Book Review

Coach: Lessons On The Game of Life by Michael Lewis

This is a short book that is a reflection on one coach: Coach Fitz. Coach Fitz is an extraordinary coach that has helped a certain generation of High School students to discover themselves, and to go on to pursue success in life. However, his job as a coach is being threatened by a new generation of rich parents who want to change Coach Fitz. They don’t want him for the same reason that generation earlier like him, his toughness!

Coach Fitz is a tough coach who pushes his students to be the best. He inculcates discipline in the team members and ensures that everyone develops himself before he plays in the team. He expects excellence from everyone, and he gives the same. He is not interested in featuring a player simply because the player has rich parents or because the player wants to play. No, he ensures that a player earns his due and participates in the game only for as long as the player is capable.

While this is a book about an individual coach, it gives a good view of how the world has changed. Toughness, grit, and perseverance are no longer celebrated virtues. In a world where everyone believes “they have their right”, we easily forget that we are equal. Young people, these days believe they deserve a place at the table, not because they are qualified but just because they exist and they have money. While this is true, the consequences is that those who are qualified but not rich will not have a chance. The only world where everyone can thrive is one in which everyone is given equal opportunities. No one should have better treatment because they are richer. Coach Fitz is from a dying breed of men who will demand toughness and perseverance from their team. Those who will suffer the most from the consequences of Coach Fitz firing are not the parents, it is the team players. Life is often uncertain and unpredictable, it requires from those who participate in it some form of resilience and perseverance. Coach Fitz was doing a job of not just training the boys for the game, but life.

Michael Lewis writes that he was one of those whom Coach Fitz changed their lives.

While reading this, I thought about all those who have mentored me and shaped my life. I owe them a debt I cannot pay, but maybe writing a letter to them or a message will not be bad at all. You should consider doing that too. Who has influenced your life the most? Let them know.