work ethic of a country that fights hard for what it gets and is in the ascendancy. I accompanied the team to a town outside of Beijing for a competition and I didn’t realize the power and stature of their ‘spiritual’ designation until I found I was an instant celebrity because I was working with the team. When townspeople found out “the westerner” was a coach with the team I was being asked for autographs and pictures. While my contribution to the volleyball team was limited and short, I was able to be a part of them qualifying for the Olympics in a year in which they were not expected to do so. I got an amazing amount of positive feedback. I was even the subject of a TV news show, for a full fifteen minutes,” he recalls.
Hospitality Chinese-style
Aycock’s interpreter handles the majority of his communica- tions. “I thought I would leave here speaking a decent amount of Mandarin, but aside from basics, I speak almost none. Every time I try to speak Chinese, the athletes ask me to speak English so they can learn by hearing me talk. “Lifestyle-wise we are allowed to do as we please,” he says. “I have been all around and ride my bike everywhere. Beijing is Asia’s equivalent of Rome with amazing sites in close proximity. I can bike to the Temple of Heaven, The Forbidden City in Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall— all are very close.
“We have found western restaurants, explored the nightlife and are invited out to dinner at least once a week by various government figures. Usually the meal includes a very involved toasting ritual,” he says. While it is challenging from the standpoint of the language and cultural barriers, Aycock finds the hospitality and support of the Chinese wonderful: “My Chinese assistant coach is available to me at all times. For instance, if I’m in a cab at 11 at night and the cabbie doesn’t understand me— I just call and she is ready to come to the rescue. They watch over me and it is very endearing—my well being and comfort are paramount. Five thousand years of traditional Chinese hospitality is at my disposal here and I see it every day.”
Bringing State-of-the-art Training to China
Why would China have an American company come to train its athletes? It turns out Athletes’ Performance and Americans in general are looked upon as state-of-the-art players in the field. The Chinese saw the AP training team as a missing piece in their quest for Olympic excellence. China’s head of training and performance visited the United States
TRIANGLE 1 Vol. 83, No. 3
Olympic Committee training center and AP in the U.S. and the contract with AP evolved from there. The transition to having foreigners come to their country to train them was not always easy. There was some element of “Do we really need them? We are already good” that had to be overcome. Springfield College is well known in China for its advances in exercise science and strength and conditioning. And, it seems the College’s alumni are everywhere. Aycock says, “I met a Chinese coach who asked me where I went to school, I told him Springfield College and he said ‘Me too!’ He has an SC undergraduate degree. There is also an admin- istrator here who was an exchange student and has an SC master’s degree. People here are very familiar with what Springfield College has contributed to athletics and training. Our reputation in the field and in the world is well respected and is synonymous with strength and conditioning. It makes me very proud to be a graduate of a college that has global visibility.”
There is a chance that Aycock will go with the Chinese diving team to the Olympic games in London, but getting credentials is a challenge. If he does not go to London, he will come back to the Springfield area where he grew up and no doubt spend some time back on campus. “I had a terrific experience at SC,”
“I met a Chinese coach who asked me where I went to school, I told him Springfield College and he said ‘Me too!’ He has an SC undergraduate degree. There is also an administrator here who was an exchange student and has an SC master’s degree. People here are very familiar with what Springfield College has contributed to athletics and training.”
he says. “I love to go back and speak to classes and walk the campus. I work the degree I studied, and I use it every day; that makes the connection so much stronger.”1
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