Wang Yimei, a former top Olympic volleyball scorer, played overseas alone, later coached struggling Liaoning Volleyball, funding it with savings. Now she reforms old selection, valuing experience over money.
Wang Yimei was known early in her career for her spikes reaching speeds of 89 kilometers per hour, and she was named the top scorer in women’s volleyball at two Olympic Games.
At the age of 27, right in the prime of her career, she was unexpectedly left off the national team. She then went abroad to play in a foreign league on her own. At the time, unable to speak the local language, she would often carry an electronic dictionary and painstakingly translate foreign-language materials word by word; when no one was around to train with her, she would practice on her own on the court.
After retiring, she took over as head coach of the Liaoning Women’s Volleyball Team, which was facing severe difficulties at the time. To keep the team running, she used her own money to secure sponsorships and even put her personal credit on the line to cover the team’s financial shortfall—a move that led to her being listed as a “discredited debtor” for a time.She poured nearly all her savings into the team and, while overseeing daily training, paid meticulous attention to the finer details of the players’ movements—all in the hope that these young athletes would not have to repeat the mistakes she had made in her own career.
Now that the Liaoning women’s volleyball team’s situation has gradually stabilized, she is also working to adjust the team’s traditional player selection criteria, which have been in place for decades.Although the team has never had much surplus funding, she believes that the industry experience accumulated over the years, the players’ genuine trust, and the concrete achievements they’ve made are far more valuable than the numbers in a bank account.
No one can stay in the spotlight forever. When you hit a rough patch, don’t just give up and stay stuck where you are, and don’t spend all your time blaming others. If you persevere through it, you’ll be able to forge a new path.Compared to mere numbers on a balance sheet, the confidence built through steady hard work and the tangible achievements you’ve made are the most valuable assets in life.
