Coach Carter (): My Meaningful Film

The film Coach Carter (2005) changed my life. As a child, Id always loved inspirational sports films, because sports meant so much in my own life. But Coach Carter was about much more than sports. Instead of focusing on whether a team would win or lose a big game, the focus of the film (and of the central character) was on the moral lessons the coach was instilling in his team, and the ways in which the team members learned important lessons about life from the coach. The fact it was based on a true story made it even more inspirational. Even though many of the players were talented, they were often undisciplined. The coach showed the players how becoming a better person, including becoming more disciplined studying at school, would enable them to succeed on the court and in life.

As a football coach who coaches inner-city kids, I like to think I put many of the values of this film into action. The coach is very much aware of the challenges his basketball players face that prevent them from succeeding in life, going to college, and making a better future for themselves. The coach clearly is aware of the fact that his players...

My belief I am doing good also helps me overcome the frustrations I may feel about my work.

The pivotal moment of the film comes when Coach Carter will not allow his players to play because they have not honored the academic contract, he made them all sign at the beginning of the season. This underlines how Carter places integrity and the moral development of the young men above winning, something that is very rare even in youth sports. Carter clearly believes he is in a life-and-death struggle for his players souls, and the film underlines this, when one of his players dies in a drug deal gone wrong. I try to embody this…