O Treinador: A História de Don Meyer

I'm a Hoosier, so any movie that portrays the life of a basketball coach bringing up his team to their full potential is a 3-pointer in my book.

As a former college player, coach and parent of a college player, I tend to be hyper picky about the details in any portrayal of basketball on screen.

Within the constraints of its budget, My Many Sons did well on that count. Getting permission to film on the Lipscomb and Northern campuses helped it feel genuine. The screenplay, though, seemed like a collection of people's favorite Don Meyer stories, rather than a truly cohesive plot. In being honest enough to show his negatives the film makers also came dangerously close to not making Meyer a likable character.

I had the chance to coach against Meyer in Nashville when the Bison were at the peak of their powers, bringing in a small Christian college from out of state that had no real chance to win, but accepted an invite to their tournament because we had some big time alums in Tennessee. Conversing with Don was enjoyable. I got why he won, brought a million kids to his camps and sold tons of his videotapes. But he had a little con running beneath the surface. We were standing outdoors, the skyscrapers of downtown Nashville visible and he insisted he was nothing but a good old country boy who could never hack it in California. 😂

The absolute autocrat shown I the movie seemed a little more humble in real life. After we played Lipscomb in the first round and, as expected, got thumped, I asked him if I could observe their shoot around the next day. At one point, he began correcting a player's mistake as they ran through a play, but an assistant coach interrupted, saying "Coach, remember we changed that last week." He thought for a second and said "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, Joe."

My Many Sons was, in the end, worth watching but could've benefitted from smoother development of the main character.

First of all, the coach became handicapt towards the end of the movie, after many other trials that have been proving his true character.

After he became handicapped- it l my confirmed his steadfastness and that he was more than just having high expectations of others because it manifested that he practiced what he preached. The trials proved he was real and solid, despite the external circumstances-he endured and withstood the storm, pressing on.

This is an amazing movie. Focused on what truly matters in life. He placed great emphasis on building a strong foundation that could support his long term vision for the team. His vision was a bit unconventional- well, so was he. He resigned after 25 years of basketball coaching at Nashville, because the university's vision didn't align with his mission. The irony here is that it was the fruit of his labor that provided the opportunity for the university to become more mainstream and receive more recognition.

They offered to name the gym after his name. He didn't even consider 'opening that door' and refused to 'take the keys'. Instead he shut the 'current door' and found a new door that aligned with how vision and his mission- to develop individuals fist, instill the sense of brotherhood, shape their character and cultivate those values that go deeper than striving for recognition or to be the # 1.

When the team would win a game, he would say, 'don't focus too much on celebrating the score, but do celebrate the progress made, then switch back to focus on the present game and being the best players at that moment, instead of having to be preoccupied with being the number one.'

His goals was to develop conscious, strong and resilient human being, first. Then they would hold each other accountable for maintaining the integrity in the culture of their team, where relationships and trust is at the core. What's left is trusting the intuition and getting into the flow Of the game. This mindset will also spill over into their personal lives etc.

Although I saw this broadcast on TCT it was not an especially religious film, in fact there's only one scene in it of his athletes praying for him that could any way be called religious.

Don Meyer upon his retirement was the winningest coach in college basketball history although the record was very soon surpassed. He did it the hard way too, insisting on scholastic achievement for his men as well as performance on the court. In the end even he recognized that life is the ultimate challenge and very few of his men would make a living at basketball. But they had to be equipped for life's challenge as well as the game.

The film and Coach Meyer's life is seen through the eyes of his son played here by Casey Bond. Judge Reinhold is Coach Meyer played here as a relentless and hard taskmaster who eschewed salutary greetings in conversation.

The film reminded me in an odd way of The Magnificent Yankee where Oliver Wendell Holmes who was blessed with no children regarded the thirty years of law clerks he had as surrogate sons Judge Reinhold had two children, but his players he regarded as My Many Sons if they stayed the distance.

My Many Sons is a nice tribute to Don Meyer and more than basketball fans will appreciate.