Okay, so a lot of Athletic Trainers work in the high school setting! And we also are pretty sure that most ATs also played some sports in high school.
So, we thought we'd share our ideas for some of the greatest sports movies that take place there!
What do you think of the list? Did we miss anything?
What's your favorite? Have you most of these (or have you even heard of them?!)
- All the Right Moves (1983) - An undersized but hard-hitting cornerback from blue-collar Ampipe High, Stefen Djordjevic (Tom Cruise) is looking to trade football for a top-notch college education and become an engineer
- Quarterback Princess (1983) - Helen Hunt stars in this story of the real-life Tami Maida, who turned heads when she earned a spot on the varsity football team at an Oregon high school, and also gets nominated for Homecoming princess.
- The Karate Kid (1984) - Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) made a Cinderella-like run to the finals of the famed All-Valley karate tournament. An event, that most expected to be dominated by the bullies from the Cobra Kai dojo.
- Teen Wolf (1985) - Entering the season, the Beacontown Beavers had not won a game in three years. However, that changed with the emergence of the dominant Teen Wolf, aka Scott Howard (Michael J. Fox).
- Vision Quest (1985) - Until his senior year of high school, dynamic and promising prep wrestler Louden Swain (Matthew Modine), from Spokane's Thompson High, really hadn't done anything meaningful in his life. Now he's poised to take down the best wrestler in the state while also trying to deal with falling for an older woman.
- The Best of Times (1986) - Everyman and athletically-challenged Jack Dundee (Robin Williams) still can't get over dropping a sure touchdown pass against mighty Bakersfield High from 1972. So obsessed with the matter, Jack finds a way to replay the game 14 years later.
- Hoosiers (1986) - It can be argued that Hoosiers is the greatest sports film of all time, regardless of the actual sport highlighted, inspired by and loosely based on the 1954 Indiana state basketball champions from tiny Milan High School. The David vs. Goliath tale is Hollywood at its best.
- Lucas (1986) - Suburban Chicago's Park High football team is terrible. However, its best player Cappie Roew (Charlie Sheen) would likely be an all-area performer at any other above-average prep program in the region. The "Big Man on Campus," Cappie has a caring heart, and is the only jock who is nice to the eccentric Lucas (Haim), who tries out for the team to impress Maggie.
- Wildcats (1986) - Never given the chance to coach football at powerhouse Prescott High, Molly McGrath (Goldie Hawn) took an underachieving group of slackers, troublemakers and criminals from rough Central High all the way to the city title game.
- School Ties (1992) - David Greene (Brendan Fraser) is a 50s star quarterback from blue-collar Scranton, Penn., recruited to quarterback Massachusetts' St. Matthew's prep-school for his senior year. The prestigious school is filled with old-money students destined for the Ivy League, and many are not fond of Greene's Jewish faith.
- Dazed and Confused (1993) - Randall "Pink" Floyd (Jeremy London) is the star quarterback at Lee High but does not want to conform to the stringent social limitations put on the players by the coach. The decision whether to sign the "commitment to his team" eats at Pink, culminating with a "joint subcommittee meeting" on the 50-yard line of the school's football field.
- The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) - Holly Hunter is stellar as Wanda Holloway, the real-life maniacal mother who tried to advance her teenage daughter's cheerleading career by putting a hit on a high-school team member and her mother.
- He Got Game (1998) - We know there was a lot of pressure on prep star Jesus Shuttlesworth (former college and NBA star Ray Allen) from his old man, Jake (Denzel Washington), to parlay a successful collegiate hoops career into an early prison release for Jake.
- Varsity Blues (1999) - Coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight) is an authoritarian who only cares about winning district titles. However, when star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker) goes down with a severe knee injury, book-smart backup Jonathan "I don't want your life" Moxon (James Van Der Beek) takes over and has trouble dealing with his instant fame — and Kilmer.
- Bring It On (2000) - Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) fulfills her dream of being named captain of the famed Rancho Carne High cheerleading squad. Destined to be the beginning of a great experience, it instead ushered in a series of challenges for Torrance and Co., especially from an urban cheer squad lost in the shadows within the national cheerleading scene.
- Remember the Titans (2000) - While football is the obvious focal point of this classic, the true inspiration is coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) and his ability to integrate a team, and turn those players into winners.
- The Rookie (2002) - This is a story about aging teacher/coach-turned Major League Baseball-pitcher Jim Morris (Dennis Quaid). However, the fuel for his decision to give a major-league tryout a go is his high-school baseball team, a group of underachievers who Morris turns into winners.
- Friday Night Lights (2004) - There are high expectations heading into the '88 season for the Permian High football team. Nothing less than a state championship will do for this Texas football factory. They are players before students, and the pressure is daunting for the likes of QB Mike Winchell (Lucas Black), RB Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund), and superstar running back "Bobbie" Miles (Derek Luke), whose future is based on his football success.
- Going to the Mat (2004) - Andrew Lawrence stars as Jace Newfield, a blind student at a new school in Salt Lake City. Looking to fit in after a self-inflicted rough start, Jace is convinced to join his school's wrestling team.
- Coach Carter (2005) - Some of the best high-school sports movies of all time are based on true stories. This one tells the story of California prep basketball coach Ken Carter. To no surprise, Samuel L. Jackson is solid in the starring role. This story of putting academics and discipline before sports is fit for Hollywood.
- Facing the Giants (2006) - This is an under-the-radar movie that is highly entertaining. The tale is about a struggling high-school football coach (versatile director, writer, and actor Alex Kendrick) and his team, who turn around their fortunes on and off the field.
- The Final Season (2007) - Another inspiring true story, this time about young, eager assistant baseball coach Kent Stock (Sean Astin), who is asked to take over head-coaching duties of the powerhouse baseball program at tiny Norway High School in Iowa.
- The Blind Side (2009) - The now-controversial movie that won Sandra Bullock an Academy Award as the outspoken, feisty Leigh Anne Tuohy has blossomed into one of the all-time feel-good sports movies. The story of Michael Oher's rise from his impoverished Memphis dwellings to high school football star to the NFL was pretty much made for the big screen.
- McFarland, USA (2015) - Another underrated sports movie that is ideal for the whole family to watch. Based on legendary prep cross-country coach Jim White (a.k.a. "Blanco"), who turned McFarland High School, a poor, predominantly Hispanic high school from California's Central Valley, into a long-distance running powerhouse.
- The Way Back (2020) - The Way Back stars Ben Affleck as a former high school basketball star who has fallen on hard times as an adult. Battling alcoholism, Affleck's Jack Cunningham takes a job coaching hoops at Bishop Hayes, his former Catholic high school. The team's as much of a mess as he is, but there is an opportunity for both parties involved to turn things around.
Let us know your faves or ones we missed!