By Steve Beard

Bill Courtney is my new hero. Haven’t heard of him? Not surprising. He’s a father, husband, and the owner of a lumber business. He is also a football coach.

“Undefeated” is an Oscar-nominated documentary that tells the story of his six year tenure as the volunteer coach at Manassas High School in economically-devastated North Memphis, Tennessee.

It was the school that other schools paid to play so they could guarantee a win during homecoming. That was before Courtney showed up.

With elements that will provoke memories of both “Friday Night Lights” and “The Blindside,” Courtney’s work with Manassas touches upon lightning-rod issues such as race, fatherlessness, perseverance, testosterone, anger, academics, faith, and hope.

“Undefeated” is all about priorities and selflessness.

“The foundation has got to be a solid platform that you can stand on and speak to these kids and say, ‘This is the way you build yourself,’” says Courtney. “If you build yourself this way and handle yourself this way and have character, you get to play football and winning will take care of itself because men of character and discipline and commitment end up winning in life–and they end up winning in football.

“But when you flip it and the foundation of what you are doing is football and you hope all that other stuff will follow, well then you think football builds character. Which it does not. Football reveals character.”

Since its founding in 1899, Manassas High School had never been to the playoffs. The title is a bit of a teaser to let you know that the team has a shot at a championship. But “Undefeated” means far more than gridiron accolades.

“The character of a man is not measured in how he handles his wins, but in how he handles his failures,” Courtney will say. That mantra is tested throughout the season, on and off the field. Courtney wants the players to learn the important lessons of how to handle challenges and adversity–something that Courtney has to deal with himself.

Undefeated is about the remarkable achievements of the Manassas Tigers and the life-changing effect that Courtney had on a team of largely fatherless young men.

You can hear the coach both cuss and pray in the film. Needless to say, his prayer does a better job of describing the reason he volunteered as a coach: “Win or lose, keep our heads right and let us know that You’ve graced us with another week at least…Teach us to believe in a life of love, to walk in honor, and serve You in truth. In your Son’s name, we pray.”

Bill Courtney is my new hero. If my son played football, I’d want Courtney to be his coach.

Steve Beard is the editor of Good News.

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