Why From the Rough is an inspirational sports movie
At first, From the Rough appears to be a traditional sports film, with two plot twists: the coach of a group of young men is an African American woman, and she recruits a multinational, multi-racial team. However, the film introduces new elements into a class film genre: (i) Coach Starks has a very different coaching and leadership style; (ii) she needs help from her players and explicitly learns life lessons from them; (iii) the definition of who is secure, happy, and powerful is repeatedly flipped on its head, and (iv) virtually every character evolves significantly during the film. This is inspirational and aspirational, but it is more realistic and true-to-life. At the same time, it does not attempt to focus on the technical and athletic part of golf, but on the social, interpersonal, and psychological components of coaches, teams and athletes. In that respect, it is very different from traditional sports films and far more instructive.
This film also makes the idea of a woman coaching men natural and normal. It is easier to envision how a woman would apply different skill sets and succeed.
Central Theme
Success is not determined solely by your past record of success, but by your potential and the skill and will of coaches and peers to develop your hidden athletic and life skills.
How You Can Use It
This film has many different uses in sports programs and policy issues:
- It can facilitate a discussion on the skills needed for a 21st century coach, who cannot succeed solely by being autocratic and treating every athlete alike. The present and future coach will need to have collaboration and team-building skills, and the ability to recruit undervalued and overlooked talent.
- It can be used to understand the challenges of women in the coaching profession at all levels, especially at the college and professional levels.
- It can be used by a coach to talk about team building and dynamics.