Overcoming Barriers
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 02:26 p.m., October 25, 2007
Updated 02:26 p.m., October 25, 2007
Ask Ting Liu the question, and her dark eyes narrow.
She’s the first to admit that if you talk too fast in English, she might not understand what you’re saying.
This isn’t one of those times.
Her? Scared? Of coming to the United States from China?
“No,” she says slowly, precisely. “It’s ... interesting. It really attracted me.”
The Emporia State freshman tells you she was ready for that challenge, ready for that experience. She just needed a chance.
The process all began two years ago, and perhaps not like anyone expected.
Liu’s journey of a few thousand miles began with a single e-mail — an e-mail that she didn’t even send herself.
• • •
Ping Wang couldn’t ignore the e-mail — the one from her high school teammate in China.
The Emporia State assistant coach trusted her old friend, reading carefully what she had to say.
It turned out on this day, she was asking Wang for a favor. She wanted her to consider taking a chance on a volleyball player who had played eight years in China and wanted to study abroad.
The player’s name was Ting Liu.
“That’s a good friend of mine. She was pretty honest about (Ting),” Wang said. “She said she has the skill.”
The recommendation was all that Wang and her husband, ESU coach Bing Xu, needed to start pursuing Liu.
Wang sent Liu e-mails telling her how she would need to prepare and about the style of American volleyball.
Meanwhile, Liu did some of her own research from her home in Beijing.
“I went on the Internet,” she said, “and searched for this school.”
Two summers ago, Wang made the trip back to China to visit family. She also made plans to see Liu.
It was the first time the two had ever met. Even after the get together, Wang still had never seen Liu play volleyball.
Plans were finalized. Liu accepted a scholarship offer to play volleyball at ESU.
There still were plenty of hurdles. Liu had to get a visa — a necessary document that is not guaranteed to everyone.
She also had to make sure to follow through with all the NCAA’s compliance rules, which included passing the ACT.
All the steps were completed on time, which left Liu with perhaps the biggest obstacle of all still to come.
She would have to better herself with the English language — and she’d have to do it fast.
• • •
Xu pulls Liu aside at practice on Wednesday, motioning her to the press table at White Auditorium where he is sitting.
The coach pulls up a play on his laptop and instructs his starting setter how to run it.
The conversation takes place entirely in Chinese.
Only, it’s not much of a conversation. Xu motions his arms while he talks, occasionally pointing at the screen to emphasize a certain point.
Liu nods. Then nods some more.
It’s a method she’s used to help understand English speakers as well.
“I think her listening,” Wang said, “is better than her speaking.”
For awhile, both were difficult.
Liu arrived on campus last year with some training in English. Chinese schools require it, and Liu had studied the language in both junior high and high school.
But not everything translated perfectly. Certain words she learned there were not used here.
“That’s the toughest part — to come here and overcome the language barrier,” Xu said.
The coaches decided to give Liu time to adjust to her new surroundings, choosing to redshirt her last year so she could become more familiar with English.
It was a tough transition. Instead of playing, Liu operated the scoreboard for all the home volleyball matches.
Inside, she missed to being able to compete, and oftentimes she would play volleyball by herself in the gym.
She also was trying to quickly adjust to American classes, where she wouldn’t always comprehend everything professors were saying. Communication with American students was sometimes difficult.
And everyone, it seemed, talked way too fast for her.
“If they slow down, I can understand,” Liu said. “If they speak too fast, sometimes I need to guess what they say.”
The changes were difficult, but Liu was helped by the many people who supported her.
That included two people who knew exactly what she was going through.
• • •
Xu already was familiar with the concept of bringing Chinese players over to the United States to play volleyball.
It’s the reason he’s in America today.
Xu had already married Wang in China when a friend came to talk to him. It turned out the friend had a connection in the United States, and Columbia (Mo.) College was starting a men’s volleyball program.
Xu, who loved to travel, saw it as an educational opportunity he couldn’t pass up. He came to the U.S. on his own, testing the waters to see what it was like.
After a semester of playing, Xu brought Wang over to the U.S., and she started playing on the women’s team at Columbia.
The couple have stayed in the United States ever since, with Xu earning the ESU coaching position in 2005.
“We had the experience before,” Xu said, “and went through the same steps.”
Their guidance has helped Liu to emerge in her second year at ESU.
Though she wasn’t even assured of a starting role going into the season, Liu has exceeded almost all expectations.
She has earned MIAA specialist of the week three times and is second in the MIAA in assists (13.10 per game).
She also has the conference’s best assist mark this season in a three-game (56) and four-game (64) match and is one of only two MIAA players to record a triple-double.
“She’s good on the volleyball court,” Wang said. “We don’t have to tell her a whole lot, like how to run the offense. We don’t have to worry about that.”
Liu also has quickly won over her teammates — many who, perhaps appropriately, feared that communication might become a problem.
“That was one thing I was kind of worried about. I was like, ‘How are we going to understand our setter next year?’” ESU sophomore Arica Shepard said. “But she’s learned English really well and talks a lot.”
Liu has not only improved ESU’s hitting with well-placed sets, she’s also helped the Hornets’ passing game.
With a large frame at 6-foot-1, Liu is a big target to aim for and also is tall enough to bring back errant passes that are headed over the net.
Though shy by nature, she has started to become more comfortable with her teammates. She has even begun to joke with the girls on the court.
“She’s been teaching us Chinese ... probably words we shouldn’t know,” Shepard said with a laugh. “So it’s been pretty fun.”
• • •
There are days when it is still tough for Liu.
As an only child — China has a one-child-per-couple policy — Liu often thinks about her parents.
She’s looking forward to December when she gets to make a trip back home, when she gets to see her parents instead of only hearing their voices on the phone or seeing their image in an online video chat.
“Sometimes I really miss them,” Liu said.
She’s been helped, though, by her coaches and also by a support group.
Liu has become close friends with many of the other Chinese study abroad students at ESU, and the large group has become Liu’s personal fan club at ESU matches.
“They’re like my family,” Liu said. “When we go to the away games and the home games, all the volleyball girls’ parents will come. I’m still missing my family when I see their parents. All my Chinese friends support me and make me feel better.”
They also encourage her — oftentimes in loud voices — to do better. A few times, they’ve come to matches holding up signs in Chinese that, translated, mean, “Fight” and “Let’s Go.”
“That’s perfect,” Xu said. “I came to this town in 2002. At that time, I didn’t see any Chinese students. Now, because the school has developed the exchange program, I see a lot.
“Plus, we’ve got one Chinese player on the court. We have more fans.
“This is perfect. I really like it.”
Almost a full year through her first competitive season, it appears Liu was right. There wasn’t anything for the freshman to be scared of.
It sure looks as if he was ready for that challenge, ready for that experience.
All she needed was a chance.
“If you come to the U.S., it’s a better opportunity for everybody,” Wang said. “I think she appreciates the opportunity.”