ESPN Outside The Lines - Losing To Win: The Carroll Academy Lady Jags Basketball Team
Summary
TLDRThe transcript describes the struggles faced by at-risk youth at Carol Academy, a correctional facility focused on rehabilitation through education and sports. Many students come from homes marked by poverty, abuse, and addiction, making it difficult for them to concentrate in school. Basketball is used as a tool to teach life skills, discipline, and resilience. Despite a lengthy losing streak, the team's efforts reflect personal growth and perseverance. The program aims to provide these students with guidance and opportunities to build better futures, instilling hope and self-esteem.
Takeaways
- đ Many children face significant struggles at home, including poverty, abuse, and drug addiction, which affect their ability to focus on school.
- đïž Students from Carol Academy come from difficult backgrounds, often living in unsafe, unstable conditions, and are struggling with basic needs like food, water, and electricity.
- đŻ Carol Academy is a day treatment program that provides educational and emotional support for at-risk youth, helping them stay out of state custody and return to regular schools.
- âïž The Academy serves students who are court-ordered to attend or referred due to issues like truancy, shoplifting, or being unruly, offering them a chance at reform.
- đ Sports at Carol Academy are used as a tool for teaching life skills like responsibility, discipline, and perseverance, not just for athletic purposes.
- đ The basketball team at Carol Academy has an exceptionally long losing streak, but the focus remains on building character and resilience rather than just winning games.
- đ©âđ§âđŠ Many of the students come from broken homes, often with parents battling substance abuse, and find in the Academy a place where they feel supported and believed in.
- đ Some students, like Jordan, successfully complete their time at Carol Academy and return to regular high schools, even graduating despite their challenging backgrounds.
- đ± The programâs ultimate goal is not just to win in sports but to help the students grow as individuals, overcome adversity, and prepare them for the challenges they will face later in life.
- đȘ Despite the hardships, the students learn valuable lessons about self-worth and the importance of having someone believe in their potential.
Q & A
What challenges did the speaker face during childhood?
-The speaker experienced extreme adversity, including living in a rat-infested, condemned house with no water or electricity for weeks at a time. Their mother was an alcoholic, often passed out, and the speaker struggled with hunger, poverty, and instability.
How does the speaker relate their past experiences to the students they are addressing?
-The speaker relates their childhood struggles with abuse, poverty, and neglect to the challenges the students are facing, highlighting that these difficulties can help prepare them for future adversities in life, such as losing a job or facing tough circumstances.
What role does sports play at Carol Academy?
-At Carol Academy, sports are used as a tool to teach life skills, such as responsibility, discipline, anger management, and teamwork. The students, many of whom have never played sports before, are encouraged to participate as part of their rehabilitation and personal development.
What kind of backgrounds do the students at Carol Academy come from?
-Most students at Carol Academy come from challenging backgrounds, including broken homes, substance abuse environments, and situations of poverty. The majority do not come from traditional nuclear families, and many have parents in jail or have experienced homelessness.
What is the primary goal of Carol Academy for its students?
-The primary goal of Carol Academy is to keep at-risk students out of state custody and provide them with structure, education, and life skills. It serves as a correctional facility with a comprehensive day treatment program designed to reintegrate students into their home schools and communities.
How do the students at Carol Academy cope with their challenges?
-Students cope by engaging in activities like sports, which help them channel their energy and emotions. For example, one student mentioned that basketball helped her forget about her problems and made her feel happier, showing how extracurricular activities are a vital part of their coping mechanism.
What were some of the struggles faced by the girls' basketball team at Carol Academy?
-The girls' basketball team at Carol Academy struggled with a long losing streak, having won only six games in 14 years. Despite this, the team persevered and used the losses as learning experiences to build resilience, discipline, and self-esteem.
How does the speaker view success for the students at Carol Academy?
-The speaker views success not in terms of winning games but in personal growth, such as students being drug-free, improving their grades, and developing responsibility. Helping students overcome their personal struggles and prepare for life beyond the academy is considered the real measure of success.
What impact did the coach at Carol Academy have on the students?
-The coach played a pivotal role in teaching students both basketball and life lessons. He fostered discipline, encouraged personal responsibility, and provided emotional support. For instance, he gave a student with anger issues a chance to play on the team, which helped her manage her emotions and succeed on and off the court.
