Rain comes to the face, sun can hardly avoid the head
With a dark face and small figure, coach Le Van Quang shows a simple personality and a rare love for his job. Originally a swimmer, the coach from Hanoi did not leave many achievements when competing. Mr. Quang said that perhaps the best result he had was the Gold Medal at the National Phu Dong Sports Festival in 1987.
Leaving his athletic career, coach Le Van Quang had to find many paths, but fate brought him to get acquainted with rowing (starting in 1994). Just like that, his work was honed and this coach had a "good hand" with the rowers of the Hanoi rowing team. Mr. Quang is currently the coach of the Vietnamese rowing team.
Up to now, through many generations of athletes, Vietnamese rowing has won many gold medals at the Asian Games, SEA Games and ASIAD. Coach Le Van Quang has contributed a lot to this. He always follows his students closely, trains them every day and sometimes is the spiritual leader for the athletes but rarely appears in the media.
“I love my job. Through each generation of rowers, I have had students who have competed and achieved results. Rowing is unique in that both teachers and students have to get used to the weather, unlike indoor sports. Therefore, many people still joke that if the teacher gets wet, the student will also get wet if it rains, or if the teacher has dark skin, the student will be no different,” coach Le Van Quang once expressed.
With over 40 years of experience, coach Tran Van Quyt is always proud of his professional work on cycling and helping his students become famous. “Cycling is a special sport, we always have to follow closely how the students compete on the road. Everyone sees that the coaches also have to work hard like their students, but one thing is for sure, when it comes to professional work, no one is afraid of it,” coach Tran Van Quyt shared.
At the recent 2024 National Cycling Championship held in Hoa Binh, Mr. Quyt was still present. Mr. Quyt still went to the track to watch his students compete and exchange experiences with the Dong Thap cycling coaching staff. But everyone clearly saw that his presence was partly to cheer on his son, who is also his student, Tran Nguyen Minh Tri, competing for the Dong Thap men's cycling team.
“I am lucky to have a son who is passionate and pursues a career like his father. As a professional, this makes me very proud and helps me ignore all the hardships,” Mr. Quyt once shared.
See students as your own children
On the field at the 2024 National Athletics Championship, experts still see coach Vu Ngoc Loi present. At over 60 years old, this coach from Nam Dinh is one of the oldest coaches still participating in professional work in Vietnamese athletics. Watching the running steps of his students in the women's 100m and 400m teams, coach Loi pressed the clock to accurately record the results. "Why are you running like that? Today's speed is not good enough" or "Very good, this start is okay. In the next stretch, you have to speed up more...", are familiar sentences that coach Loi analyzes for his students after the competition.
With a pensive look, coach Vu Ngoc Loi said that when he takes on the responsibility of a teacher, he cannot just sit in one place but must actively move on the field, watching his students' running steps to be close to reality. Many people say that the student who received the most attention from Mr. Loi and who has been successful for Vietnam's athletics is former athlete Nguyen Thi Huyen. Mr. Loi did not deny that but affirmed: "For us, teachers and students must always understand each other and we consider the athletes as our own children to guide them. Teachers and students must respect each other, so that when training and competing, it will be effective."
