because they’ve been training since Liu was little.
How has the discipline of training and competing helped you in other areas?
It’s given me huge motivation and improved my time management and discipline. I’m also
more organised. It’s also helped me with my personal philosophy on life, because I used
to be rather self-centred, just like most kids. I’m now much more pro-active and positive.
I learn while I work. I come across many coaches, local and overseas, and learn a lot
of from them. I then use this knowledge to coach my trainees. There are also a lot of
management issues that come with being involved with sports. At the Watsons Athletic
Club, we have corporate social responsibility programmes, which are meaningful for me
and society. And as an athlete I’m very competitive, which also explains why I compare
myself to other colleagues. Athletes are rather stubborn, which is both good and bad,
but that can also translate into being more persistent and confident.
What’s it like being a coach?
As an athlete, I was always receiving, always enjoying something. But as a coach, I give a lot.
Coaches are very devoted but are largely unknown to the public. Since I became a coach, I have
realised that the coach is responsible for a lot of things, including the athletes’ studies, because you
need to have a balanced life. Athletes often treat their coaches as someone very close to them and
will seek them out to help solve problems. There’s a lot of expectations. A good coach has to have
good communication skills, understand what to teach athletes and how to convey ideas correctly.
Since I became a coach, I’ve paid much more attention to improving my communication skills.
Hong Kong people work hard – do you think they should play more sport?
Sure – playing sports can help reduce stress. It also makes you more positive. You don’t have to
play sport for a long time to begin with – five or 10 minutes is enough. Keep it up. If you find
you are not interested in that sport, just change to another one.
Clockwise, from left:
Henry training; Closing
Ceremonies at the
Sydney Olympics;
with Olympic gold
medalist Liu Xiang.
Do you have a colleague who excels at a sport, has an interesting hobby or generally makes the world a better
place outside office hours? If so, please nominate them so they can be featured in Sphere’s new Team Players section.
ContactSphereE@hwl.com.hkand tell us why your friend or colleague is so special.