Hurricane Season by Neal Thompson
March 25th, 2008
Title: Hurricane Season
Author: Neal Thompson
Publisher: Free Press (2007)
Normally I am not a big fan of this type of story. Most of the time they feel too forced – and I don’t like having emotional reactions dictated to me. This is why I don’t watch Outside the Lines or those other stupid segments with Jeremy Schapp on ESPN. I also grew tired of hearing about Hurricane Katrina. Probably because it got so politicized so quickly, but now I tend to block out any discussion of it. But I love to read, and I love football, so I thought I would give it a shot – and I am pleased that I did.
Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and their Triumph in the time of Katrina, by Neal Thompson, is a fantastic and inspiring read. The book takes you through the lives of the players and coaches of one of New Orleans’ top prep football teams, the John Curtis Patriots, after Hurricane Katrina. It centers on Head Coach J.T. Curtis, who is also the headmaster of the school.
With the basic premise of the book, it is not hard to make the characters sympathetic. But in this case Thompson does a wonderful job of telling the story and not drowning the reader with heart breaking anecdotes. Yes, the entire situation is heartbreaking – especially as you read about what these kids lost. And yes, there are a fair number of heartbreaking stories included. But I didn’t feel it overwhelmed the rest of the book.
The storm totally disrupted the lives of everyone in New Orleans, as students were forced into situations they had never been in before. Some were now counted on to help their family rebuild, spending their days in class, afternoons in practice, and evenings literally rebuilding their homes. Others weren’t as lucky, and had to move away permanently when their homes were destroyed.
Coach Curtis stayed involved with his players; to the point that a couple of them lived with him so they could continue playing football. Football was their release. With all the new responsibilities on their shoulders, the players needed those practices and games. Curtis kept the practices as tough as before the storm, knowing the kids needed structure.
With the entire city decimated, the Patriots weren’t able to play their normal schedule of local teams. Curtis knew that he had to do whatever it took to get these kids playing football. You find out very quickly, and are reminded throughout the book, that J.T. Curtis is more than a football coach. He is a life coach.
It seems cliche to write that, but it’s true. Of course he is a fantastic football coach, as 20 State Championships will attest, but these boys speak about Curtis with reverence. He seems to know when to push them and when to pull back – all coaches are able to scream and chastise when something goes wrong, but only the best know the appropriate times for different actions. I have no doubt that if he had not been there throughout the tragedy, many of the boys’ lives would have been swept away in the devastation.
After Katrina hit, Curtis got what was left of the team together to get on with the season. At first, they were shell shocked and not very good, but still pulled out victories. As the season went on, they continued to improve, ultimately crushing everyone in their path on the way to their 20th State Title.
Also told in Hurricane Season is the story of Patriots’ star running back Joe McKnight. McKnight recently signed with the USC Trojans – he was the #1 ranked football player out of high school, so there is considerable pressure on him to perform. After reading about him, seeing his words, and knowing he has Curtis for advice, I am sure he will succeed. I will certainly be following him a little more closely now that I have read his story.
But the book isn’t just about the football. It is filled with inspirational quotes from Coach Curtis, too many to mention here. When you finally put it down, you feel like you can handle anything – or at least win a State Championship.
In the end, I was particularly impressed by the way Curtis seemed to handle everything. He didn’t make one bad decision the entire way – or at least, none included in the book. It’s hard not to wonder how I would have reacted in his position. Would I have had the same resolve?
Curtis’ single-mindedness is what drives him. He exists for his students, and not just the football team. His main goal, as mentioned several times throughout the book, is to teach his students to be great people, and to give the lessons and resources to succeed at everything they do for the rest of their lives.
And that is what this book is about. Football is a side story. Katrina is a side story. This is a book about doing what it takes – taking the opportunities you are given, and turning them to your favor. Hurricane Season is J.T. Curtis’ public lesson on how to take anything that comes your way and making something out of it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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March 26th, 2008 at 1:00 am
This sounds like an interesting book. I will look for this running back’s story to show up in an ESPN bio!
March 25th, 2009 at 6:06 am
[...] Exactly one year ago I posted my first review here at Letters on Pages! It was a review of Hurricane Season by Neal Thompson. [...]
June 28th, 2010 at 7:04 am
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