What is the significance of the final basketball game mentioned in the script?
-The final game marked the end of a season for the students at Carol Academy, where they came close to breaking a 212-game losing streak. Despite the outcome, the game symbolized their hard work, growth, and resilience, with the focus on personal development rather than the score.
Outlines
đ Struggles of Childhood and Adversity
The speaker reflects on their personal struggles as a child, describing a harsh environment filled with abuse, addiction, and neglect. They share experiences of living without basic necessities like food, water, and electricity, and the challenges of concentrating at school amidst this turmoil. The speaker connects these struggles to lifeâs future adversities, like job loss, and emphasizes that these early hardships prepare one for greater challenges in life.
đ The Impact of an Unstable Home
A young girl shares her painful experience of growing up in a broken home, where her parents were involved in drug abuse. Many nights, she avoided going home because it was not a safe or comforting environment. She recounts sleeping in parks or on trampolines due to homelessness. Basketball became a therapeutic outlet for her, offering a sense of escape and happiness amidst the chaos of her life.
đ Using Sports to Teach Life Skills
The Carol Academy uses sports as a tool to teach life lessons and provide structure to children who have been sent there. Many of these children have never played sports before, and they are encouraged to participate as part of their rehabilitation. The program focuses not on winning, but on instilling responsibility, discipline, and self-esteem. Despite having lost many games, the girlsâ efforts and perseverance are seen as victories in their personal growth.
đ A Story of Overcoming Rage
One of the girls at Carol Academy, Haley, is introduced as a girl struggling with severe anger issues due to her bipolar disorder and family issues. Initially, her coach was reluctant to put her on the basketball team, but after seeing potential in her, he gave her a chance. Haley made a deal to control her anger, and through basketball, she developed a sense of responsibility and self-control, proving that she could rise above her circumstances.
âčïžââïž Breaking a Long Losing Streak
Carol Academyâs basketball team heads into their last regular game with hopes of breaking a 212-game losing streak. Though they are used to heavy losses, the coach sees success beyond the scoreboard. The girls push the opposing team to work harder than expected, ultimately losing by a narrow margin. Despite the loss, the coach and players are proud of their efforts, recognizing their growth and improved teamwork.
đ Moving Beyond the Game
As one of the players, Jordan, prepares to leave Carol Academy and return to high school, there is a bittersweet moment of reflection. The coach expresses his pride in the personal growth of the players, acknowledging that while winning games is not the primary focus, helping the girls develop life skills and resilience is. The lasting impact of the program on the playersâ lives is evident as they prepare to face the world outside the academy.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄAdversity
đĄPoverty
đĄAbuse
đĄCarol Academy
đĄSports as a tool
đĄSelf-esteem
đĄDrug abuse
đĄDiscipline
đĄAnger management
đĄUnderdog
Highlights
The speaker shares personal experience with poverty, abuse, and neglect, emphasizing the harsh realities of struggling at home and how it affects school performance.
Children at Carol Academy often return home to difficult environments, including drug abuse, domestic violence, and extreme poverty, making it challenging to focus on education.
Carol Academy serves as a correctional facility that offers a comprehensive day treatment program aimed at keeping kids out of state custody.
The Academy uses sports as a tool to teach life skills, such as discipline, responsibility, and stress management, while also offering a structured educational curriculum.
Many children at the Academy come from broken homes, and some have experienced homelessness, abuse, or neglect, with sports offering them a sense of belonging and purpose.
Sports at Carol Academy are mandatory for court-ordered students, giving them an opportunity to learn teamwork and self-discipline through basketball, even if they have never played before.
Despite having lost 208 games in a row, the students continue to play with resilience and perseverance, showing personal growth beyond the score.
The loss of games becomes a teaching tool for building self-esteem, courage, and resilience, as the girls learn to deal with adversity both on and off the court.
The program focuses on emotional growth, helping students manage anger and frustration, especially those with conditions like bipolar disorder or depression.
Coach Randy plays a key role in offering students mentorship and life lessons, emphasizing that winning in life is more important than winning in sports.
The girlsâ dedication and hard work on the basketball court help them forget their difficult home lives and provide a temporary escape from their problems.
