For the Love of Books, Tech, Coaching, and More: Book Review: One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard

One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard

"A beautiful and unforgettable book." - Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights

Summary by Goodreads:

The Inspirational Story of a Coach, a Baseball Team, and the Season They'll Never Forget

In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There, sporting long hair and warming up to Jesus Christ Superstar, the Ironmen would play a dramatic game against a Chicago powerhouse that would change their lives forever.

In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet, a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Inspired by Sweet's unconventional methods, the undersized, undermanned Macon Ironmen embarked on an improbable postseason run that infuriated rival coaches and buoyed a town suffering from a damaging drought and the shadow of the Vietnam War--one in desperate need of something to celebrate.

In a final grace note, Ballard returns to the present day, revisiting the 1971 Ironmen to explore the effect the game had on their lives' trajectories--and the men they've become because of it. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town.

My Thoughts:

As I have stated in previous posts, two of my reading goals for 2015 are to read more nonfiction and boy books. When asked by my department chair to read a few of our 2016 Abe Lincoln Award Nominees over spring break, I picked this one to read first and I am glad I did. Reflecting on the story, I realize now I how much I truly connected with this story.

Reading One Shot at Forever reminded me so much of the importance of high school athletics and the influence a coach can have on his/her athletes. Just like Coach Sweet, being a former high school diving coach, I understand how hard it is to compete with the big/rich schools. I learned that it doesn't matter how much money or how many students go to a school, hard work is the one thing that the athletes have the power over. The harder they work, the better they became. Our school didn't have the best diving boards (actually they were probably some of the worst boards in the state of Illinois) or the best pool, but my girls had the same heart that Sweet's baseball players had when they went to on to play in the state baseball finals. It was also that same perseverance and determination that continually pushed my divers to make and place in the Top 12 at state meet for several years in a row.

What I liked even more than the story about Sweet's baseball team making the state finals, was where they are at today and what they have done with their lives after this experience. The one thing I enjoy more than anything, is keeping in touch with my divers who are now all graduated from college and have moved on with their lives. Just like Sweet, it didn't matter how well my divers did, what was far more important were the life lessons that my athletes and I took away from the experience. I know I learned as much from them as they learned from me. My favorite quote from the book...