April 4, 2018 (San Diego) - I’m a sportswriter who doesn’t know anything about volleyball. Kind of pathetic, I know. Of course I know how it’s played, but I don’t know the logistics of scoring, etc. That’s why you won’t see any college or prep volleyball recaps on here. But as a sports reporter and fan, of course I love a Cinderella sports story. The Miracle Season was all of that and more.
The film is a true story about the Iowa City West High girls volleyball team’s amazing 2011 season. After losing their star player, Caroline “Line” Found (Danika Yarosh), in a tragic car accident, the girls lose their identity. They don’t want to practice and they don’t want to play. But one girl, Line’s best friend Kelly (Erin Moriarty), inspires the girls to play because “it’s what Line would have wanted.” She eventually becomes captain. She’s the main star of the film, alongside the girls’ coach, Kathy Bresnahan (Helen Hunt, who really shines in the role). Coach “Bres,” as she’s called, struggles emotionally after the loss of Line, but eventually is able to gather her feelings and deliver an inspiring speech on the bus to the state championships, where the girls rally around her. The girls win the state championships for the second year in a row.
The great thing about this film is that we hear this story so much in real life: an athlete on a team dies and a team is inspired to win it all. So this technically should be just another feel good sports movie. But we just hear those stories in the news; we don’t actually live it. This film makes you live it. You’re a part of this community. You’re wearing a Live Like Line shirt just like the people in the film. When the ball hits the ground in the final set at the state championship to give the Women of Troy the win, you’re shouting “YES!” like I did in the theater.
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