A struggling Christian high school hires a new coach for their losing basketball team who has no experience and does not want the job. After coming to terms with the fact that he is now the new coach, he takes it from the Lord that it’s something God has brought his way. So with a Bible in his hand, he tries to train his team first to be responsible young men for the Lord and then to be respectable basketball players. (Description by Christian Movies)
Full Movie
Runtime: 1hr 18min
Release: 1983
Cast: David Robey, Don Taylor, Phil Zalewski
Director: John Taylor
Writer: Douglass Davies
2 thoughts to “Coach (1983)”
I’m not big into sports movies, but I did like the messages that this movie taught. While the coach and the boys are on a team trip the coach says to the boys,
“I didn’t ask for this job, and there are a lot of people that can do it better than me. But I was given this job, and I’m going to do my best with it.” The movie shows this throughout. The coach did not ask for the job and did not the experience, but he did his best by following the Lord. I think this is a great attitude to have. We will probably never feel ready or qualified to do the Lord’s work, but it is His work and as ee turn to Him, His work will succeed.
Another thing that was talked about in the film that I think relates is the concept of harmony, the movie says “everyone working in their purpose for the good of everyone.” As we each take our small part of the Lord’s the whole picture of everyone’s little contributions is amazing.
This poor pathetic Christian team, the Eagles, can’t play basketball well enough to even win themselves a trophy. They lack skills and ambition. Coach after coach comes along to teach them, but to no avail, they always seem to quit. The school has basically given up on this team and any future for these players. This team is the only Christian team in the league and seems to be the laughing stock of it. Finally, a new coach, a new mentor comes along and changes everything. His tactics are unique and his heart is genuine. The journey Coach takes this team on is unlike any other team, they learn new things about themselves that don’t involve basketball. The coach is able to reach the boys in many different ways. My favorite part about this movie is how much God is mentioned in it and how much the bible is used for teaching. I was even pleasantly surprised by a quote from Charles Spurgeon. The movie is old so it seems a little blurry at first, but I got over that really fast and enjoyed this uplifting movie.