Ogacho is on the verge of disbanding despite the highest performance since its foundation, waiting for a "real miracle."
Ogacho is on the verge of disbanding despite the highest performance since its foundation, waiting for a "real miracle."
Blog Article
Oga Elementary School, located in Oga-myeon, Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, is on the verge of extinction. There are fewer than 50 students in the school, but the name of volleyball that has continued since 1982 has not been broken yet. In May, Oga won the bronze medal at the National Youth Sports Festival, the highest performance since its foundation. Only six of them made it without replacement players. Anyway, fifth grader Kim Min-gyeom looks not bright. "What if this is the last year? I want to play more volleyball...”
"I don't think it's a miracle"
Ogacho is by far the most eye-catching team in the recent elementary school volleyball edition. The school has less than 50 students in all of the school. The job is to gather six students. Even if they barely recruit, they have to fill up the positions where the graduates left after a year. Unlike other places where existing members naturally take their seats, Ogacho is a daily routine. Every year, you have to start anew from scratch. Nevertheless, whenever you participate in a competition, you step on the podium. In particular, at the National Youth Sports Festival held in May, the men's elementary school bronze medal was won. It was the best performance since its foundation without any replacement from the six. So I was curious. What kind of magic is this small school doing? In search of the answer, "The Spyke" headed to Ogacho in Oga-myeon, Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do on September 11.
As soon as I arrived, I saw a friendly scene. A tractor passing through a field of rice, children riding bicycles next to it. And buildings that look a little shabby reminded me of the nostalgia of the countryside. As soon as I opened the gymnasium, director Jang Hyo-sil greeted me warmly. Like any other school, the place was filled with banners boasting of the team's performance. However, there was nothing before 2018. It coincides with the time when Jang first took the helm of Ogacho (August of the same year). "It was in 2022 that I won the first national competition in Ogacho. I won the runner-up prize at the 3rd Danyang Sobaeksangi National Elementary School Volleyball Championship. I heard it was the first national competition to win the prize since its foundation," he said.
Founded in 1982, Ogacho Volleyball Hall boasts more than 40 years of history and tradition. Among them, Jang left more than six to seven years old. Moreover, the school used to have more than 1,000 students, but now it only has more than 40. Despite this, it is breaking the highest record every year. It is noteworthy that many media outlets call it the "Miracle of Ogacho." However, Jang waves, saying, "We don't think it's a miracle." "You might think it's a miracle if you just look at the result. But if a miracle is repeated over and over again, it's not a miracle after all. I'm very thankful that everyone pays attention, but not a single one mentioned the process. I hope there will be a moment when someone will take notice of what Ogacho's volleyball is like."
In search of Ogacho's own volleyball
Currently, Ogacho's volleyball team consists of seven players, including sixth graders George Hang, Choi Jang-san, Kim Tae-woong, Choi Myung-guk and Lee Eun-bin, fifth graders Kim Min-gyeom, and fourth graders Choi Yong-rak. Jang is a former player leader. After graduating from Autumn Elementary School, Central Girls' Middle School, and Central Girls' High School, he played for Midopa and Hyosung in the 1990s when he was an unemployed volleyball player. After retirement in his early to mid-20s, he devoted himself to raising children for a while. His second son Jang Ha-rang is also wearing KB Insurance, a men's professional volleyball team. When his children grew up to a certain extent, Jang decided to fulfill his dream of becoming a volleyball player he failed to achieve. He blindly jumped into the leadership path. After teaching sportsmen every day, he joined the elite volleyball circle in 2018 when he took the helm of Ogacho.
Jang still clearly remembers the first time he was appointed to Ogacho. "It was less than six. There were only five of us, so the job was to fill up the vacancy. It is the same now. Then somehow I managed to make a team, but I was at a loss. The kids had never learned volleyball properly, so we had a long way to go. Besides, the absorption rate was so low that I could go away when everyone asked me to come here." The first competition was naturally a mess. "It was terrible. My parents hid out because they were embarrassed. It was funny and sad. Now I talk about it like it was a joke, but it was really dizzying at the time." While we were talking, Jang seemed to have a wrinkle on his forehead.
"Besides, they have only one way as they are so small in size. They were the only way to survive," Jang said in the training session. Choi scored in his own match, but his teammate Choi Yong-rak was disdained. "If you score next to him, you should scream and cheer together. Why are you standing still?" Choi ran around the court with his arms wide open when Jang pointed out the score. Manager Jang said, "This happened to me once. I complained to them when they ran around the court even though I scored a point. But they were like this. What should I do? We are a team that focuses on determination and determination. I just told them to keep going."
His trivial habits have changed the team greatly. Captain George Hahn also feels a lot. "I met Juancho in the quarterfinals at this year's boyhood sports competition. He is a national team, and he is much taller than us. All six of us are over 170 centimeters tall. But I didn't think I would lose at all. Rather, they seemed discouraged because we were yelling on the court. In the end, we won." Choi Jang-san and Taewoong Kim also nodded furiously. "Even though we are short, our presence on the court is greater than that of other teams. We have different mindset. It's not just that we don't want to be scared of our opponent or that we don't want to lose. We always play with desperation to win."
"Not only us but also the other team are elementary school students, so we definitely get very nervous," coach Jang said. "In any team, once they fail in a game, they often fail endlessly. That's why people call youth volleyball a battle of momentum. That's why we make our kids practice raising morale on a regular basis."
