“Put God first, and the rest will fall into place. Leave God out, and you lose, even if you manage to win once in a while.” Those words crystalize not only legendary football coach Ken Sparks’s coaching philosophy, but also his prescription for a way of living one’s life.
Having recently reviewed another sports documentary, “The Colonel’s Playbook,” I was excited to follow that up with another, similarly-themed movie. Produced by filmmaker Jeff Joslin, “Sparks: The Ken Sparks Story,” documents the incredible life and times of—you guessed it—Ken Sparks.
Unlike “Playbook,” this film is told in a more traditional documentary style, starting with Ken’s childhood and familial upbringing, formative years, and eventual adulthood.
Ken was born in 1944 to a struggling Appalachian family in Knoxville, Tennessee. Like many men back in those days, Ken’s father instilled a strong work ethic in him that would serve him well throughout his life. He played college football as a wide receiver at Carson–Newman University (in Jefferson City, Tennessee) and graduated in 1968.
After some bad life choices led to him going down the wrong path in life, Ken had a divine epiphany and accepted Jesus Christ into his life. His path was clear—he’d use football as a way to help others. Ken then got married and began a family while concurrently coaching football at nearby schools. His first major break came when he became an assistant coach at Carson–Newman.
Ken was very involved in student life and knew that there were a lot of things going on around young men during their college years—in other words, bad influences. So, he made it a point to share his own salvation and transformation experiences with his players. In essence, he not only wanted them to understand what it meant to be good men, but also Christians. Ken was so devoted to their well-being that at one point it cost him his job.
According to his son, Chad, Ken had “probably grown a little too big for his britches,” resulting in friction between himself and the new head coach at the time. This, in turn, led to Ken being fired by Carson–Newman over an issue involving an injured football player that Ken was trying to protect from further injury—whereas all the head coach cared about was getting the player back onto the field in order to score more points.
At that point, Ken felt that he may have failed in his divine mission from God. He was disheartened but not defeated, and switched gears and became the Carson–Newman track coach. He felt as though God had guided him to do so and threw himself totally into his new position. True to form, Ken excelled at coaching track.
But football called Ken back into its orbit when he was offered to coach the Farragut High School football team in Knoxville. Ken not only transformed the middling team of farmer’s kids into a powerhouse football team, but he also was able to step into his own as a head coach and do as he wanted to, without restrictions.
The film’s producer, Jeff Joslin, reveals how he was sexually abused as a kid, and as a result, was a troubled young man. But when the star quarterback was sidelined from an injury, Ken tapped Jeff to fill in for the injured player, even though he knew that Jeff was “broken.” From there, Ken began to rebuild Jeff’s confidence and molded him into a stronger, faith-filled man through the game of football.
Due to Ken’s coaching, the Farragut Admirals went on to become champions, and many job offers started pouring in for this young football coach who had an unusually effective coaching style. But Ken would also face a plethora of challenges that would test his belief in himself.
This documentary has plenty of insightful interviews with people who knew Ken. It also has a great score and moves along with a good pace without getting bogged down. It also doesn’t dwell on sports too much and so should appeal to a wider audience.
Rather, the film is more about Ken’s philosophies and how he focused on developing a team’s players into men with good values. He knew that one day, they’d most likely be husbands, fathers, and hopefully men of God. He also cared how his players carried themselves while off the field, because in his eyes, what they dealt with in their personal lives is what they’d bring to the game.
In the end, Ken Sparks was a very Christianly man who didn’t just talk the talk, he actualized the teachings of Christ—helping many others in the process. Although he recently passed away after a long battle with prostate cancer, “Sparks: The Ken Sparks Story” is a deeply moving tribute to his legacy.
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