Coach Carter Reflection Paper essay

The film, “Coach Carter” is inspired by the true story of a high school basketball coach, Ken Carter with a mission to restructure an unaccomplished team into one of achievers. Though the team had been undefeated at the local level, it was still struggling at higher level and the players had some conflicts they had to deal with such as indiscipline, poor academic grades, physical aggression, laziness, and lack of teamwork and cohesion. Coach Carter receives criticism for putting the first team on the bench and closing the training ground/gym because the players failed to attain good grades. In the end, everyone is happy with what the team becomes and achieves under Coach Carter.

Coach Carter identified that to make a team successful, he had to instill the attitude of champions in the players at a personal level. He chose academics as an area he would target and he fairly gave them attainable grade pass mark. He did not push them to achieve straight As but set different standards for the players depending on ability. He made the players believe they could succeed in academics if they worked hard, and this worked positively as it made the players carry the same winners’ attitude to the pitch.

The other aspects of team dynamics Coach Carter taught the team was inspiration and discipline. He inspired a team of players from broken families, drug peddlers, and undisciplined underachievers to one of disciplined, hardworking, and confident players who have respect for each other and take responsibility for the whole team. He demonstrated through practice that getting to the pitch together was meaningless if they do not work as one team on and off the pitch with a common goal of success.