Author Description

This is the story of the extraordinary young men Coach Katz has had the honor of coaching during his 45-year coaching career. There are 10 chapters with 10 separate stories that include a total of 13 players. Each one involves young men overcoming personal difficulties from near-death experiences to drug abuse, and incapacitating injuries to learning disabilities, in the hopes of creating a better life for themselves and those around them. They are both heartwarming and emotional, as all phases of interpersonal relationships are described in great detail. There is a constant undercurrent in each chapter; the desire and need to overachieve and defy the less than favorable hand each person has been dealt. This is prevalent in each player featured, the team itself, and Coach Katz as well. All are the eternal underdogs. The odds of the players featured rising to the level of success that they reached on the court, in the classroom, and in their adult life are highly unlikely. Yet each is determined, and collectively they are able to achieve something greater than what they could individually. Most people want to create a defining momentthat others would say is impossible. Most of us underachieve; these stories are about overachieving. Both team building and team dynamics are also in focus as well as Coach Katz’s ethos as a coach. How do you build something from nothing? How do you accomplish more with less?