When the Game Stands Tall: The Story of the De La Salle Spartans and Football's Longest Winning Streak [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

As the mother of three former high school football players who remains largely indifferent to the sport even now, I found myself surprisingly captivated by this story. Powerfully and tightly written, it early on evoked strong emotions and a growing fascination with Head Coach Ladouceur's methodology. As one of the team members said, "If you think Coach (Ladouceur) is inspiring on the football field, you ought to be in his Religion class."

The Coach is clearly unique among high school football coaches, This book is about a season of individual football games, the team players, the assistant coaches, and Coach Lad. I quickly grew to care deeply about every one of them.

As one of the boys chided a boasting parent, "Dad, it's not about winning." Indeed, it's not, not really at all, and that's what is so intriguing about this coach and this team. It's not even about football. Corny as it may sound, it's about love.

This is the most definitive Life skills primer for teachers, parents and young student-athletes. Neil Hayes came about as close as one can to capturing the essence of the mystery surrounding the great Bob Ladouceur teacher/coaching philosophy. This is an excellent read and should be must reading for all coaches. It is also a testiment to the boys who have become Men under the guidance of caring and knowledgeable coaches and mentors.

PS, student/athletes are not recruited - They want to paly with the best and choose to become Spartans.

Thank you Mr. Hayes for bringing this story to print.

Nearly 20 years ago, I went to my first De La Salle football game, and they won. In fact, they did not lose for several years to come, and even then it was on a controversial play at Oakland Coliseum when running back Rob Forrester ran in a touchdown, but was ruled out of bounds... Reviews showed, he was still in bounds and scored with the football just crossing inside the pylon. However, there was no 'instant replay' and alas, DLS had an incredible win streak come to an end.

I understand they started a new streak... and it was an impressive one in its own right. However, it too found its end.

The Spartans would start yet another streak, this one even longer. I sat in the bleachers when they played La Costa Canyon near San Diego this past year. It was my first Spartan game in nearly 15 years, the last one I witnessed, they lost. They weren't to lose this game down south. In fact, I know a kid who played for La Costa that night. This "kid" is 6'4" and about 240lbs - fit. I talked to him a few weeks prior to the game. He was already concerned. The look in his eyes said this game was already over before the opponents even got there.

Missing a few key players that night, DLS won. To La Costa's credit, they played with a lot of heart.

A few weeks later, ESPN showed a match pitting DLS vs. the perennial champs of Louisiana. Louisiana was without their past QB, John Booty and DLS would lose their QB early in the game, victim to the awful turf of Diablo Valley College. The Spartans rolled - not even a close match.

What the score didn't tell you was how the 200lb linemen of DLS were destroying the 300lb lineman opposing them. One of which was 6'7", well over 300lbs, and a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

They ended the season as national champs, and that brings us to today, at the dawn of another season where they will travel yet again to battle the best America has to offer.

You may have already devised that, yes, I do indeed have ties to a small Catholic School in Concord, California. I have to say it pains me to read, as well as hear, the constant rants of "recruiting". I was there and admittedly, I thought I knew of a few instances where recruiting might have been possible... However, after looking into it, I found my own personal allegations to simply be false. Later in life, I realized the flat out implausibility of their recruiting: The kids are all local to the area, and still beat the best there is to offer, both Statewide and Nationally; Invariably, these kids are all undersized compared to their competition; For the amount of profound success DLS has at the High School level, there are but a few that go on to have success in college, and a precious few who go on to the NFL; and finally, I just have to laugh at the idea of 'scouting' out some kid that is running around his 7th grade blacktop playing 'tag' with his friends. It just isn?t plausible.

So the streak rolls and is currently at 151.

De La Salle will lose a game again some day, but quite frankly it will be a lifetime before they are beaten. If they lose a game, they'll just start another streak the next day. They always have, and I can only believe, they always will.

The reviewers bashing this book are invariably looking for an excuse to explain away this school's success. Their rants of "recruiting" are but a sophomoric attempt at belittling something that is both good and true as part of its fundamental nature. They will never know what makes this school so special. But those of us who have been blessed to be affiliated with this -Brotherhood- we all know.

There is no science that can explain why this team is a winner. It is a matter of faith.

Without Faith this team is nothing.

All that Coach Lad has to do is just - let it happen.

Internal Faith in each player, each student, each other... is what makes these kids true Champions. They are winners because of who they are and it is depicted each season in what they do.