Also weighing on Eidson is the Fall Schedule. Having always wanted more quality father-son time in the past, now Danny is angry that his father can’t coach him on the football field. Adding fuel to the frustration is Coach Lad’s own son Danny who has can’t seem to find a happy medium in his relationship with his father. Tayshan Lanear has an ego larger than the Spartan 12-year win streak while poor Beaser is just looking for some guidance and leadership from his teammates, leadership on the field that isn’t materializing. Chris Ryan, the team’s new quarterback and under constant pressure of his die-hard somewhat abusive fanatic of a father, lacks the leadership skills of his predecessors, worrying more about impressing Pops than looking out for the guy next to him on the field. The well grounded philosophies that have served as the core of the Lad-Eidson coaching methods aren’t working. With tensions already high among the boys, Coach Eidson, now serving as “head coach” during Coach Lad’s recovery, is losing faith and has his doubts as to what the new season will bring. Coach Lad is felled by a heart attack and although on the mend post-surgery, is ordered by his physicians not to coach. “Arrogance and apathy” become the watchwords of the day and if you haven’t already heard about the Spartans tragedies and triumphs through sports coverage over the years, you know the Spartans are in for an uphill battle in the Fall.ĭuring the summer, tragedy strikes the Spartans. But, you know from the start, the load is heavy as the mindset of several players looking to be superstars breaks the cohesive “look out for the other guy” design of Coach Lad’s philosophy while parental pressure brutalizes the spirit of others.
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As season 12 of the streak ends on a high, the dedicated and proud seniors pass the torch to the younger classmen on the team, the second string who now move up to first string, the young men who now carry the weight of history and high expectations on their shoulders. And with WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL there is plenty of character, ethics and integrity to go around.īased on a the book by sportswriter Neil Hayes who provided up close and personal coverage of the Spartans and Coach Lad for the Contra Costa News, we meet the De La Salle Spartans at the height of their winning streak. This is a story that is not only a character study of a man, but a character study of men how a man rises above the challenges of life, rises above adversity, meets life head on and moves on with strength, dignity and even, redemption.
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WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL is the story behind the story. But before you think this is “just another football or sports movie”, think again. And it was all done under the leadership of De La Salle head coach Bob “Coach Lad” Ladouceur and assistant coach/athletic director, Terry Eidson.
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#DE LA SALLE FOOTBALL STORY PROFESSIONAL#
It’s a record that no professional sports team, no college team, no other high school team, no Pop Warner or Little League team, no international team – in any sport – has even come close to touching. It’s a record that will stand for the ages. That’s the number of games the De La Salle High School Spartan football team won – consecutively.