The 'Deepest Fear' Speech From Coach Carter Is A Reminder Of How Powerful Sport Is

Let's be honest: Samuel L Jackson is one hell of a motivator. If he wasn't getting Brett to describe what Marsellus Wallace looked like in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, then he was showing how Officer Tenpenny could have Carl Johnson do his dirty work in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The 69-year-old actor has put on some brilliant performances in his career, but there's no denying how memorable he was as Ken Carter in Coach Carter.

Based on a true story, Samuel L's Ken Carter is a former Richmond High School basketball player who returns to become the new head coach of the basketball team.

He finds himself dealing with a little bit of attitude from his players, but he's quick to lay down the law and make sure they perform both on the court and in their classrooms.

Carter walks into the gym to find his players studying, with the hope that they can pull their grades back up. It's from here where one of the players, Timo Cruz, delivers the 'Our Deepest Fear' poem.

Check out the scene:

American author Marianne Williamson wrote Our Deepest Fear and, to be honest, it's perfectly executed in the film.

Thanks to the Public Education and Empowerment Resource Service, here's the poem in its entirety:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness. That most frightens us.

"We ask ourselves: who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

"Your playing small does not serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

"We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

We all need a bit of Coach Carter -- and, for that matter, Samuel L -- in our lives.

You're the real MVP, Coach!

What's your favourite moment from Coach Carter?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Basketball, Basketball News

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9