Hoosiers, 1986

Hoosiers follows Norman Dale, the new high school basketball coach and teacher at the small Hickory High in Indiana.  He arrives in the town with a spotted past and over a decade out of the game.  In addition, the townspeople don't trust him, the teams best player is not playing, and his small team is overmatched.  His players initially do not listen to his instruction, and two walk out on the first day leaving him with only five players, one of which was the equipment manager.  This poor start causes the town to try to fire him.  His job is saved when star player Jimmy Chitwood decides to play again on the condition that Dale stays.  The team comes together to progress through the state tournament and win the 1952 Indiana State Championship.  Along the way Dale develops a relationship with a fellow teacher and helps a former player, now an alcoholic, sober up and get back involved in the game and his sons life.  Based on the true story of the 1954 Indiana State Champion Milan High School basketball team.

Lessons Learned

Hoosiers can illustrate the importance of perseverance and focusing on a goal.  Norman Dale comes to Hickory with a troubled past, being banned by the NCAA and New York High School basketball for an altercation with a player.  In addition the town is not very supportive of him and his coaching style.  They in fact are so adamantly opposed to him that they try to fire him in a town hall meeting.  Despite the initial hardships, Dale stays focused on his team and eventually brings them together to win the state basketball title.  In the process he wins over his toughest critics, the townspeople.

Coach Dale also illustrates the need for different leadership styles in different situations throughout the movie.   One of the most obvious styles he employs is an authoritative style.  This is evident in his first interaction with the team, kicking out a player who doesn't want to cooperate, and in the first game when he benches Ray and plays with four players instead of five because Ray did not follow his instructions to pass four times before shooting.  At other times Dale can be seen using more participative or laissez faire leadership styles. 

Hoosiers also illustrates the role of considering the community in leadership.  While the movie may provide an extreme example, as the townspeople's are obsessed with the high school basketball team, it does show how a person's leadership can affect many people outside those being directly lead. 

Discussion Questions

1.  What different leadership styles does Coach Norman Dale exhibit throughout the movie?  How does he use these different styles to lead individual characters?

2.  Were Dale's interactions with Jimmy Chitwood before the town hall meeting leadership?  Explain why or why not.

3.  Do you feel that Norman Dale was overall an effective leader?  Explain your decision citing specific actions or behaviors from the movie.

4.  How does Coach Dale develop as a leader throughout the movie?

5.  Were there any other characters in the movie that were leaders?  Jimmy?  Shooter?  George?  Myra?  Others?  If so, what characteristics of a leader do these characters possess?

Competencies Addressed

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