A film based on this book (and a true story), an uplifting one about coaching a small girls basketball team in the 1960s.
Reading comments about it online, a few were concerned that they took liberties as to the style of basketball played and such. If you are going to have a film about a somewhat specialized sport (or even a run of the mill one like regular baseball), it is important to worry about such things. I'm curious actually since they actually had the coach this was based on as a consultant. This leads me to wonder if some of the changes (an old style might look wrong to today's viewers; trademark concerns about uniforms etc.) were done knowingly for a reason.
All the same, the specifics is not the important thing for me, admittedly someone who is not familiar enough about such things to care much. To me, the weakest part of the movie was the "underdogs win the regionals!" (shades of Glee?) type of thing, the 1960s conservative small town environs making it ever more Hoosiers without the desperation on the side of the coaches. That part of it was done professionally enough, rah rah spirit and all, but it was fairly predictable. Bruce Dern also played the heavy a bit too one note, especially how far he took it at the end which seemed over the top (something like might have happened, I guess, but it seems rather dubious).
The charm of the movie, best seen in earlier scenes, reflects the title -- "believe in me," which is not a religious thing in particular, but a matter of believing in the girl basketball players. This was before Title IX and the woman's movement did not quite reach rural Oklahoma or wherever either. This included a teen mother, who we are reminded was not alone when someone tells her one of the mom's of the students was a teen mom too, and she says (with some shade of sisterhood) "welcome to the club." Empowerment among other things is why sports is not just about playing with games.
The film is also about the young coach (hey, yeah, he's on Burn Notice) and his wife (Samantha Mathis, one of those actresses out there who you see and say, "hey, she's good"). He's just a regular boy, a vet, and wanting to be a head coach somewhere and taste the joy of victory (a few good moments where you can see him salivating over the possibility). He also is ashamed that he is infertile (I saw the last regular episode of the second season/series of Doc Martin, where that was part of the plot -- aww Mark), knowing how much his wife wants a baby. She, who played basketball in school herself, is a rock by his side.
The film is also about the town itself, starting off suffering a drought, just an ordinary town that can get around a local team. The film probably could have did a bit more to let us know these people, the few tastes (especially of a few of the players -- one moment they loved was when they had a meeting to plan a training regime ... just like the boys team!) were appreciated. You are glad that they have the pleasure of watching the girls team win it all, memories like that quite special. But, like the end of Whip It!, it is useful to remember what is really important about the film.
It's ultimately not winning the game; more like how to play it and who does the playing.