A perfect zen
Updated: 2007-10-31 09:33
And those life lessons are hardly a one-way street: One of the most important things Chow has learned as a coach is how to speak English.
Zhong Ti "My gymnasts helped me to learn English," he said. "It's kind of like a trade: I teach them gymnastics and they teach me the language."
Those language skills will be invaluable to Chow as his presence grows larger on the international stage. Though most Chinese people today may have difficulty recalling Chow's athletic achievements, they will be forced to notice him next summer as a driving force behind the US gymnastics team, China's fiercest rival.
And after the US's narrow team gymnastics victory at the World Championships this year, the rivalry is as hot as it's ever been. But Chow downplays the rivalry and dismisses any notion of feeling nervous about his first return to Beijing in 14 years or feeling pressure from either side.
"Sport is sport," he said plainly. "We're not politicians."
Indeed, Chow's philosophy about gymnastics transcends petty rivalries. It's a philosophy that keeps him balanced in life as well. As Shawn said, Chow is "much more concentrated on 'now' moments" and prefers not to obsess about the past or the future.
Both the rowdy kid running through the gym and the champion twisting through the air, Chow Liang has landed his double-double.
Other successful Chinese coaches working overseas
Lang Ping (volleyball)
Lang has arguably the highest profile of any overseas Chinese coach.
The 46-year-old former women's volleyball player and coach is now managing Team USA, China's main rival in the Beijing Olympics.
Known as one of the most dominant volleyball players in the 1980s, Lang, known as "The Iron Hammer" because of her killer spikes, led the Chinese women's team to gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 1982 World Championships, and 1981 and 1985 Volleyball World Cups.
Lang went on to coach China's women's team to silver at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 1998 World Women's Volleyball Championships, before leading Italy's Novara Club to the league and Cup titles last year.
Wang Dayong (table tennis)
Wang was once jokingly referred to as an "Enemy of the Nation" since his tutelage helped Belgian table tennis star Jean-Michel Saive develop into one of China's toughest opponents in the 1990s.
The highlight of Wang's career came in 2001 when he led the Belgium team into the final of the men's team event at the World Championships in Osaka. Saive, Belgium's top paddler, beat Chinese ping-pong giants Kong Linghui and Ma Lin to become the No 2 player on the International Table Tennis Rankings in the same year. It is the highest ranking ever achieved by a Belgian player.
Tong Hui (diving)
Tong is the head coach of the Australian diving team.
As a former athlete on the Chinese national team, which won gold in the 1985 and 1987 FINA Diving World Cup platform events and finished fourth in the platform event at the 1984 Olympics, Tong dove into coaching. He was the National Team coach and an assistant for the National Training Center (Junior Development) in Beijing between 1987 and 1990. He moved to Canada, where he eventually became the head coach for Dive Calgary Sports Society for a decade. In 2001, he joined the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Diving program.
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