What to Watch: Rocks with Wings

As part of Vision Maker Media's "40 years, 40 films, 40 weeks" program, one archived PBS film will be re-released each week.

Watch them while they are available!

This week's featured film is: Rocks with Wings

In 1980, Jerry Richardson, a 24-year-old black man from East Texas who had just finished college in Louisiana, took a job coaching basketball in Shiprock, New Mexico, a depressed Navajo community. He takes on the girls varsity team, a losing lineup of girls who seem to have no chance or hope of succeeding in anything. With racial tensions fueling the fire with their biggest rival and eight-time state champions, Kirtland Central, Jerry pushes the girls as hard as he did himself growing up in an all-white school. Their work pays off, and by 1987, the Lady Chieftains are state contenders. Behind the scenes, however, a conflict divides the team and coaches. Much of the community feels that Jerry is too harsh but Jerry thinks his authority is being undermined. After losing an important game, Jerry finds a way to open up to the girls and this culminates in a nail-biting finale. With real game footage and current and candid interviews, this is an inspirational look at winning and losing, and everything in between.