You can take Jimmy Chitwood

     In the movie Hoosiers, Hickory High’s basketball team had only eight members on it. “I thought everyone in Indiana played basketball” its coach Norman Dale inquired upon meeting the team for the first time. One of the players answered that a school with only 64 boys in the whole student body in a town where farming is a necessary priority, leaves very few players available.
     Even if you’ve seen Hoosiers several times, you’d be hard-pressed to remember the names of most of those players, including the one who quickly established to Coach Dale and the viewing audience the all-encompassing theme of the movie: Against all odds…the Cinderella story…David vs. Goliath.

     A commonality among most of the best films ever made is how the theme of the movie carries the story, and its characters, though essential, make up the background setting that propel that theme, not the other way around.

     Most fans of Hoosiers know the name of the team’s superstar: Jimmy Chitwood. The sharp-shooting scoring machine ranks well above other fictional basketball players of notoriety, including Henry Steele, Jesus Shuttlesworth, and a hoosier state cinematic rival, Ricky Roe.

You may also recall that it was Ollie, the equipment manager turned hero, who knocked down those two game-winning free throws for Hickory in the state semifinals. There’s also Strap, Merle, Rade, Whit, and Everett.

     But it’s Buddy who is my favorite Hickory player. The kind of kid most coaches love to have on their team because they're tough, defensive-minded, and have a personality that exudes leadership. The type with a chip on his shoulder that tends to place him in either one of two categories: a coach’s dream, or a royal pain in the ass.
     That point of crossroads was witnessed early on, when Coach Dale kicks Buddy out of that first practice faster than you can lace up your Chuck Taylors. After disrespecting the coach while he was addressing the team, Dale tells him “Don’t come back until you keep your mouth shut and learn how to listen.” “You're breaking my heart” the snide little punk says as he leaves the gym, convincing another teammate to join him in his ill-conceived rebellion.

     Of course Buddy rejoins the team later on, and given the second chance to make up for his immature behavior and actions, he changes course and decides to follow the path of his wise coach instead. Buddy learns that not only is ego the last thing that equates to success within a team, but that it also restricts the opportunity of learning important life lessons.
     Buddy unleashes his energy and focus on the betterment of the team and on digging deep in winning back the trust and favor of his coach. His loose lip is tightened up like a drum. He listens to his coach with both his ears and his eyes with a palpable intensity, coupled with a new dose of humility. His toughness and work ethic translates into his being the team’s defensive stopper, assigned always to the opponent’s top scorer.
And outside of adhering to his coach's orders to play defense so tough against an opponent that he wants to know what kind of gum he’s chewing (“It was Dentyne”), Buddy’s unsolicited, ill-advised verbal habits are a thing of the past.

Jimmy Chitwood                 Buddy

                                

     Every coach in any sport, if he feels humbled and privileged enough in playing an important role in the lives of the players he teaches, can’t watch Hoosiers without hoping he’s a little bit like Norman Dale. More than Dale’s knowledge of basketball, it is his ability to impress upon his players to trust him and to believe in themselves as each having their own important role in contributing to the team’s success. No one player more important than the other. Five pistons firing together. Team, team, team.
Jimmy Chitwood’s deadly shooting touch, Ollie’s late game heroics, Everett’s mental toughness despite his problematic, alcoholic father. Each player brings an essential component and quality to Hickory High’s championship run and to the movie’s underdog success story.
But it’s Buddy’s strong will and toughness that appeals to a lot of coaches who often struggle with getting players to play at an intensity level equal to their own. Add to that the lesson learned by the once brash and disrespectful teenager, and Buddy epitomizes how the tough love of a coach is often the best medicine for a kid.

     One of the bests scenes in a movie filled with memorable scenes, is in the locker room before the Indiana state championship game.  After repeating the scouting report (which includes Buddy assigned to the opponent’s top scorer of course), Coach Dale thanks his players for making the season very special for him. He then asks if any of the players want to say anything:
     “Let’s win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here” Merle says.
     “I want to win for my dad” says Everett.
     And with the perfect pitch of both conviction and appreciation, Buddy looks at Coach Dale and says“Let’s win for Coach – you got us here”. The others nod in agreement. Coach mumbles a choked-up “Thank you”.
A prayer, then a scripture reading of David’s conquest over the oversized Philistine.  The team huddles up, hands in. They all look into their coach's eyes.
     “I love you guys” Dale tells the young men.
     All together: "Team!"
     And of course,  David goes out and slays Goliath.

  
     Any really good coach will always work toward not only becoming someone who is worth a few points sitting on the bench, but also worth a few points in a player’s life off the court, and hopefully for years to come.  Jimmy Chitwood may be the hero and most popular of all the Hickory High basketball players, but I’ll take a Buddy over a Mr. Basketball any day. He’s the one who will most likely succeed most in the game of life. He’s the one who will most likely be the one teaching the same lessons he learned years earlier to the next hard-headed pain in the ass he inevitably will encounter later on. The lessons of respect, commitment, integrity, and second chances.
     When the words “Let’s win for Coach – you got us here” were spoken, my feeling is that Buddy not only was talking about Dale’s coaching, but also about his influence in changing the lives of his players for the better. And that ability is what coaching is all about.