What do you think?
Rate this book
Big and Bright: Deep in the Heart of Texas High School Football
Texas is a diverse state. But the one thing that binds Texans more than their state pride, even more than religion, is football. For the many towns and cities of Texas, high school football is more than a sport or an extracurricular activity—it’s the glue of their community. Author Gray Levy, a high school football coach for more than two decades, became disillusioned with the state of the education system nationwide and traveled to Texas, a place where high school football still matters, to see just what schools and communities were doing right. What he found will both confirm and debunk common presumptions about high school football in Texas, a complex phenomenon that varies by region, school size, and the ethnic diversity of the Lone Star State.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 15, 2015
Almost a counterpoint to Bissinger's " Friday Night Lights", with a few exceptions, this stresses the positive side of Texas high school football. In a marathon trip, the author, a former Nevada coach and teacher, criss-crosses the state to visit a number of high school programs and observes their training methods, coaching preparation sessions, and the games themselves. Levy also interviews school personnel from janitors to superintendents, and and assortment of other observers to assemble a full view of the nearly religious devotion Texans have to their high school football programs. In that respect he and Bissinger parallel each other in depicting the fanaticism.
However Levy sees a much "brighter" side as he is impressed with the stress on character, values, and contrary to many narratives - even the academics of the athletes. In fact, at least in the sample supplied, athletes tend to outperform non-athletes in the classroom. Whether by coincidence or not, he happens to monitor almost entirely successful programs, most of them highly competitive and advancing through the multiple tiers of the Texas playoff system. They continue play until almost Christmas.
He does an excellent job explaining the multiple classifications in that state playoff system and how the demographics determine the designations from small to large school. Obviously, the larger schools tend to be clustered in the high population centers of Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, etc. whereas the smaller schools are scattered in the western sector of the state. Regardless of the setting and size, the loyalties and rivalries are intense. To wit, Odessa of Friday Night Lights and their cross-town rivals.
High school football in Texas is unlike anywhere else. Every school has a mandatory "athletic" period, most programs are systematized from early ages through high school, and the Texans have their own state coaching association which can also wield clout in the political arena when necessary. All those coaches are professionals, most are well-paid, and most go through apprentice stages until they can attain a prized position at a high profile school. It is also worth noting that they are almost home grown, that is grew up and played in Texas and coached in Texas. This cements their relationships with their communities and players.
The closing stages of the book are also well done as the author is fortunate enough to have some of the teams he shadowed make it all the way through to the championship contests and he delivers good descriptions of those grueling battles. Levy also includes commentary on how the current standardized testing mania that is imposed without much foresight, is starting to compromise some of the programs as well as other important extra-curricular activities in the arts, etc. How Texas weathers that intrusion remains to be seen.
My rating is on the high side of the 4, although I found it a little monotonous hearing about how he was tired of hotel rooms and missed his family, and how football instilled so many positive values that established the crux of Texas character. I suspect that is true to an extent, and high school football is certainly " Big and Bright" in Texas, but I think it was a little too biased to the luminary side and other accounts might show a darker side, as Bissinger's certainly did.
However Levy sees a much "brighter" side as he is impressed with the stress on character, values, and contrary to many narratives - even the academics of the athletes. In fact, at least in the sample supplied, athletes tend to outperform non-athletes in the classroom. Whether by coincidence or not, he happens to monitor almost entirely successful programs, most of them highly competitive and advancing through the multiple tiers of the Texas playoff system. They continue play until almost Christmas.
He does an excellent job explaining the multiple classifications in that state playoff system and how the demographics determine the designations from small to large school. Obviously, the larger schools tend to be clustered in the high population centers of Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, etc. whereas the smaller schools are scattered in the western sector of the state. Regardless of the setting and size, the loyalties and rivalries are intense. To wit, Odessa of Friday Night Lights and their cross-town rivals.
High school football in Texas is unlike anywhere else. Every school has a mandatory "athletic" period, most programs are systematized from early ages through high school, and the Texans have their own state coaching association which can also wield clout in the political arena when necessary. All those coaches are professionals, most are well-paid, and most go through apprentice stages until they can attain a prized position at a high profile school. It is also worth noting that they are almost home grown, that is grew up and played in Texas and coached in Texas. This cements their relationships with their communities and players.
The closing stages of the book are also well done as the author is fortunate enough to have some of the teams he shadowed make it all the way through to the championship contests and he delivers good descriptions of those grueling battles. Levy also includes commentary on how the current standardized testing mania that is imposed without much foresight, is starting to compromise some of the programs as well as other important extra-curricular activities in the arts, etc. How Texas weathers that intrusion remains to be seen.
My rating is on the high side of the 4, although I found it a little monotonous hearing about how he was tired of hotel rooms and missed his family, and how football instilled so many positive values that established the crux of Texas character. I suspect that is true to an extent, and high school football is certainly " Big and Bright" in Texas, but I think it was a little too biased to the luminary side and other accounts might show a darker side, as Bissinger's certainly did.
September 17, 2015
Rating:4 1/2 stars (rounded up to 5 for Goodreads and Amazon)
Review:
More than 25 years ago, America was introduced to the culture of high school football in Texas in Friday Night Lights. While that book was very popular in the description of one football program, Big and Bright takes that concept and expands it even further. In this comprehensive book by Gray Levy, football programs from all over the state of Texas are described in great detail.
