First season in China and already He is a volleyball champ

Holding up a winner's trophy is the goal of any professional sportsman and a moment that propels them into an exclusive club.

But to do so during your first season playing in a foreign country adds to the extra glory and exclusivity.

Canadian volleyball player Frederic Winters is one of the few professional sportsmen to achieve this in China. He won the 2012-2013 Chinese Volleyball Association men's National League this year with Beijing BAIC Motors Club.

For Winters, playing in China was an easy transition

"Volleyball is essentially the same everywhere you go. You have morning training and lift weights and have practice in the evenings. The only thing that really changes every year is the coaching styles and the teammates that you have," he says.

As a professional volleyball player, Winters' life has been one of travel and new experiences. He envisioned China as yet another experience and an opportunity to be a groundbreaker.

"Not many foreign players had come to China and had success, so I figured it would be a great chance to show them how we play volleyball in the Western world and in Europe," he says.

While on court it's been business as usual for Winters, off court he has felt some culture shock.

"The traffic and the way people drive was amazing to me," he says. "Hearing people speak a language that is so foreign that I can't even make out a couple of words. Riding the subway everyday was always an adventure, especially at busy times."

His sporting expectations on coming to China were high. "I'm a professional volleyball player so my job is to play volleyball and perform at a high level. I feel like I accomplished that in Beijing and brought the city a championship."

The road to that championship wasn't entirely straightforward though. Winters found it difficult interacting with his Chinese teammates because of the language barrier and problems in getting them to change their style of play.

"It's not easily done when you haven't been exposed to international volleyball the way I have," he says.

Winters was surprised by the number of fans at his team's games and by their loyalty.

"It's great to see them supporting men's volleyball because it needs a lot of help in China. I would like to thank BAIC fans for their support. I recognized many faces in the crowd as the season went on and I'd like to thank them for their loyalty," he says.

"I expect the fans of our club to increase in number in the following years because of our success this season."

Winters' professional career began in 2004 in Poitiers, France. Just a few years before that, he was at university and unaware that he could make a career from playing volleyball. But now, after years in the "job", he hails the benefits of the lifestyle it brings.

"I've played in so many great countries and volleyball has given me everything I have in life up to this point," he says. "It's incredible to me that I've been able to live the fortunate life that I have just from playing a sport that I love."

Most professional sportspeople have a shelf life because it's tough to keep the same level of fitness as the years advance. Winters is well aware of this, but believes he has some way to go.

"Over the years I've discovered that it's becoming harder and harder to be great because of age, but I feel like I have many good years ahead of me," he says.

If he wasn't playing volleyball, he'd probably be playing or coaching basketball professionally, he believes.

"Basketball is my favorite sport, volleyball is my life," he says.

Aside from his professional life Winters collects shoes and enjoys eating out.

"I love sneakers and have a great collection going," he says. "I like to dine at various great restaurants in whatever cities I travel to. I'm always trying to find the nicest or trendiest restaurant to try to see if I can have that truly memorable meal, one that you talk about for years and years. It's not often you have a meal like that but they can come out of nowhere.

"I've lived in Canada, France, Austria, Korea, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Germany and China perfecting my craft, and I still have a long way to go. Playing volleyball is the best job in the world; I get to stay in great shape, play a game that I love, and make enough money to live comfortably."

jixiang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page21)