When people think of the movie Hoosiers, they visualize a small town basketball team in Indiana that wins the Indiana State Basketball tournament against all odds. However, when I think of the movie Hoosiers, I am reminded of Eureka College's Basketball team that won the NAIA National Championship back in 1994. This team was lead by Hall of Fame coach Dave Darnall.
Dave Darnall was born on March 18, 1942 in Normal Illinois. In his early years, he grew up on Main Street in Normal near Illinois State University (ISU). At a very early age he had a love of sports, particularly Basketball and baseball. He often spent much of his time with his friends running around Illinois State University’s Gymnasium. He and his friends spent many of hours at the Redbird Baseball Field. He really enjoyed serving as the bat boy for legendary Illinois State baseball coach, Duffy Bass. A Highlight of his youth was when his eighth grade baseball
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team won the State Championship. When he was a teenager, his father transferred to Decatur Illinois due to his career with Caterpillar Tractor Company.
The move did not come easy to Dave, so he used sports to help that transition. While in high school, he still muchly enjoyed his passion for basketball, but he found himself often sitting on the bench. He used that time to study the game and came to a realization that he had a passion for coaching. Dave decided then that he was going to go to Illinois State University to study Physical Education and Coaching. During senior year, Dave’s dream was nearly shattered when he and his friends were involved in a horrible car accident. Dave was rushed to the hospital where he had several broken bones and collapsed lungs. While in the emergency room his heart flat lined. Doctors were able to resuscitate him and his recovery took several months. That experience had a profound impact on him. He felt God gave him a second chance and that he truly wanted to make a difference. This intensified his goal of becoming a successful teacher and
coach. His first coaching job was at Stanford High School (now Olympia School District) in Stanford Illinois. He lost many times and had to be escorted in and out of games because many people wanted to jump him. After his first season, Dave was fired. However, Dave could have easily given up here, but he still had that passion burning in his heart. He coached at numerous other schools including Gridley High School, Roseville High School, and Wheeling High School. It was his teaching and coaching time at Momence High School that had a deep impact on him personally and professionally. In 1971, Dave entered into a volatile situation as he began teaching and coaching in Momence. A majority of all high schools in the area including Momence were experiencing very high racial tension. The basketball team was made up of diverse student athletes and had been really struggling. They had not had a winning season in 8 years. One late night when he couldn’t sleep, he developed the concept of “TWW” which stands for Together We Win. “I told the team that I did not care if you were white,or if you were black, or purple or green, you can’t go onto basketball court and try and win games together if you hate one another the court. You have to care about your teammates, and care about their lives in order to win. It is not just a coaching philosophy, it is something that you can use in any aspect of your life,” said Dave. He looked forward to the challenge of turning the losing basketball program into a winning team. Dave knew that in order to do that, it was going to be more than just focusing on making baskets. Through continued drilling of the TWW philosophy they
Basketball is a chart-topping sport that is loved by many fans. It’s been a hit since 1891 when it began, starting in Springfield, Massachusetts. It grew rapidly in popularity and spread around the world. Many people found it comforting to play, such as Pat Conroy. Pat Conroy was an outstanding basketball player, who was committed in going far with his teammates. Although he seemed superb, he had a troubled life growing up at his family home. His parents were abusive and uncaring towards him, therefore he used basketball as an alternative. In My Losing Season, Pat was able to obliterate the thought of his abusive parents. His comfort was playing basketball with a team he will never fail to remember. The outcomes Pat acquired were admirable,
Wes Moore, the author, had many important role models in his life that would eventually enable him to live up to his full capability. Uncle Howard, Wes’ mother’s brother, filled the hole that was left when Moore’s father died and when“[he] was eleven… and having difficulty in and out of the classroom [he could lean] on Uncle Howard’s shoulder”. Moore’s uncle was the man who convinced Moore that he could achieve more than just basketball at school, that education would allow him to reach his full potential. The persuasion to drop basketball as a career, enabled
The Joes Basketball team of 1927-1928 wasn’t just your average basketball team. They finished their actual basketball season with a record of nineteen wins, five losses, and one tie. The boys won their con...
Coach Norman Dale embodied a number of personal characteristics which enabled him to be the quality leader he was in the movie Hoosiers. His toughness, optimism, motivation, farsightedness, and self confidence assisted Coach Dale in gaining the loyalty of the team and the attention of the town. They also helped him to change the losing ways of the early team into the state champion team they ended up to be. Additionally, a number of environmental factors played a role in his success. The almost religious fervor of basketball in Indiana, the quasi-anarchist environment of the town’s men, and the fact that Hickory was a small town all played vital roles in Coach Dale’s success.
players from the New York metropolitan area. Gerry Clark, a Holy Cross alumnus and an assistant district attorney in the nation's largest city, took it upon himself to scout Catholic high school players and direct them to Worcester. Among those who accepted an invitation ...
The movie, The Outsiders, starts with the Curtis parents on their weekly, Saturday evening drive to the baking store to buy some ingredients for their boys’ favorite Sunday morning, breakfast treat: chocolate cake. The Curtis boys love their chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast not only because they love it, but also because they appreciate how hard their parents have to work to save the monies necessary for the morsels that put smiles on their faces!
When I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma, I was not aware of the tradition or prestige that the football team carried. Moreover, I had no idea about the honor it was to don the crimson and cream in the arena of athletics. And, I never envisioned rooming with them. I enjoyed sports, but I loved reading and writing more. Initially, I was focused on building a collegiate career that one day would propel me to my goal of studying law. Yet, the more time I spent interacting with the athletes, the more parallels I noticed between their personalities and mine. Their diligence, perseverance and compassion were all traits that I could identify with since they were reflective of me. For the most part, the majority of the athletes were hungry to achieve and they desired knowledge at all costs; a combination that still resonates with me today.