Levy uses his experience as an educator and a football coach to write about various programs in the state, both in geographic locations and in size. No matter which program he writes about, from Port Lavaca on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to Albiline in the central portion of the state, Levy writes about the players, the coaches, the games and the community support for each of these football teams.
Through Levy’s writing, the reader will be caught up in the spirit of the town and understand why the communities will support these young men fervently. Also, the experiences of the coaches and the players are captured in each town. This was one of the better aspects of the book, especially when Levy writes about what the coaches would be doing not only on game night, but during the week and during school time as well.
Levy’s experience as a coach and educator make his writing very informative for the reader as well. He also shares his opinion on both the education system and coaching frequently in the book. He does explain why he has these opinions and backs them up with experience or facts as appropriate. One example of this that I enjoyed is when Levy states that he believes that “in general, Texas coaches are less authoritarian than coaches elsewhere.” He then goes on to write about examples illustrating why he believes this. Passages like this make the book very enjoyable to read.
The football passages are detailed, deep and very descriptive. Whether it is a description of the offensive formations, the game action for the week Levy visited the school, or the recap of the season for that program, these sections are rich in description. Football fans that love the game beyond the action on the field and want to know more about the strategy and the “X’s and O’s” will especially enjoy these parts.
This book should be added to the library of football fans of all levels, even if they don’t normally watch high school football. Readers who like books on social interaction and the human aspect of sports or gatherings will also want to read this as well. It was a book that I enjoyed very much and was a very good read.
I wish to thank Taylor Trade Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pace of the book:
This was not a quick or easy read as the story for each school’s football program that Levy wrote about was described in great detail so it required careful reading.
Do I recommend?
Fans of high school football will enjoy this book as all aspects of high school football programs are covered in each chapter. Readers who have an interest in the sociology of high school football in Texas and how it bonds entire communities will also enjoy this book.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
Review:
More than 25 years ago, America was introduced to the culture of high school football in Texas in Friday Night Lights. While that book was very popular in the description of one football program, Big and Bright takes that concept and expands it even further. In this comprehensive book by Gray Levy, football programs from all over the state of Texas are described in great detail.
Levy uses his experience as an educator and a football coach to write about various programs in the state, both in geographic locations and in size. No matter which program he writes about, from Port Lavaca on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to Albiline in the central portion of the state, Levy writes about the players, the coaches, the games and the community support for each of these football teams.
Through Levy’s writing, the reader will be caught up in the spirit of the town and understand why the communities will support these young men fervently. Also, the experiences of the coaches and the players are captured in each town. This was one of the better aspects of the book, especially when Levy writes about what the coaches would be doing not only on game night, but during the week and during school time as well.
Levy’s experience as a coach and educator make his writing very informative for the reader as well. He also shares his opinion on both the education system and coaching frequently in the book. He does explain why he has these opinions and backs them up with experience or facts as appropriate. One example of this that I enjoyed is when Levy states that he believes that “in general, Texas coaches are less authoritarian than coaches elsewhere.” He then goes on to write about examples illustrating why he believes this. Passages like this make the book very enjoyable to read.
The football passages are detailed, deep and very descriptive. Whether it is a description of the offensive formations, the game action for the week Levy visited the school, or the recap of the season for that program, these sections are rich in description. Football fans that love the game beyond the action on the field and want to know more about the strategy and the “X’s and O’s” will especially enjoy these parts.
This book should be added to the library of football fans of all levels, even if they don’t normally watch high school football. Readers who like books on social interaction and the human aspect of sports or gatherings will also want to read this as well. It was a book that I enjoyed very much and was a very good read.
I wish to thank Taylor Trade Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pace of the book:
This was not a quick or easy read as the story for each school’s football program that Levy wrote about was described in great detail so it required careful reading.
Do I recommend?
Fans of high school football will enjoy this book as all aspects of high school football programs are covered in each chapter. Readers who have an interest in the sociology of high school football in Texas and how it bonds entire communities will also enjoy this book.
http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...
June 3, 2017
Bright on!
Having been a career teacher/coach I would say the author captures what is good and questionable in education . Texas's football is impressive and having the opportunity to see it close up the book is accurate. I really enjoyed the book and found the reasons for success to be interesting.
Having been a career teacher/coach I would say the author captures what is good and questionable in education . Texas's football is impressive and having the opportunity to see it close up the book is accurate. I really enjoyed the book and found the reasons for success to be interesting.
April 12, 2017
Very interesting book about high school football in Texas. Levy observes 11 elite high school football teams across the state in a book that is as a comprehensive guide to high school football that you'll ever find.
It's crazy how serious they take HS 'ball in Texas.
**** because although I am familiar with the terminology, I would find this book near-impossible for someone not versed in football to comprehend. Assumes alot of knowledge on the reader's end.
Would've also liked to see a map and an index of the different schools he went to and their records. Sometimes it is difficult to recall all 11 programs and he often refers back to them.
It's crazy how serious they take HS 'ball in Texas.
**** because although I am familiar with the terminology, I would find this book near-impossible for someone not versed in football to comprehend. Assumes alot of knowledge on the reader's end.
Would've also liked to see a map and an index of the different schools he went to and their records. Sometimes it is difficult to recall all 11 programs and he often refers back to them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews