SHANGHAI — One Saturday morning in November, Li Yue ordered herself a unique form of takeout: a man, not a meal.

The man in question, a young coach advertising his athletic services online to parents wanting to boost their children’s sports skills, now stood outside Li’s building in the apartment complex, guiding her ninth-grade daughter through jump rope drills. He counted rhythms patiently, correcting her wrist motion to demonstrate the proper swing. 

“Use your wrist to generate the force — yes, just like that!” Within minutes, her form improved.

“PE has always been my daughter’s weak point,” Li told Sixth Tone. “With the high school entrance exam next year, we can’t let PE pull down her score. We’re starting intensive training now to aim for full marks,” she said. 

Like an increasing number of parents of ninth-graders, Li turned to private coaching — hiring a sports major student through the lifestyle app Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, for twice-weekly fitness sessions at home. The focused training has already shown results, all without the commute.

Such concerns are widespread in China. Another Shanghai parent, Zhang Xiaoxuan, tried the “sports takeout” for her 11-year-old son, who had grown inactive and was gaining weight from too much screen time. “I was worried about his physical and mental health,” Zhang said.

She now books a coach for three sessions per week in their compound via the secondhand trading app Xianyu. The coach brings equipment and uses games to keep her son engaged, sometimes moving to a nearby park to play basketball. 

Two months in, her son is more energetic, active, and confident, Zhang said. “Now he organizes basketball or badminton games with friends instead of lying in bed gaming.”

On-demand athletics coaching services, dubbed “sports takeout,” are reshaping the afterschool landscape in Chinese cities. With a few taps on their phones, parents can book a coach who arrives equipped with a portable gym. This kit, stocked with everything from agility cones and resistance bands to non-slip safety mats, allows them to transform any local space — a community garden, a public lawn, or the courtyard of an apartment block — into a training zone.

After losing over 10,000 yuan ($1,402) last year on a basketball program that went defunct, Zhang found home-based coaching slightly costlier but far superior — saving commute time, offering flexible payment, and allowing easy coach changes.

Mounting expectations

The core driver of “sports takeout’s” popularity is the increasing weight of PE scores in the country’s academic evaluation system.

In recent years, China has significantly prioritized youth physical health and school sports. In 2020, national policies were introduced to strengthen the evaluation of physical education and gradually increase the weight of the PE test in the high school entrance exam, or zhongkao.

In response, many regions have reformed the PE components of their high school entrance exams. Key changes include introducing process-based assessments and raising overall scores. For example, cities in the southwestern Yunnan province increased the weight of their PE exam portion from 50 to 100 points out of a total of 700 on their zhongkao, while Beijing and the city of Nanchang in eastern Jiangxi province have incorporated regular fitness assessments attained in middle school into the final exam score.

These quantifiable criteria have directly triggered parental anxiety over physical education. As the subject’s weight in academic placement increases, the general school curriculum can no longer meet the demand for personalized instruction, driving parents to seek specialized training programs.

Simultaneously, responses to national policies — such as a 2024 State Council directive that explicitly advocates stimulating demand for and consumption of sports — have aided the spread of new models of physical education, such as sports takeout. The approach utilizes community spaces and parks — often free of charge — while its online ordering process embodies the “intelligent and customized” consumption models promoted by the state.

In November, five Chinese government departments jointly issued the “Student Physical Fitness Enhancement Plan,” aiming to boost student health and physical fitness. Key measures cited in the plan include reforming physical education, ensuring two hours per day of school sports activities, and building a new cohort of PE teachers. 

Meeting national demand

Entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the country’s latest health fad. Chen Xueli, co-founder of the Beijing-based home-service sports platform Leshi Sports, reported that their focus on sports takeout has attracted over 300,000 new users across more than 100 Chinese cities within 10 months, achieving a remarkable 45% repurchase rate.

Zheng Zhiyao, the 32-year-old founder of Shanghai-based sports startup Yinying Home Sports, has rapidly built up his team to between 50 and 60 coaches since entering the market last May. Having previously worked as a soccer coach for six years, he has observed the market shift. 

“Compared to traditional training, home-based sports services offer significantly higher efficiency and convenience,” Zheng said. “They’re not limited to specific sports, which allows us to reach a broader audience and meet stronger market demand.”

He recalled that his previous work as a soccer coach took place within a 3- to 5-kilometer radius and was limited to one category. Now his platform offers physical training, entrance exam PE prep, weight management, and various specialized courses, charging over 300 yuan per hour and primarily targeting children aged 3 to 16.

The field also attracts university sports majors and certified national athletes. Liu Di’an, 20, a part-time coach, finds clients through group referrals on messaging app WeChat and posts on Xianyu and other social media platforms. His students are mainly aged 4 to 16 and have diverse needs. Liu’s teaching venues include nearby universities, public schools, community parks, and even underground parking garages. 

“Currently, there’s no single dominant platform monopolizing the home-based sports market; it’s still mostly fragmented individual clients,” he said.

However, Liu highlighted challenges facing the industry. “Many coaches use fake credentials. How could there be so many graduates from top sports universities doing this work? Parents often lack the expertise to verify qualifications,” he told Sixth Tone. 

He shared unofficial criteria for judging coaches: prioritize those with college backgrounds in sports or athlete certifications. Those with both are ideal. If neither exists, verify high-level competition awards. “Generic training certificates are worthless, as they can often be bought,” he said.  

Despite earning up to 15,000 yuan monthly, Liu is realistic about his job’s limitations. “Transporting equipment across Shanghai is laborious, and outdoor work lacks stability,” he said. 

Public concerns

As the sports takeout model gains traction, public focus has expanded beyond its convenience to include growing concerns over child safety and industry standardization. 

Zheng describes the promising market as still in a phase of unregulated growth. “The barrier to entry is very low,” he said. “Any coach with basic equipment can operate, since no industry standards exist.” He confirmed that critical issues — including coach qualifications, pricing norms, and regulatory oversight — remain unresolved.

Regarding safety, Liu mentioned purchasing sports injury insurance for his long-term students, which costs about two yuan per session. Zheng also admitted that minor accidents such as sprained ankles are inevitable, though he stressed that one-on-one coaching enhances safety and includes emergency response training.

In interviews with Sixth Tone, multiple parents stated that due to uncertainties about coach qualifications and teaching safety, they stay throughout their child’s session and bring their own first-aid kits in case of accidents. 

Experts recommend establishing a certification system and setting practical qualification standards for sports takeout coaches, requiring them to hold athletic certificates and complete professional training. They also emphasize that platforms and coaches must share safety responsibilities by implementing measures such as credential verification and course standardization.

“As parents, keeping a first aid kit and staying nearby is our ‘insurance.’ I hope authoritative qualification reviews and industry standards can be established soon, so we can feel truly at ease when making use of the service’s convenience and efficiency,” Li said.

Additional reporting: Feng Jingyi; editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Screenshots of coaches providing “sports takeout” services. From Xiaohongshu)