Hoop Dreams

I recently watched the documentary, Hoop Dreams -- which came out in the 1990's. I'd never seen the film before, but I must say it was very interesting to see how things have (or haven't) changed in youth sports.

The film documents the lives of two inner city kids in Chicago - one who attends the all-boys prep school, St. Joe's and the other who attends Marshall High, the public school in downtown Chicago.

Throughout the film there is a really intriguing story line that revolves around family life. I have posted on the sociology of the family and how it effects youth sports. The element will be a key component in my upcoming book. You see how family life strife created obstacles for both boys to hurddle.

However, for me the most interesting part of the movie, was the coach at St. Joe's who had been famous for coaching Issah Thomas. In my opinion, that's about all he can be famous for. His coaching, or lack thereof, was tremendously sterotypical of the win-at-all costs coach. He clearly didn't care about his players, and was only concerned with winning a state title. In the end, he lost both the respect of his players and the title.

It proved to me that we have come a long way in terms of our values relative to youth sports, but that we have a long ways still to go.