Good values make a man Forever Strong
By Breanna Angus
Forever Strong may be the work of a Mormon film company, but it isn't geared towards an LDS audience. The story is about a troubled young rugby player who gets into a lot of bad habits–including driving drunk–which eventually lead him to be placed in a juvenile correctional facility. His story tells you, right off the bat, that this film is speaking to other young kids like him. Rick is extremely disrespectful and reckless–attitudes that can be attributed to a father that is too tough on his son. Even as he enters the juvenile detention center for his DUI, he does his best not to change... until he plays Rugby on the Highland Team (his own team’s rival). Despite his attempts to stay the same kid, making the same mistakes, the experience begins to change him.
Throughout the movie we see him grow and change through the influence of others. He becomes a better rugby player, a better team mate, and a better man. The movie never mentions that Highland’s coach is Mormon or that any of the other players are, but it suggests, in subtle ways, the good values that Mormon’s practice and that other good people should seek to practice. The coach is Rick’s main guide and guardian as he becomes a better man. Through Rick, the coach is even able to change Rick’s father, who was once on the Highland team (and who blames coach Gelwix for an injury he himself caused). A lot of the movie involves others reaching out to help one another; acting as a team and supporting one another, no matter what. This, and other messages are scattered throughout the film.
These messages can all apply to LDS people too–they really apply to all human beings–but they are geared towards non-members because they are the people that need to hear them the most. There are some things that apply differently to members, however, than they do to others. The idea of the controlling father can translate into spiritual matters as well (as you look at Quinton’s experience). His parents always made him live the life they wanted for him. All he wanted was Rugby. So, to make it so he could still play and keep his parents happy, he cheated on tests. As parents and members of the church, we need to know when to step back and let kids make their own decisions. This exact idea is demonstrated by the coach who always stands back and lets the team resolve their own problems. He is the main carrier of messages in this movie both for members and non-members.
Forever Strong may be the work of a Mormon film company, but it isn't geared towards an LDS audience. The story is about a troubled young rugby player who gets into a lot of bad habits–including driving drunk–which eventually lead him to be placed in a juvenile correctional facility. His story tells you, right off the bat, that this film is speaking to other young kids like him. Rick is extremely disrespectful and reckless–attitudes that can be attributed to a father that is too tough on his son. Even as he enters the juvenile detention center for his DUI, he does his best not to change... until he plays Rugby on the Highland Team (his own team’s rival). Despite his attempts to stay the same kid, making the same mistakes, the experience begins to change him.
Throughout the movie we see him grow and change through the influence of others. He becomes a better rugby player, a better team mate, and a better man. The movie never mentions that Highland’s coach is Mormon or that any of the other players are, but it suggests, in subtle ways, the good values that Mormon’s practice and that other good people should seek to practice. The coach is Rick’s main guide and guardian as he becomes a better man. Through Rick, the coach is even able to change Rick’s father, who was once on the Highland team (and who blames coach Gelwix for an injury he himself caused). A lot of the movie involves others reaching out to help one another; acting as a team and supporting one another, no matter what. This, and other messages are scattered throughout the film.
These messages can all apply to LDS people too–they really apply to all human beings–but they are geared towards non-members because they are the people that need to hear them the most. There are some things that apply differently to members, however, than they do to others. The idea of the controlling father can translate into spiritual matters as well (as you look at Quinton’s experience). His parents always made him live the life they wanted for him. All he wanted was Rugby. So, to make it so he could still play and keep his parents happy, he cheated on tests. As parents and members of the church, we need to know when to step back and let kids make their own decisions. This exact idea is demonstrated by the coach who always stands back and lets the team resolve their own problems. He is the main carrier of messages in this movie both for members and non-members.
“You boys might think I coach because I love Rugby and I love to win, both true, but I keep coaching because of you guys. That’s why I’m more interested in turning out champion boys than champion teams. I want you to be forever strong on the field, so you will be forever strong off it.”
His hints are subtle, but the values are lasting. Coach Gelwix teaches his team to do good off the field as well as on. As they volunteer at the hospital and stay clean (of drugs, beer, and girls) and stay truthful, we see how these values effect the boys in a positive way, including Rick. It is this good influence and these rules that make him a better man. Even as he fights it, the friendship of the team brings him into their tight family. The coach tells him that there is one rule they must follow on the team and that is not to do anything that would “embarrass you, the team, or your family.” These kinds of messages are good for all people, but they are especially good for non-members who run into many of the same problems as Rick. Acceptance, love, guidance, discipline, morality... all of it matters.
Even the coaches kind way of teaching the boys and letting them learn on their own is a stark contrast to the controlling father who drives his son to sins and the consequences that come from them. It teaches fathers to be gentle on their sons, to let them fulfill their own dreams. It teaches sons to be respectful and to be all-around good people. But most of all... it teaches forgiveness. After all that Rick had been through–his father being the cause of most of it–he was abl to forgive him and the two finally had a mutual respect and love for one another. One of my favorite lines that the coach says is: “Don’t spend another minute being angry about yesterday. Free him and you free yourself.” Rick was not the same boy he was when he received his punishment, and both his coach and his dad could now see it. His change inspired change in his father... and it was all because one rugby coach took a chance on a troubled young man.
“You boys might think I coach because I love Rugby and I love to win, both true, but I keep coaching because of you guys. That’s why I’m more interested in turning out champion boys than champion teams. I want you to be forever strong on the field, so you will be forever strong off it.”
