Dave Bridges, a 51-year-old hardcore Boston fan is the coach of the basketball team. Dave helps do whatever he can to keep the team up and running. It is amazing how he is able to adjust his tactics during any minute of the game. He is very honest when it comes to a loss during the season, which is an important trait of his, because it helps him admit his faults as a coach after the game. Dave is a part of the plot because the team and the rest of Fort Yukon are focused on what he does with the team.
The main theme of Eagle Blue, in my opinion, is to never give up. During the last game of the state tournament, they knew everything was crushed: their hopes and dreams of winning the tournament, and everything else that had a meaning to them during the game. But Dave Bridges did not let the team leave the tournament without a fight. The team came out of the championship as losing fighters rather than hopeless wimps.
Throughout the book, D’Orso hints how much basketball means to the native Alaskans. One would usually assume that playing a sport is to become more fit or let time pass by. But that’s not how the Fort Yukon natives played. They played with passion for the sport and to help live on the dream for the players and the town of winning seven state championships in a row. Although it was a challenge and a major responsibility, the team dared to accept the challenge.
The team had to