On the surface, the documentary The House That Rob Built is about the legendary coach of the Lady Griz, the women's college basketball team at the University of Montana. But it's grounded in faith ... and persistence.
Recently, director/producer/writer Megan Harrington, a devout Catholic, and the Rob of the title, retired coach Robin Selvig, joined host Joelle Maryn for an episode of Shalom World's Beyond the Vision show, which features inspirational film and television.
The whole video is below, but here are some highlights:
Coach Selvig:
On coaching women
And I approached it no differently than I would have approached if I was coaching men, same expectations.
I learned very quickly that they were not only talented, but they were competitive, and they were getting something, because this was one of the first years they were having women's basketball in Montana. They were given an opportunity that they hadn't had, and they wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.
... I ended up at the University of Montana for 38 years, coaching a whole bunch of really good athletes, great people, outstanding young ladies. And it was, I feel pretty blessed.
On the value of persistence
... In athletics, as in probably everything in life. The ability to not give up is so important, because you have lots of failures. If you're an athlete, you don't achieve everything you hoped for. And it doesn't come easily, as everything in life.
The thing about being a basketball coach and being on a team is you're sharing all of those things. And I just think when you have people to share things with, you're going to be able to achieve more. You don't want to let each other down. It's a team thing, and you don't want to let your family down in a life thing.
And, it's a journey that you just share; you share bad things, good things. And it's the whole journey. That is it that makes it all worthwhile.
On what really matters
.. Won a lot of basketball games, and there's a good record, but those are not the things you can remember. Believe me.
We're going to remember the times we shared and the sad times in the locker room and the happy times, and the things that are important in life: people.
Megan Harrington:
On the power of prayer
God, He takes you right to the edge. Then He delivered it. ... You have to make a film when you don't have the money to do it. But I know it was prayers. I know it was my parents' prayers. And I know it was meant to be on the other side. Cause there were so many things that happened along the way that weren't about the movie, but had I not done it, I wouldn't have had experienced those.
On how God works
So, there's something through the grit and having to persevere and having to make those hard choices that, at the time, are difficult. And when you look back, I think you see how God weaves things together in ways that you couldn't see at the time. So that leap of faith turned out to... I don't know if I'll do it again. I'm not going to test Him, but I'm sure grateful. And he showed up, he showed up big time
The House That Rob Built, produced by Family Theater Productions and WIndrider Productions, distributed by 1091 Pictures, is available for home viewing via digital rental or purchase (on Amazon Video and iTunes), and on DVD/BluRay. It can also be licensed for group or community screenings.
More here.
As promised, here's the whole episode of Beyond the Vision:
Image: Courtesy 1091 Pictures
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