Shanghai Sports

So besides Yao Ming and maybe the 16 year old gymnasts, China doesn't seem to hit the worldwide sports section often. Did you know that at an early age, scouts go around and pick the "good athletic kids" out and train and train them throughout their schoolage life to be primed for competitive sports?  There is not really a culture around young team sports, except in schools.

Sports is definitely a topic of interest to me so I've dabbled in a few to get some perspective.  I've played soccer, tennis and basketball out here, which I didn't do much of in the Bay Area.  I've also played ping pong, but we already know that is pretty popular here.  Overall, playing sports here is not that different- except for maybe lack of space, lack of women participation, and lack of "fancy athletic gear" that us Americans so love.

I played soccer with the local Steelcase team out here and they just play for fun during some weekends.  We always play on artificial turf as Shanghai is lacking in green pastures (nevertheless open spaces!)  Because of this space constraint, teams have to share a fields. (Once a team gets scored on, they get off the field and wait another turn.) Oh, did I mention that there were No Girls? They're allowed, but it's just not the norm.

We also play basketball with the office about twice a month.  We go to nearby courts and today we played 4 on 4.  I unfortunately jammed my pinkie and now it is black and blue.  drat! And I was going to check out the Ultimate Frisbee club today at noon. I guess that'll have to wait.