This is the first of a series of posts where I will introduce my favourite volleyball players and coaches, hopefully showing a more humane side of them.

The spirit of our team is not simply about winning the championship, but to give our best even when we are facing defeat. It’s about rising up against all obstacles and continuing with perseverance and passion. The long journey to success will be bumpy and full of obstacles, but the finish line will be worth the fight.

Lang Ping, current Head Coach of the China Women’s National Volleyball Team

“Jenny” Lang Ping, a legendary 1980s volleyball star. The only person in the world, male or female, to have won an Olympic gold medal for volleyball both as a player and as a coach.

The Iron Hammer

Dubbed the “Iron Hammer” for her strong spikes, she was the key player of the Chinese National Team which won four consecutive world titles at the 1981 World Cup, 1982 World Championship, 1984 Olympic Games, and 1985 World Cup. At a time when China had just emerged from the internal turmoil of the 1970s, where the country had just embarked on the liberalising of the economy and was seeking world recognition, the achievements of Lang Ping and her teammates greatly uplifted the spirits of their countryman, so much so that they were regarded as national heroes.. Their figures were printed on stamps, their team spirit dubbed the “China Women’s Volleyball Team Spirit” (女排精神), and among all, Lang Ping was the greatest star.

But Lang Ping’s achievements did not stop there. As a coach, her volleyball IQ has been touted as “off the scale”. Her uncanny ability to read her players, interpret the game and play her cards, her success rate at calling challenges, the amount of respect that she has gained from her players, are what makes her one of the best coaches in the world.

As head coach of the Chinese NT from 1995-1998, she led the team to one bronze medal at the 1995 World Cup, and two silver medals at the 1996 World Championship and 1998 Olympic Games.

When she assumed the role of head coach of the USA NT, she led the team to beat China in her hometown at the 2008 Beijing Olympics semifinals, eventually winning silver.

But her legacy did not end. The Iron Hammer returned to coach the Chinese NT again in 2013. Within three years, she had led the team to a silver at the 2014 World Championships and gold at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics. The present Chinese team then went on to win the 2017 World Grand Champions Cup, and attained bronze at the 2018 World Championships.

I think the results speak for themselves. But don’t let them convince you. Watch a match and you will see why her volleyball IQ is off the scale. The 2016 Rio Olympic Games quarter finals (China vs Brazil) and finals (China vs Serbia) would suffice. I won’t spoil them for you.

I think the best thing about Coach Lang Ping is that she really develops her players really well.

During a tenure as head coach, at least one talented player has emerged from her wings every year. In 2013, there was Zhu Ting. In 2014, Yuan Xinyue, the tallest middle blocker in the history of the team. In 2015, Zhang Chang Ning. In 2016, Gong Xiangyu. Finally, in 2018, Li Yingying. (She took a break from coaching in 2017, although she was still supervising the team’s training.)

Among these students, the most successful player is none other then Zhu Ting.

Zhu Ting and Coach Lang Ping

Volleyball fans all around the world would know who “Zhuper” is. She is the best outside hitter in the world right now (no one will fight me on this) and one of the best volleyball players of all time. She is the most highly paid volleyball player in the world, male or female, as of the 2018-2019 season. She is also the most-decorated volleyball player in the world, with 12 “Most Valuable Player” awards to her name. Mind you, she’s only been playing internationally since 2013. Zhu Ting deserves an entire post dedicated to her. But here, I’ll like to talk a bit about how Coach Lang Ping spotted Zhu Ting, and developed her into the skilled player she is today.

The start of the video shows a 2011 Chinese league match between the Henan team (where Zhu Ting was playing) and Guangdong Evergrande (where Lang Ping was coaching), which the Henan team lost. At that time, Zhu Ting was merely a skinny, tall player who hardly left an impression on anyone. But Coach Lang Ping, the opposing team’s coach, spotted her talent in that game and remembered her. In the video, Lang Ping recounted how after that game, she didn’t see Zhu Ting for two years, but when she returned to coach the Chinese NT in 2013, she included Zhu Ting’s name in the team roster. No one had heard of Zhu Ting then.

At around 0.34, the video shows the captain of the Turkish Women’s Volleyball team giving her comments about Zhu Ting. She said, “Zhu Ting will become the best volleyball player in the world. Thank God Zhu Ting doesn’t belong to my era.”

At 1.11, the reporter asks Zhu Ting what her dream is. Zhu Ting said that her dream was to play at the Olympics (that was around three years before she became an Olympic champion and MVP).

1.39 onwards show Zhu Ting after she entered the senior National Team, playing at the 2014 World Championships, 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. At 2.53, Coach Lang Ping is instructing Ding Xia (the setter) to set the ball to Zhu Ting.

At around 3.57, when Zhu Ting repeatedly spikes the ball, Coach Lang Ping continually instructs the setter to set the ball to Zhu Ting. It shows how much faith she has in Zhu Ting to get that point.

4.09 onwards are some of the more heartwarming moments between the two legends out of court. When Zhu Ting went to Turkey to play in Vakifbank in 2016, Coach Lang Ping recorded a video message for her on Zhu Ting’s birthday, and visited Zhu Ting during the finals leg of the CEV Champions League to cheer her on.

Ok now here comes the most tear-inducing part. At the last scene, the video shows a message exchange between Coach Lang Ping and Zhu Ting the day before China had to face Brazil for the quarter-finals, elimination match in the 2016 Olympics. Seeing how stressed out Zhu Ting was before the match, Coach Lang sent a text to Zhu Ting which said:

I have many students all over the world, but you make me the proudest! When you stand on the court, you are the best. All difficulties are challenges to be overcome. I believe you will emerge victorious over them!

Upon receiving this text, Zhu Ting immediately broke into tears. Awhile later, Zhu Ting replied,

Thank you, Coach Lang Ping. I know in my heart that you’ve always treated me kindly. To be coached by you has always been my dream. I will put in my very best till the last point.

This video was reposted by Coach Lang Ping on her weibo account last year.

I admit, it’s so difficult to translate, because in Chinese the word for young, youth, youthful is the same.

But anyway, this touching story doesn’t end here. When Zhu Ting and Coach Lang Ping went on a variety show after the Olympics together, Zhu Ting recounted how when she first entered the NT, she was skinny and malnourished, and became pale easily after a short training session. Coach Lang Ping used her own money to buy boxes of protein powder for Zhu Ting so that she could build her muscles and energy to sustain through high intensity training sessions.

During the three seasons when Zhu Ting played with Vakifbank, including during the Turkish League finals season which just ended, Zhu Ting said that Coach Lang Ping would stay up late just to watch her crucial matches even after a tiring day coaching the national team, advise her before the matches, and counsel her when she felt dismayed after she lost a match.

In many ways, Zhu Ting has brought success to Lang Ping, just as how Lang Ping propelled Zhu Ting to the great player she is now. I feel so fortunate to live in the same era as them, to get to see their matches, to read their amazing story.