Jordan, one of the students, is highlighted for her journey back to regular school after finding personal success and growth through her time at Carol Academy.
The Academy provides a stable environment for students who have often experienced instability, offering them structure and positive role models.
The transcript highlights the deep social issues in the surrounding area, including poverty, unemployment, and the methamphetamine epidemic, which significantly impact the students.
While the girls may not win basketball games, the personal growth and development they experience through the program are seen as the real victories.
Transcripts
I was one of these kids and so I know
the struggle I experienced the
struggle when they talk about not
wanting to go home the drama the abuse
the fighting the
drugs going without water any
electricity in the home sometimes two or
three weeks at a
time how are you going to concentrate in
school knowing there's not going to be
any food there today mom's drunk you
know she's so drunk she's passed out
she's passed out on a porch and you're
living in a a rat infested house that's
really
condemned now who wants to go home to
that that's what I was going home to and
some of them when we take them home
that's what we
see this is nothing compared to what
you're going to face in your life
20 25 30 years from now when I'm
gone and you come home and you find out
your husband has lost his job that's
adversity that's something you'll have
to come on this is nothing this will
prepare you for
[Music]
that this is an
opportunity in the most important game
not a basketball game it doesn't matter
who you are the most important game we
all play is in The Game of Life what 2
three and that's the one that matters
get up hustle back don't reach we can't
get the ball across half court it's
going to be hard I'm just telling you we
may not score look don't give them a
layup watch
inside there's nobody left to dribble
the two that can are on the Ben Summer
shoot that ball Aaliyah no doesn't
matter what anybody in the stands thinks
I don't
care you're not losing you're playing
the score doesn't
matter we got a pretty good shot then
that was our 208th straight loss
according to the record you know the
records book that we keep the biggest
Underdog in all the sports is Carol
Academy lady James and people love the
underdog we love the
underdog and those nine
girls they're the biggest under
dog and this is my
bedroom some of the staff has helped me
with trying to cope with some of my
problems at home or like my anger and
stuff like
that my mom drank when she was pregnant
with me she I mean she's an alcoholic so
she's been in and out of my life
constantly and my dad just put a stop to
it cuz he was tired of seeing me and my
sister like she would say she was going
to come get us for the weekend and and
we would sit by the window waiting and
she would never show
up Carol Academy is a correctional
facility that offers School the whole
purpose in the academy is to keep kids
out of state's custody Carol Academy is
a comprehensive day treatment program
the children do not spend the night
there it serves five counties fromont
pockets they can be sent here from
regular school without going to court
back around say
or they can be court ordered here
notebooks that could be anything from
shoplifting to
treny vandalism just being
unruly it's a regular day it's basically
8 to three three blocks of regular
curriculum Math Science History they get
the same educational credits they get in
their home school and they can return to
their home school after they have done
their time at Carol Academy Carol
Academy is a it's a place where you
catch kids who've fallen through the
cracks in society and sometimes it's not
the kids fault it's not their fault it's
just where they live these problems are
deep
rooted Carol County generally uh rural
population I think you would find the
poverty level is high the unemployment
rate is high there is a very bad
methamphetamine problem and it carries a
triple effect throughout our entire
economy I've had children come here and
both mom and dad be in
jail this year out of the girls only one
of those had come from traditional
nuclear
[Music]
family everyone does have a
story I live with my friend and her
mother
when I lived with my real mother they
were abusing drugs and I was
also a lot of nights I wouldn't go home
just
because a lot of times it was a place
you didn't want to go home to there were
some nights when I honestly didn't have
anywhere to go and I would have to like
you know sleep in a park or on a
trampoline or
something just lonely and
it just it don't feel good to not have a
bed to sleep
on I learned that if you know I could
find something else to do with my time
something that made me happy like
playing basketball then it won't be as
hard that's better got him
up we use Sports in a different way we
use Sports as a tool to teach life
skills if you get S here your court
ordered to do whatever they tell you to
do and that's including playing sports I
was court ordered to
play to play here you need to be doing
your homework your academic work you
need to be passing your drug screen I
first tried marijuana when I was eight
Mr Randy and Mr Patrick if it wasn't for