Paper Towns is about a boy named Quentin Jacobsen and his childhood friend Margo Roth Spiegelman. When they were kids, they spent a lot of time together, but as they grew up, they also grew apart. Then, one day, Margo shows up at Quentin’s window, asking him to help her. They then spend the night seeking revenge on Margo’s high school friends who she says have wronged her. The next day, Margo disappears, which isn’t uncommon for Margo. But this time, Quentin gets involved in the mystery until, eventually, he’s the only one still looking. Quentin believes Margo wants to be found and has left a trail of clues for him. After searching for a while, Quentin finds the clue that leads him to Agloe, New York, where Margo is. Quentin and his friends take a road trip there, to find out that Margo isn’t what Quentin expected at all.
The movie “Mean Girls” is based on a real story in high school social groups. Cady Heron was a new girl in high school. She has been homeschooled in Africa for her whole life, so she wanted to learn how people in school behave and socialize. It was difficult for Cady to adjust in the new school environment. Initially, Cady had difficulties finding a friend in the school. Her first day in school, she eats her meal in the restroom until she meets Janis and Damien. They encourage Cady to be a friend with one of the most popular group at school called the “Plastic”. Every girl in school envy them and with they would be a member of the group. Regina is the head of the group, and she does anything in her power to get what she wishes, and Gretchen and Karen are her followers. Most of the girls at school are obsessed with the idea of joining Regina’s group because they are royalty in the high school. Since Cady is a pretty girl, the Plastic group was threatened by her and wanted her to join them so that they can control her and the boys who pay attention to Cady. Cady joints them and they will succeed to changer her thoughts and actions. Consequently, she starts acting like them and hide her friendship with Janis and Damien who
Throughout his childhood and teenage years Terry has shown strong determination to achieve his goals. As a child Terry had always wanted to play basketball for his school. Unfortunately, he was not very good at this sport. He practiced until in eighth grade when he made the basketball team. His coach advised him to take up a different sport such as running or soccer due to his short height. Although
Everyone wants to get better at something, but some want it more than others. In “How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place of Higher Learning and You at the Podium”, the narrator wants to get better at basketball, so he wakes up everyday at 4:30 to go with his dad to his work. Everyday, the narrator would wait 3 hours in his dad’s car until the gym opened, only to sit on the bench and watch the other men play basketball. Finally, one of the best players, Dante, tells the narrator he can play but he’ll get “smoked”. However, the narrator proved him wrong. The narrator learns that if you persevere, work hard, and have confidence, your dreams may come true. In How to Transform an Everyday, Ordinary Hoop Court into a Place
Often, hardships such as war, separation from the ones you love, terrorism, and bullying can bring your self esteem, motivation, and even personality down to a lower level. It can be difficult to stay strong and keep progressing with the many misfortunes that can occur. Likewise, Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump shows how the protagonist, Forrest Gump, deals with and reacts to all the adversity that happens in the society and in his family and friends as well. Forrest Gump is set in the 1950s-1980s in Forrest’s hometown, Greenbow, Alabama. Forrest Gump was a simple man who had an I.Q. of 75. He was always bullied by kids because he wore braces on his legs and was considered dumb. Fortunately, he was able to meet his best friend, Jenny, of whom they grew up together into adulthood. Forrest fell in love with Jenny and never stopped thinking about her even though she has taken many wrong turns in her life. Forrest decided to join the army to fight against Vietnam and along the way met a new friend called Bubba, who can’t stop talking about shrimp. Throughout his life, Forrest had achieved many medals, inspired people, and even got to meet the president several times, but in the end, his heart and mind always went to his childhood sweetheart, Jenny Curran. Despite lacking the true realities of life, Forrest Gump uses cutting-edge special effects in the plot with funny characters and its heroic protagonist to capture the viewers’ hearts.
In 1992, the movie The Last of the Mohicans was produced as a representation of the French and Indian war with a love story and some exaggerated scenes of violence among the Native Americans and Englishmen and women. The main actors in this film include: Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye, Wes Studi as Magua, Eric Schweig as Uncas, and Steven Waddington as Major Duncan, while the only main actress is Madeleine Stowe as Cora Munroe. These characters all contribute their own important role to the plot. Whereas, Hawkeye is the adopted brother of Uncas, who is the last of the Mohicans capable of continuing the tribe. He resembles a white man under influence of good attributes from the “savages” and the advantages of the white man.
Amistad released in 1997 was produced by Debbie Allen, Colin Wilson and Stephan Spielberg. Spielberg also directed the film which was nominated for 47 awards and won a total of 9. The cast included Anthony Hopkins as president John Adams, who won best supporting actor for his role in Amistad. The film also stared Djimon Hounsou as Cinque, the leader of the Mende, Morgen Freeman as an abolitionist named Theodore Joadson a free man born into slavery, and Mathew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin. The plot of the movie is based off of a revolt aboard the Spanish ship la Amistad.
The film, “Gran Torino,” is an American drama film that follows the journey of a grizzled old Korean War veteran following the death of his late wife of 50 years. The film was released to select audiences in the United States in December of 2008 and was released internationally in January of the following year. “Gran Torino” is directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also stars as the films lead character, Walk Kowalski. It was given fairly positive reviews by critics and fans alike, earning 270 million dollars world wide and receiving scores of 79% and four out of five stars. “Gran Torino” is absolutely not film for young children.