Coach saw that he had skills just being put against the wrong person. However, that is not the main reason,
“You want to take him on again? Or do you need a break? Ninety percent of me wanted to take the break. But I knew if I took a break I would never make the team.
I'll take him on again, I said. Coach Smiled"(140).
Coach saw Junior's spirit and how much he wanted to be on this team. Coach then placed Junior on Varsity as a freshman. Junior was debating not even trying out and he turned out to get onto Varsity.
Juniors dad told him "You have to dream big to get big,"(136). Junior followed that advice and it got him onto Varsity. Even if all the odds are against you, Junior still believed that he could get on the team because of his dad inspiring him. Part of the reason that Junior got onto the team is Coach. He saw that Junior is actually good at basketball and more importantly has a fighting spirit. Coach saw that he never gave up when running laps or playing against Roger. He respects Junior and that is rare in this school because of all the racism.
Questions:
Why is the one-on-one so important? How do you think this relates do Junior and Roger becoming friends?
Does Coach remind you of any characters in the book? Why?
Coach reminds me of a new and improved Mr. P., because they have both opened up very important doors in Junior's life. The two major turning points that they contributed to were leaving his culture behind and then realizing that he is no long accepted into it. Although they do share these similarities, I also believe that they are rather different as well. I think that Mr. P. told Junior that hope meant running away, while Coach tells him that hope is running to. What I mean by this is that Mr. P. told Junior, "You're going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, reservation" (43). He told him that he needs to change himself in order to achieve his goals. Coach, on the other hand, said that Junior's success will be the product of "his commitment to excellence" (148). This is very different, and in my option better, because it encourages Junior to use what he already has rather than delete it.
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ReplyDeleteCoach reminds me Mr. P but is able to guide Arnold to a successful future, because they both are supporting and making a huge impact on Arnold’s life. Both Mr. P and have contributed to were leaving his culture behind and then realizing that he is no long accepted into his old culture. Even though Mr. P and Couch’s advice were similar they are also very different. Mr. P did not know what was in it for Arnold on the other side of going to a white school but he knew he had to get Arnold their. Coach helped Arnold be comfortable that he is no longer accepted in his old culture and should just start to get use to his new one.
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