Sociology Of Sports Sociology

Through sports many athletes have a connection that is majorly significant in the way that the impact of their experiences can be life-changing. When being apart of a cohesive team, specifically football, that collectively works hard together to reach a common goal each of the players become aware of the importance of responsibility, teamwork and other traits of good character. In that, there is an underlying understanding that sports can be influential to young participants by teaching life lessons that are associated with success both on and off the field. Good high school and almost all college level coaches adopt a philosophy with the idea that an athletes’ raw talent is just a small contribution to the teams’ success as well as their individual
success, both as an athlete and as a human being. In the movie Gridiron Gang, good character becomes a centerpiece to the success of the players and through playing football their lives are changed by the demands of becoming more than just a good athlete, but a good human being. The movie is based on a true story of a group of teenage inmates held in Kilpatrick juvenile detention center who are formed into a football team by the proposition of Sean Porter (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), a supervisor of the facility and former football player. After seeing the lack of discipline and self-esteem, he pushes for the formation of a football team with the intent to positively change their lives by abandoning their old lifestyles. Many are gang affiliated and come from rough backgrounds full of crime and bad influences. A couple players are spotlighted such as Willy Weathers and Kelvin Owens who although are apart of two rival gangs become friends by the end of the movie through their experiences together on the playing field. A few other players also come a long way during their time on the team and after a winning season leading up to a championship win (in the movie). Many of them went on to play for high school teams or attend school rather than going back to their old delinquent ways. The success of Coach Sean Porter was seen as so significant that the method was officially adopted into the detention centers’ program for its’ inhabitants. Being based on a true story, the actual Kilpatrick detention center continued the football program until the facility has was shut down in January of 2013. All of the events that were portrayed in the film were very accurate to actual events that the team experienced, even the scene where a rival gang member shot Kelvin Owens in the shoulder after one of their games. The only thing that was slightly inaccurate was the team winning the championship game against Barrington on a last second play, which they actually lost 17-14. The process of forming together any group of teenage boys in any setting can be problematic in itself just because of the developmental changes and level of maturity at this age. In sports, the level to which teammates can work together to reach a common goal is referred to as team cohesion. There are two types of cohesion, task and social. In this instance, although task is associated with higher success in sports, social is of more significance as they are learning to become accountable for their actions as a teammate both on and off the field. Throughout the movie Sean Porter tries to utilize an environment bound to social cohesion as he develops a philosophy that demands the young men to respect not only him but also each other. This is one of many traits that build good character in young boys, such as those at Kilpatrick, who have social issues and a lack of discipline. Through this teamwork they begin to understand how to be a good individual through personal responsibility and a high level of respect for their peers, regardless the difference in backgrounds. In more of a sociological perspective, the problems that these teenagers face are rooted in the background that each one comes from.
In Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies, Coakley discusses this topic by referring to professional boxers from low-income backgrounds that were interviewed and observed in a boxing gym in Chicago by sociologist, Loïc Wacquant. He found that the main reason for engaging in training and fighting for most of the boxers was due to the refuge that the gym provided from the violence on the streets. In multiple of the interviews with the boxers they said that they wished they would have been born into better situations with more resources and that those who actually are do not box, which they wouldn’t either. Although this does not affect their level of dedication, as there is a silver lining to the sport, Coakley puts it as, “these men were simultaneously committed to and repulsed by their trade…” (Coakley, 2015, p. 279) For the situations of the teens at Kilpatrick it was a product of their negative decisions influenced by their bad backgrounds. Similar to the Chicago boxers in that the sport provided that type of support for the individuals and as Wacquant concluded, “They excelled at the sport because being a young, poor, black man in America is “no bed of roses”” (Wacquant, 2004, p. 238). However the fact of race was less prominent for the detainees, it was the similarity they had with sports, which provided that type of shelter and
guidance away from those influences and shaping them into better people. Beyond the sport itself the strength to which a team works together has strong ties to 4 determinants; environmental, personal, team and leadership.
Similar to Sean Porter, most coaches hold the belief that they are not only just a coach to their players in regards to the sport itself, but to life and producing good men. In an interview with Nick Saban in 2014, he responded to a question “What do you want your Alabama coaching legacy to be?” He responded by saying, “I love it when players come back and say, “you really helped me, I appreciate what you did to make me successful” that’s the thing that makes me feel best about being a coach.” (USA Today) In that I think that sports is an aspect of life that can be used as a tool to guide children/young adults down a path that leads towards success. Beginning a football program at the Kilpatrick detention center showed this impact of guidance due to the proper leadership of Coach Porter. He valued the lives of the young detainees and sought to make them better individuals by giving them worth through football. Therefore in the end, it all depends on the coach and his relationship with his players, without the powerful leadership shown by Sean Porter the results would have more than likely been insignificant and there would have been minimal impact in the lives of the players. A quote from the real Sean Porter captures this ideology, “On the Gridiron, we do it my way, not your way. Your way got you here. Whatever gang you claim,
whatever hood you're from, this is your hood now.” To wrap it all up, the way that Sean Porter was able to reach out and break the ongoing cycle that continued to ruin the lives and futures of those who were brought into Kilpatrick was impeccable. It was one of the greatest examples of how sports can be used as tool to build character and develop young adults into well-rounded individuals. It also signifies the fact that there is always hope in growth, even in those who are a product of poverty and crime in their environment.