ESPN Outside The Lines - Losing To Win: The Carroll Academy Lady Jags Basketball Team

Summary

The 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

• 💔 Many children face significant struggles at home, including poverty, abuse, and drug addiction, which affect their ability to focus on school.
• 🏚️ 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.
• 🎯 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.
• ⚖️ 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.
• 🏀 Sports at Carol Academy are used as a tool for teaching life skills like responsibility, discipline, and perseverance, not just for athletic purposes.
• 📉 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.
• 👩‍👧‍👦 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.
• 🎓 Some students, like Jordan, successfully complete their time at Carol Academy and return to regular high schools, even graduating despite their challenging backgrounds.
• 🌱 The program’s 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.
• 💪 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

00:00

😔 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 life’s future adversities, like job loss, and emphasizes that these early hardships prepare one for greater challenges in life.

05:00

🏠 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.

10:01

🏀 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 girls’ efforts and perseverance are seen as victories in their personal growth.

💔 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.

⛹️‍♀️ Breaking a Long Losing Streak

Carol Academy’s 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.

😊 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 players’ lives is evident as they prepare to face the world outside the academy.

Keywords

💡Adversity

Adversity refers to difficulties or challenges faced by individuals. In the context of the video, adversity is used to describe the harsh life circumstances many of the students face, such as abuse, poverty, and unstable family environments. The speaker highlights adversity when explaining the difficulties that students will face later in life and how their current struggles are preparing them for those moments.

💡Poverty

Poverty refers to the state of being extremely poor, lacking basic resources like food, water, or stable housing. In the script, poverty is a critical theme as many students come from households where they experience extreme financial hardship, sometimes going without electricity or food. The narrator discusses how this environment affects the children's ability to concentrate in school and perform in life.

💡Abuse

Abuse refers to mistreatment or violent behavior towards someone, often in a family or close relationship. The video describes how many of the students face abuse at home, such as physical violence, emotional neglect, or substance abuse by their parents. This creates a toxic environment that contributes to the students' struggles with anger, trust, and self-esteem.

💡Carol Academy

Carol Academy is a correctional facility that provides education and life skills to troubled youth. The institution is presented as a place where kids who have 'fallen through the cracks' due to family, social, and personal issues receive support. It’s not just a school but also a therapeutic environment where staff help students cope with their personal problems and grow through both academics and sports.

💡Sports as a tool

Sports as a tool refers to using sports not just for recreation or competition but as a method to teach life skills. At Carol Academy, playing basketball is court-ordered for students, but the goal is less about winning and more about teaching responsibility, discipline, teamwork, and coping mechanisms. Sports provide the students with an outlet for their emotions and a structured environment where they can learn valuable life lessons.

💡Self-esteem

Self-esteem is the sense of self-worth or confidence that an individual has. For the girls at Carol Academy, many struggle with low self-esteem due to their difficult life experiences. The staff use both academics and sports to build up their self-esteem, showing them that they can succeed in small ways, like improving in basketball, and that these successes are important for their overall growth.

💡Drug abuse

Drug abuse refers to the misuse of illegal substances or prescription drugs. In the video, drug abuse is a significant issue for many students, with some coming from homes where drugs are used regularly, and some having used drugs themselves. One student mentions trying marijuana at the age of eight. Drug abuse is shown as a major factor that leads students to Carol Academy, where they are given help to avoid future substance abuse.

💡Discipline

Discipline refers to the practice of training individuals to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. At Carol Academy, students learn discipline through sports and their daily routine. The idea is to teach them how to manage their emotions, follow instructions, and work as a team, which in turn helps them overcome their personal challenges. Discipline is also a theme when discussing how students must follow court orders and complete their time at the Academy.

💡Anger management

Anger management is the process of learning to control anger and respond to situations in a calm and productive way. One of the students in the video struggles with extreme anger, described as 'complete rage,' due to her difficult family background. Through sports and counseling at Carol Academy, she learns to manage her anger and avoid outbursts, making significant progress in controlling her emotions.

💡Underdog

An underdog is someone or a group that is expected to lose in a competition but fights hard against the odds. The girls' basketball team at Carol Academy is referred to as the 'biggest underdog' in sports, having lost 208 consecutive games. The video emphasizes the value of perseverance and hard work, even when success seems unlikely. Being an underdog teaches the students resilience, which applies to their struggles in life outside of basketball.

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 girls’ 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