Coach (1978)

"Jabberwocky." - repeated line

A female coach struggles to save a basketball team of boys.
Starring: Cathy Lee Crosby, Michael Biehn, Channing Clarkson, and the great Keenan Wynn

Link to IMDB

Coach Randy

Granger High School's basketball team is struggling to win any of their games this season, so Mr. Granger (he's the superintendent or something) fires the coach for incompetence. The boys on the team are good athletes, but they don't know how to work together and rather be partying than practicing.

Enter Randy Rawlings. She's an Olympic gold medal winning athlete that decides to apply for the coaching position. Mr. Granger is pleased to find that an Olympian wants the job until he actually meets Randy, because the old chauvinistic fart refuses to let a girl coach a boys team. Luckily, Granger is legally and contractually bound to hire Randy, but he's furious about the situation. Randy isn't intimidated by this sexism, and she's eager to prove that she'll make a great coach.

Meeting the team doesn't go too smoothly either. The boys don't take Randy seriously and they show her no respect. She keeps her cool, but Jack is the only guy on the team that seems sensible.

"Do you have the guts to be a winner?" - Coach Randy

When it comes time for practice, Coach Randy takes charge and the boys realize that she's actually pretty awesome and they slowly begin to accept her as their coach. Regardless of the team being on a winning streak, cranky Mr. Granger is still trying to find a way to get Randy fired and they continue to clash.

Mr. Granger

Jack

It's not all sports though, because Jack and Randy are becoming very close and getting romantic!
The longest "falling in love" montage ever occurs, as neither of them seem to have a problem with their taboo relationship. I can't believe it but I was actually dying to get back to some sport stuff...
The biggest game of the season is approaching, but is everyone ready to commit to winning!?

Go team, go, or whatever

This fun story did keep me invested, as I was instantly rooting for Randy to win and it's enjoyable seeing how the boys learn to support her. Unfortunately, all of the lovey-dovey scenes with Randy and Jack drag on for a long time, which really stalls the basketball plot.
Except for some of the silly school antics, everything is kept realistic enough and there's a surprisingly small amount of sleaze, but overall this is a predictable sports movie that just happens to have an illegal sex romp at the center.

Be sure not to miss:
- The pro athlete that shows up is Sidney Wicks.
- Ned reminded me of a lot of Snake from Degrassi.
- It's impossible to miss just how short Randy's shorts are. Spoiler: they are very short.

Internet review:
"This movie has no right to be as entertaining as it is." - FPruter

Should I watch it?
It's far from terrible, but I recommend My Tutor for a similar premise.

Where can I find it?
Vidzi link here.

Coach gets...