I saw this tonight. It was good for the kind of movie it is; a movie about high school sports and their "positive effect" on players as made possible by a great coach.
While this film was very well made, and did illustrate it's point well, it's almost as noticeable for what it doesn't say; or avoids saying altogether. I feel a bit insulted by it, truth be told.
So what's left out? Two very significant facts.
1) The first, and the least important, is the fact that for all the good accomplished by this coach on behalf of his school, the lofty good it does is reserved for a comparatively small number of students. Namely, only for members of the football team. When I was in school (admittedly a very long time ago) the average high school football team was about 33 players. Even if it's a few more, the number is still tiny compared to the whole student body. It leaves me feeling that one cannot get the whole benefit of an education unless one is a very large, athletically talented male.
2) Probably the most significant contributor to the teaching arsenal of the coach is that the school, and therefore their philosophy, is primarily derived from the fact that De La Salle is a Catholic school that places a heavy emphasis on a Christian education after the example of Saint De La Salle. I cannot imagine this school having the success it does absent that philosophy. It went so far as having the strongest statement concerning one of the students who was murdered, stated only in French. The statement being, I believe, that he was a man of faith. That faith was not in football in case you might wonder.
Considering the above, the film's message still has value; albeit in a round about manner. It's still worth seeing; but I sure wish it would inspire someone to come up with a way to teach something this significant for those who aren't able to play football.
Bruce L. Jones
