Once a player in the top league, a retired police officer now "continues his football youth" on youth fields.

From Zuo Rui in Zhidan August 13 – After the first three rounds of the primary school group at the third "Century-Old Elite Schools Cup" Football Elite Exchange Tournament, Tangshan Port Economic Development Zone First Primary School (Haigang No. 1 Primary School), competing for the first time, advanced as the second-place finisher in its group. "Don't worry too much about winning or losing—just play our game, show our style and spirit, and stay united," head coach Yang Gang told his players. Over the past eight years, he has led this primary school team from Jingtang Port to navigate challenges and achieve repeated successes, but results have never been his primary concern.

At 61, Yang Gang is the oldest head coach among the 12 teams in this tournament, and also the general coach of Tangshan Junxian Football Club. Eight years ago, when an investor asked him to name the club, he believed that "grace and virtue" were more worthy of promotion, and that players with both literary and martial skills deserved more respect. Hence, the club's name is unusual, carrying a touch of scholarly elegance and academy style.

Yang Gang is not a product of academic training; he was a professional footballer from the Tianjin Sports Team. In 1984, during the first FA Cup, he was a key player for the Tianjin Youth Team; later he joined the first team "Tianjin Seagull" and competed in the top league alongside Shi Lianzhi and Song Lianyong. In 1991, at age 26, he retired early and was assigned to work at the Tianjin Railway Public Security Department. In 2025, at 60, Officer Yang retired but remained active, dedicating himself fully to campus football in Tangshan Port Economic Development Zone.

He missed the wave of professionalization, having worked as a police officer in local stations, a patrol officer, and a train police officer. Yet in his spare time, Yang Gang never let go of his football skills and never left the Tianjin football circle: he acted as both player and coach in matches within the railway public security system; he helped professional club U13 teams scout for talent, such as for Tianjin Teda; he participated in veteran tournaments for players over 45, just for fun... Until age 51, he met a police officer player from Jingtang Port through coaching, and thus forged an unbreakable bond with Haigang No. 1 Primary School and Junxian Club, 200 kilometers away from home.

That young police officer spoke highly of Yang Gang's character, skills, and demonstration ability. As soon as he returned to Jingtang Port, he told his casual football buddies: "We've been playing randomly for years—that's not real football. The football our coach plays is the real thing!" The group was skeptical at first, so they invited Yang Gang over. None of these young football enthusiasts could take the ball from the veteran's feet. In a local amateur match, the over-50 Yang Gang was named the best player of the match—his football peers were all convinced.

After that, Yang frequently traveled to Jingtang Port to coach the amateur team. Two post-80s players who had achieved financial independence had a sudden idea: "Why don't we pool money and have Coach Yang help us set up a professional team?" He rejected the suggestion, saying that youth training "costs less and has greater significance." Thus, the Junxian Club was born, and for seven years, he made weekly trips between Tianjin and Tangshan Port.

Seven years later, Yang Gang and his former teammates—a total of seven coaches in their sixties—have propped up Tangshan Junxian Football Club. They all come from a glorious era of Tianjin football: in 1984, the first FA Cup saw Tianjin's first team, second team, and youth team all qualify for the national finals, and all were promoted to the top league the following year.

In June 1993, with approval from the Hebei provincial government, Tangshan Port Economic Development Zone was established; in July of the same year, the jointly built Jingtang Port by Beijing and Tangshan in Wangtan Town, Leting County, achieved international navigation. As a new phenomenon on this tidal flat, football could not keep pace with the acceleration of economic takeoff and the rapid urbanization. However, with Yang Gang's arrival and the founding of Junxian Club, youth football in Jingtang Port began to emerge.

In the 9th Tangshan City Games in 2020, the entire Tanggang District only registered for one youth football event, and Haigang No. 1 Primary School won the men's B-level championship. In 2021, they won the first Hebei Provincial Primary School Campus Football League title, and then achieved a four-peat in the "Mayor's Cup" youth football tournament for primary school boys...

This July, in the "Governor's Cup," Haigang No. 1 Primary School's football team was the only non-provincial-capital team among the top four in the primary school group. In the past, when they traveled outside Jingtang Port to compete, opponents would curiously ask, "Tangshan has a port? Are you from Qinhuangdao?" Now, campus football at Haigang has gained a reputation, well-known in the football circles of Tianjin, Hebei, and surrounding provinces.

Professionals doing charitable work. The training that Yang Gang and his team have conducted over the years at Haigang No. 1 Primary School and Haigang No. 2 Middle School has always been free. With support from the district-level education and sports authorities, and relying on continuous investment from club shareholders, they have established youth teams for four age groups at the primary school level, and built a football progression system from primary school to junior high to senior high.

The "Tangshan Port Cup" National Youth Football Invitational, founded eight years ago, now has over 600 participants. The earliest batch of players Yang Gang took on are now in their second year of high school. He hopes to provide better educational opportunities for the team's children, quickly opening up channels from high school to university. "Other than that, I have no other goal in Jingtang Port," he says.

There are also cases where children who train late miss meals, or parents are too busy to pick them up; the coaching staff takes them to a hotel owned by club shareholders, where they eat and stay together. Sometimes, parents also discuss among themselves, "What exactly do Coach Yang and his team come all the way from Tianjin for?" After years of observation and interaction, someone concluded: "They don't seek fame or profit—they want a good future for our children."

During the Century-Old Elite Schools Cup, opponents in the same group and tournament organizers all felt that the children from Haigang No. 1 Primary School were well-trained, and the head coach was not only skilled in leadership but also very easygoing and forgiving. After the matches at the Zhidan Youth Training Center, the "grandchild generation" players collectively bowed to the referees to express gratitude. Regardless of win or loss, or whether there were any controversial calls on the field, Yang Gang would approach the referee's table and say in authentic Tianjin dialect: "Thank you for your hard work today."