by Jeffrey Marx
First published 2004
Jeffrey Marx returns to his childhood connection with Joe Ehrmann, the former Baltimore Colts captain who once seemed larger than life. Now an ordained minister and volunteer coach at Gilman High School, Ehrmann teaches his players four keys to defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Marx watches Ehrmann transform teenage football players through his Building Men for Others program. The coach tells his players that real manhood means building relationships and serving causes beyond yourself. He demands empathy and integrity over winning. Players tell each other "I love you" after games. Coaches openly express love for their teams. Marx chronicles an entire season with the Gilman Greyhounds, witnessing what he calls the most extraordinary sports program he has ever seen. The experience forces Marx to confront his own relationship with his father. Ehrmann shows him that masculinity means accepting responsibility, leading with courage, and choosing service over scoreboard success.
Genres: sports, non-fiction, biography-memoir, christian-living
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family
Setting: Baltimore, Gilman High School
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
192 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster