Recently, I went to China with the US Junior and Cadet Boys teams to train for the Pan American Cadet Challenge and Ecuador Junior Open. Ive been practicing a lot this year, but training in China was a whole different experience. The training environment in China is much more intense than anywhere in the US. There is much more competition and the conditions are far less comfortable. The only air-conditioning was from a tiny unit in the back of the room and it felt like it was barely working!
Our schedule was packed, so I had to stay focused to keep up. Each morning, we woke up at 6:45 am to run and do a variety of exercises and stretches. After a quick breakfast, the first practice session started promptly at 8:20 am and lasted for three hours! During this period, the coach paired all the players up to do drills. Afterwards, we had three hours to have lunch and take a nap if we wanted. The second session lasted from 2:20 pm until 5:00 pm and consisted of all multi-ball drills. Between 5:00 pm and 8:20pm, we had time to eat dinner and rest up before our final practice of the day. This part was just practicing serves for an hour though, but by the end of the day, I was ready to sleep!
Overall, China was a very fun experience for me and I hope that this training will pay off by helping me to qualify for the World Cadet Championships in Hydrabad, India later this year!