The De La Salle High School Spartan’s streak of 151 straight wins is the shiniest aspect of When The Game Stands Tall, as no one can deny the accomplishments of Coach Bob Ladouceur (Jim Caviezel) Assistant Coach Terry Eidson (Michael Chiklis) and the various players who achieved this seemingly unreachable pinnacle.
Getting to that mountaintop, however, requires more than athletic acumen or coaches that will light a fire under a player’s belly. In real life, the two coaches are soft spoken (Caviezel gives a subtle yet effective performance as Coach Lad).
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“You can’t fake anything about coaching. I thought the only other coaching job I really liked a lot on film was Gene Hackman (in Hoosiers),” said Coach Lad. “I thought he did a phenomenal job. And I thought Jim Caviezel did too because he played it to my personality. It wasn’t over the top. I looked at it and thought, ‘well that’s kind of how I am.’ I was real happy with how he did it.”
I asked the coaches about the key to building trust with their players. Play the audio clip below to hear their answer:
When The Game Stands Tall opens Friday, August 22.