"The moment you don't put your hand out, the magic is broken"
That was not the end. The real problem arose afterwards. The nationality issue of George H. Hang, who was born to Korean-Chinese parents, has yet to be resolved this year. Chang is agonizing over whether to let any ordinary student register as an athlete or give up the championship by staying loyal to George H. Hang. As he could not make a hasty decision, he asked the other students for their opinions. They all said, "If Ji Hang does not come, we will not participate." In the end, Jang decided not to participate in the Chungnam Youth Sports Festival.
A week later, however, the situation turned around. As if to lie, an official document was issued saying that foreigners can participate in the championship only with a registration card. As such, the six members of the Ogacho volleyball team started challenging themselves again. They have united in spirit even more than before. Their earnestness has paid off. They won the Chungnam Youth Sports Festival (2004, 2023 and 2024) for the third time since their foundation, and participated in the Korean Youth Sports Festival.
He didn't stop. He continued his strides in the national competition. He defeated Mun Jeong-cho and Juancho in the round of 16 and 8 to advance to the semifinals. He failed to overcome the pastures and ranked third alongside Geum Myung-cho in the last minute, but that was good enough. He has achieved his best performance since his foundation. "Ji Hang was the only one who couldn't participate in the Boys' Sports Festival last year. As we participated together this time, I really wanted to give good memories to her," Lee said.
The reason why Kim Minkyeom can't laugh
But for some reason, Kim Min-gyeom, a 5th grader, doesn't look good. "When I won the bronze medal at the National Boys' Sports Festival? Of course, I was happy. But that was just for a moment." Why? In February, five members of the Ogacho Volleyball Team, including Min-gyeom, gathered in front of the Chungnam Provincial Government. This is to appeal desperately to save the Ogacho Volleyball Team, which is on the verge of being disbanded. At the time, Kim Min-gyeom was standing in the cold and holding a picket with a fern-like hand saying, "Please speak Korean! Please listen to me Jeba." Coach Jang said, "Since the first time I came to Ogacho, there have already been rumors that it is on the verge of dissolution. In fact, people around me say that it is a miracle that we survived this far. It's not completely wrong, but we only fill up the number of people every year." He said, "There's nothing I haven't done to get new players." He also turned on flyers and asked if they have an elementary school son at home in Dell, such as a market. If they have one, why don't they ask a child who they don't know if he wants to play volleyball?" He continued, "Even if he goes to a local swimming pool, he asks a child who he doesn't know if he wants to play volleyball. Jang San is the first case that I met him at a swimming pool. "I didn't say yes at once, I taught her every day during the vacation with talent donation ceremonies. I'm going to try to seduce her by making her interested in volleyball."
According to Jang, the situation is really serious this year. "This is actually the last year. There is only one in the fifth grade and one in the fourth grade, so we need to gather four more people. But there are no more people in the fifth grade. There are four in the entire fifth grade, except for Min Gyeom. One is for each of the assistants and one for girls. The other one has decided not to do it before," he said. "There are five boys in the fourth grade. If all five of them join the volleyball team, they will be able to participate in the competition next year." He complained, "It's really my limit to bring them from outside."
Kim Min-gyeom's reaction is understandable now. "I really like volleyball with the coach. But what if this is the last year? I want to play more volleyball." I am also worried about the 6th graders who will be leaving school soon. "We are the only volleyball team in Yesan. If this disappears, Yesan volleyball will be over," said Choi Jang. "It's not just about saving the Ogacho volleyball team. It could break the tradition of Yesan volleyball." 안전놀이터
Coach Jang also said, "To be honest, when I first came to Ogacho, I thought I would stay only for a year or two. But do you know why it's left until now? There is no distinction between sports leadership TO in the jurisdiction. Among them, one seat in Ogacho is the only place in the entire budget. That's the situation, and I've heard from people around me that if I quit, one of them could disappear right away. Regardless of my grades, it's true that I'm in a hurry to fill the number of people. However, you can't cut me off as a full-time employee. That's why I came all the way here because I was worried about what would happen if I went out and the reputation of Yesan volleyball was cut off," he said. "This is not only me but also the Ogacho volleyball team that everyone has been following." The 4th grade homeroom teacher brings my children to the gym every morning. I'm trying to get them to get interested by playing with the volleyball ball together. Also, my parents run a blog for the Ogacho volleyball team. I'm going to promote it to the outside world and make them come from another school. And each school has a separate sports team teacher. Lee Sung-hee is in charge of us. He is a person who really cares a lot about the volleyball team and the children. "I heard that it was very rewarding to see him perform even in a difficult situation." Choi Myung-guk's father also said, "My son originally didn't like volleyball. When I first started, I heard that there were only five Ogacho volleyball teams. I also have Ogacho's alma mater. It's a legacy that I've continued, but it shouldn't disappear in vain."
"It's not just a real miracle. It's not just a dream, is it?"
In recent years, Jang and his parents have been busy protecting the roots of Yesan volleyball. "It is a pity that the Ogacho volleyball team disappears. As I said earlier, however, the name of Yesan volleyball itself will be lost. Fortunately, not only parents but also some officials of the Chungnam education authority know this situation. That's why there are constant discussions about establishing a new volleyball team in Geumo Elementary School in the town. There are still a lot of students there, so if there is one, we will be able to maintain it well," Jang said.