Girls holding court

Squeaking sneakers, the thudding sound of a bouncing basketball and the shouting of coaches echo through the hall as players strain every sinew to get the ball through the hoop.

The action is frenzied and hectic. No quarter given. High school five-on-five basketball matches are no place for the fainthearted.

And they cannot be predicted. The uncertainty adds to the appeal. Therefore, when director Zeng Le decided to document how female players from the High School Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University climbed up the 2020-2021 Chinese High School Basketball League, he prepared himself for the team's possible elimination.

"What matters in stories about youth sports is the process rather than the result," says Zeng.

He planned to follow the team's training and matches, then produce a documentary based on the players' experience in pursuit of their goal－a shot at the title.

Zeng had to be prepared for one of two possible outcomes－defeat or victory, and the production unit would formulate different strategies in advance.

But then, as if following a preordained script, the team roared into the finals and claimed the championship with a 91-81 victory over the No 1 Middle School of Linyi, Shandong province, on May 20, 2021.

But for the fact that it actually happened, it could almost be the script for a Hollywood teen sports movie. The viewers will be hard-pressed to keep their emotions in check as they watch the six-episode documentary, Hoop Girls, which spans their title-winning year.

The documentary aired on the video streaming platform Youku this month. Chinese basketball player Yang Shuyu, a member of China's women's 3x3 basketball team, which sprang their own surprise by winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympic Games this year, promoted the documentary in a short video. She says that as the country's women's basketball team draws ever-greater attention, people may be curious about how they developed into professional female basketball players. She adds that viewers could learn a thing or two about the growth of female basketball players from the documentary.

It's rare to see a documentary that follows a high school girls' basketball team for a whole year in China. This documentary shows their passion for the sport along with the ups and downs they encounter throughout the tournament.

Guo Xiaoni, a guard for the High School Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University team, says in the documentary that the moment that she enjoys most on court is shooting a three-pointer.

"It feels awesome," she says. "After a shot, I just feel that the hours of practice didn't go to waste."

Zeng is the co-director of the series.

What sparked his interest in the subject was a high-intensity clash between the basketball team of Tsinghua University High School and that of Beijing No 4 High School in 2019.

On that day, spectators composed mainly of students and graduates from the two schools, packed into Beijing's Wukesong Sports Center to cheer the teams on and were fully engaged with what was happening on court.

"The players on the court and the spectators in the stands, both showing respect and pure enthusiasm for the event, created the best sports atmosphere I'd ever experienced in China," Zeng recalls.

Zeng, born in Southwest China's Sichuan province, moved to Canada with his parents at the age of 5 and later settled in the United States. Studying in schools that highly value sports, he became an aficionado.

The aforementioned match in 2019 inspired him to dig out interesting stories about high school basketball players in China.

The following year, he went back to Sichuan province to follow a high school basketball tournament. He interviewed young hoopsters from different high schools and captured their performances in the games. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the participants had to live together, undergo training and compete in matches at a special base throughout the tournament.

Zeng noticed that a tall, good-looking coach, named Shi Jing, would go jogging every day. And she led a promising team who displayed versatility and a solid skill set.

Zeng struck up a conversation with Shi and found out that she has put her heart and soul into cultivating the youngsters in the basketball team of the High School Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University.

"Most of the players in her team were high school juniors at that time," Zeng says.

Then the seed of an idea took root in Zeng's mind. He decided to film the players' journey at the Chinese High School Basketball League tournament in their senior year and then produce a documentary.

Playing competitive basketball is not just about what happens on the court. A lot can ride on it, possibly, even the future. Students who perform well in the tournament are likely to receive offers from first-tier universities.

Glory on the court is only achieved by the sweat generated off it. The documentary records the grim reality of punishing training schedules, loading up barbells, doing grueling core strength exercises and practicing dribbling drills over and over again to reach peak physical condition.

Guided by the coach, the young players have gradually built self-discipline and developed a strong esprit de corps.

"I hope that their stories can motivate more hoop-loving youngsters to work harder to equip themselves with better skills in order to help tap the sport's huge grassroots potential," says Zeng.

The documentary also depicts the connection between the coach and the young players in their daily lives.

This is a crucial relationship. Shi is definitely a strict disciplinarian when it comes to her coaching style. However, Shi and her mother, Han Guiye, a retired basketball player, generously give love and warmth to the players. They care about their health, happiness and academic performance.

Shi also emphasizes the importance of molding the adolescents into upstanding adults. She says: "We'll live a lifetime, but we play basketball for only a period. I think being a good person is far more important than playing basketball."

In Zeng's views, this spirit of togetherness, of one for all and all for one, is passed down from Han to Shi and then to the team.

"Stories about women in sports deserve much more attention from the public," he says.

For Shi Ke, the other co-director of the documentary, what initially motivated her to film the subject was its female-oriented perspective, and her eagerness to dig out the stories of the girls.

"I hope more people will get to know the problem faced by a woman as she grows up," she says.

As a female director, the empathy she bears enabled her to have heart-to-heart communication with the youngsters and better read their emotions. The rebellion, fragility and sensitivity of adolescent girls, as well as their pursuit of beauty, have been captured in detail by the documentary.

Song Ran, the documentary's executive producer, says that there's a widely held stereotype in China that only those who do badly in lessons would choose to be student-athletes.

"We want to break that stereotype," Song adds. "We also want to encourage youngsters to find their passion and make it happen."