Passion and persistence harnessing high school hotshots

Though it didn't exactly go according to plan, coach Yao Bo immediately vowed to come back stronger from his first taste of international competition - just as he's always done.

With two wins and three losses, Yao's trailblazing team of girls from Tancheng No 1 High School finished seventh at the nine-team ISF World School Championship in futsal (five-a-side indoor soccer), which wrapped up on March 20 in Rishon LeZion, Israel.

"It was our first competition outside China, and we knew little about futsal. The result was not satisfying, but we enjoyed it. We are confident of making progress in futsal in the future," said Yao, the driving force behind his school's rapid rise to national soccer supremacy.