Experience counts

The 38-year-old was a professional player for a Hebei team for 12 years, before joining the school as a coach. At the championships in Serbia, she was surprised to run into a French instructor who had trained her to be a good coach three years ago. Wang spent three months at a training program in France.

The girls' team representing France finished second in the championship in Serbia, and defeated the Baoding side 2-1. But Wang said just being in the same competition highlighted her team's achievement. "You know, I just come from an ordinary school in a small city," she said.

Wang said there was a gap between her players and their counterparts from other countries, who were "more skilled, more experienced in international games and physically stronger".

After the Serbian championship, the French instructor said he expected to see Wang and her players at the next one.

Wang promised that their teams would meet again, adding that a fighting spirit was the key to winning international games. "We never give up," she said. "The players always get back on their feet after falling to the ground."

Since the Baoding school's first national championship last year, it has won five more national competitions. Li Baoxue, the school's president, said, "It's really not a lottery win, but a burst of power" based on the skills and strengths the young players had acquired.

The six coaches' and players' love of soccer was one of the main reasons they had won national championships, Li said.

He said passion for the game was why players can endure harsh training, and why head coach Zhen Jinzhu had stayed in his job for over 30 years and overcome many difficulties.

By the end of the 1980s, a lack of competition and training led to many schools in the area discontinuing their soccer programs, Li said. The boys' team at Hebei Baoding No 1 High School was disbanded because there was no competition.

But the girls' team persisted and was one of the top school teams in the province for about 10 years before its breakthrough national championship, Li said.

The school is planning to build another field for its soccer teams and resume training for the boys, he said.