Inspiring journey of Guilin's rural teenage baseball team

Xinmin Central School is the most remote rural primary school in Diecai district, Guilin. The baseball team, consisting of 12 eight-year-old village children, won the championship at the Guilin Baseball Competition during their first time competing, and went on to secure the runner-up position in the national competition.

On Aug 15, the school baseball team was awarded the national "Good Teenagers of the New Age" title, becoming the only team in Guangxi to receive the honor this year.

In September 2021, sports teacher Mo Jian discovered that the first-grade students enjoyed watching the older students play baseball and would often join in throwing and catching, demonstrating a strong interest in the sport. This sparked an idea in his mind - why not select talented students from the first grade and form a baseball team?

In October of that year, the school selected 12 people from over 30 first-grade students to form the baseball team. The young players started training from scratch with their teacher, persevering through harsh weather conditions. In their spare time, they practiced in fields and on village paths.

The team members engage in daily training. [Photo provided to guangxi.chinadaily.com.cn/guilin]

To help the children make it to the national competition, Feng Liming, head of the school, sought financial support from the Diecai district education bureau and advanced office funds for submission to the event organizing committee, purchase of tickets, and more.

Feng, along with the homeroom and sports teacher, worked tirelessly to persuade parents to support their children, with most parents ultimately making sacrificing to cover necessary expenses.

However, one team member came from a poor family and couldn't afford the participation fee, leading him to consider leaving the team. Homeroom teacher Jiang Fang stepped in and paid the fee, stating, "I hope my students can reach higher, go further in baseball, and not miss out due to poverty."

At the national competition, as the only team representing Guangxi, the baseball team braved the scorching sun and battled fatigue to complete eight games over the course of five days. With their excellent skills and unwavering spirit, they overcame many challenges to clinch the runner-up position in their category, setting new records in Guangxi in both that event and category.

Today, at Xinmin Central School, baseball has become the most popular sport, and the team is adored by the students. Their success is inspirational: despite difficulties, with diligence, hard work, and courage, dreams can become reality, and rural children can shine brightly.