them to I would probably be S off
like to rehab or Estates
custody they help me a lot most of them
come here having never played Sports
before they don't know how to dribble
they don't know anything we give them
this crash course and we put them out
there I want five girls that will hustle
down the floor because you're not today
no matter what the scoreboard says or
even our record everybody comes up and
says every well your girl they play hard
there's no reason for this
none the girls have won six games in 14
years of playing the losses give us the
tools that we need to teach to build
self-esteem and the courage all of those
things dealing with choices anger Stress
Management shoot the ball no just please
don't stand like there's nothing going
on somebody's got to hustle back the
last time we won a game was back in I
think 2005 you want me to tell you what
some of the scores were 110 to 4 50
something to three there was a like a
94 to two a lot of times other team
would be way ahead they got beat up by
some of these teams I mean literally got
beat up you going to be all right Jordan
that's part of it ain't it let's don't
get hurt no more it didn't matter to me
cuz I had a family
I never had a family
so do we flip them yet not yet when do
you know to flip them when you start
smelling
toast
oh I had Haley when I was
18 she had been hospitalized
twice and she had been in two different
long-term facilities
she's a
bipolar disorder is what they call it
with
depression I actually went to Mr Randy
and asked him not to put her on the team
because her biggest issue is anger it is
complete
rage but Mr Randy I guess he saw
something different he said I want to
give her a shot all right don't get mad
you understand tighten it up
we had a
deal that I will keep myself under
control throughout this whole season um
no anger Outburst none of that and I
did she gave me what I asked for on the
court and off the court I'm glad I made
that
decision it was very important because I
never had a dad growing up he didn't
just teach us basketball he taught us
life lessons through basketball he
taught us so much you know that's
probably the most amazing thing because
they're willing to go out here and
sacrifice they've learned responsibility
they've learned discipline they see the
bigger picture that's why you give them
a
chance it's that house right there with
the where is that the one she's sitting
outside looks like she's sleeping wake
her up with the horn
[Laughter]
[Music]
you'll have to shoot the ball really
well and not give up those layups you do
that you'll have a chance I believe you
can
win this would be the last regular game
the last season game for Carol Academy
trying to break a 212 game losing streak
all right let's go 1 2 3 he you know
their success when you see a kid that's
drug free their grades are up in my eyes
I know we've had success I don't have
any doubt about it out here on the jump
shot on the left side banked in good is
it a three yes a jump shot off the left
side banked it in this could be history
you never know when it's going to happen
there's a whole story they're waiting to
write driving into the lane Carol
Academy got one drilled it long one for
three bulline that one way down the
hatch you got to call bank going know
Hannah been a long time since the lady
Jags have had a bucket trying
desperately to keep it respectable we
all worked our best we all tried the
outcome wasn't that good but we pushed
them to where they had to actually work
driving in going up
good3 we scored to what
30 29 oh my gosh we did good that's
probably the most proud of I've ever had
been over play you'll miss it you'll see
you'll get up think about Mr Patrick
getting you on the band R some of us
won't I mean we won't play basketball
again so it helped me forget about all
the current things going on cleared my
mind it's helped me be a better
person I think Jordan wants to tell you
something thank you for coaching
us
okay this is this is for you from Mr
Randy I've got
sunshine on a cloudy
day when it's cold
outside I've got the month of
May well I
guess you
say what can make me feel this way my
girl talking about my
[Music]
girl I love being out on the court and
it was fun playing and it was sad cuz it
was my last day with
everybody Jordan would go back to high
school and walk the line graduate with
her graduating
CL she's going back to regular school
it's like letting my child go on the
first day of kindergarten you now going
back in the jungle you know it's hard
out there I hate to see him there's a
part of me you know you hate to see him
go but you know that's what you're
supposed to do letting go is a good
thing that's a
win I don't care if they don't win a
game when we see the
growth
it is it is so satisfying you know to
know that we were able to help in that
way there are more important things than
winning you
know if people tell you that you're a
bad kid and that you're nothing more
than that then how do they expect us to
improve if No One Believes In us and at
Carol Academy they do believe in
you our job is to help them get up the
ladder they got to climb the rest of the
way but we got to give them a
boost through Sports you grow up if it's
done right and for them they grew
up
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