Court Case Study: New Basketball Coach Carter

FILM STUDY – COACH CARTER

By: Yvonne Nnadi
For: Mr. Lio
April 2nd, 2013.

1. As the new basketball coach at Richmond High, Carter has just four rules on his players’ contract. What are they? [4]
a) Maintain a 2.3 grade point average (C+).
b) Attend all classes and sit in the front row.
c) Wear jackets and ties on game days.
d) Complete 10 hours of community service. 2. Damien makes the decision to transfer schools so that he can play for his father. He also proposes a contract stricter than that offered to the other players. Why do you think it is so important he play on his father’s team? What would you do if you were Coach Carter’s son? Why is that? [5]
Damien quits playing at St. Francis because he is so adamant to play for his
dad on his team. He said that “All I want to do is to play for you.” Damien believes that with his dad coaching any team, that team would be successful. Also, he mentions that he wants to go to a good university that offers a basketball scholarship, so he thinks that having his father as his coach would liken the chance he has of going to one of the best universities in the country. I think that Damien admires his dad, and that is the reason he inspires to be a better person than him and attend the same university that his dad attended. A small part of Damien, I know, wanted to leave his private school because while he was good enough a player, he was always benched during games, only because he was a freshman. His former teammates concluded that freshmen were bad at the sport, but they were not given the opportunity to defend themselves. If I were Coach Carter’s son, I would not have first left St. Francis before talking to my father about joining his team. But, I have a feeling that leverage was needed in order to persuade Coach Carter into letting his son play and attend Richmond High. Think about it, if you left absolutely no way of turning back if a ‘no’ was given, your father would have let you on his team too. 3. Coach Carter scolds the African – American players who call each other “The N Word”. He challenges them to ask what that teaches white people. Do you agree with Coach Carter? Why or why not? [5]
I am in agreement with what Coach Carter tells them. It is an insult to their ancestors and race. “The N Word” is a derogatory term and if white boys use it too, the African – Americans will be angry and will fight them. Addressing each other by “nigger” teaches white people that it is okay to use it too. I mean, the reason would be that if the black people are using it, then by all means, what stop them from using it too? It must not be an insult if they call each other that by name all the time, so it is fine to do so as well. A lot of black people use the word “nigger”, thinking it is cool and all fun, but in the long run, their respect is lost because people will refer to that term when addressing them. Coach Carter tells them that if they are around him, he does not ever want to hear those words ever again. 4. Throughout the film, we witness several of the players’ lives turning around for the better. Select a character; discuss how he has changed and why you think that he has. What role does Coach Carter play?
As a coach, Ken Carter did more than just win games and teach strategies.
He coached them on life and in turn, impacted and changed their lives forever. One of the people whose lives tuned around because of the Coach’s influence was Kenyon Stone. Coach Carter believed in him by telling him that he had a very good chance of getting into a good university with a basketball scholarship. This got him thinking about his future - his pregnant girlfriend’s too and how having that baby was going to weed all chances of her going to college and having a better life for herself. Kenyon took responsibility by thinking about what he really wanted for his life. He learned that even though it is hard to come to terms with certain issues, you do it so that you do not end up in regret. Before, Kenyon only lived by the day; a reckless life of staying at his girlfriend’s house until the evenings and then going back home or staying late at parties. He realized that Kyra (his girlfriend) had a cousin whom, at the age of nineteen already had two kids and meagre jobs. He did not want a job of getting just by on little paycheck after paycheck on unstable jobs. He saw a bright future for himself and he took that calling, all because of Coach Carter believing in him and telling him that college was for everybody. Coach Carter also drilled into him that about fifty percent of black people get shot or arrested between the ages of nineteen and twenty-four. He said that at least one person on the team
was going to go to prison or get shot. Coach said that only about one person out of every classroom in the school was going to graduate and even less will go to college. Kenyon Stone did not want that life nor did he want to end up as many people – drug dealing in an unsafe environment just because they gave up and didn’t try hard enough. He did not want playing high school basketball to be the highlight of his entire life. Kenyon did not want to quit because of Coach Carter’s words of advice. 5. In your opinion, what are the benefits of high school sports or extra-curricular activities in the education system? [5]
According to my perspective, education and extra-curricular activities/ high school sports go hand-in-hand.
School sports and extra-curricular activities support the academic duty of schools. It means that sports and extra-curricular activities are not a distraction, but rather, a further extension of the educational system. Students who participate in either sports or extra-curricular activities are in no better words, representing a community. When you play for your high school, you are representing the community in which you live, as well as representing your team and yourself. Activity programs are essentially educational because they provide valuable lessons beneficial for everyday life. Through participation in activity programs, students learn sportsmanship, teamwork, winning and losing, rewarding yourself, importance of hard work, self-discipline and skills development. These high school programs teach valuable lessons which cannot be taught in a classroom using textbooks. I believe that lack of participation in high school activities is in conjunction with a greater likelihood of involving yourself in felonious actions. In conclusion, being exposed to high school sports or extra-curricular activities will help you develop yourself as an athlete and leader and expose you to various roles that will allow you to succeed further in college and thereafter, life. And remember, an idle mind allows more opportunity for thoughts of sins to reside
in.