In John Grisham’s inspiring novel Bleachers, the legendary Eddie Rake truly changes people’s lives as a revolutionary coach who trains players to perform their best to achieve greatness. The amazing coach Rake manages to make a cohesive football team out a very diverse group of young men. By pushing the boys beyond their physical and mental limits, Rake not only gives them immeasurable strength, but also shows that he deeply cares for them by wanting them to be greatly successful. For his players to be immensely successful, Rake demands more from them than any other coach in order for them to have the strength to overcome their struggles. Rake’s superior coaching deeply changes his players’ lives when he gives them the strength they need to obtain greatness. Through the strength ingrained into him, one of Rake’s players, Mal Brown, finds the will to keep fighting when under intense enemy fire in Vietnam. Also, Rake lends moral support to Nat when the town learns that he is gay. Eddie commonly visits Nat’s coffee shop to help the town’s people get over their homophobia. In Addition, Coach Rake’s training works so effectively that one of his players walks away with the strength to be a star in the NFL.…show more content… Rake forever alters his players’ lives and leads them to achieve their very best by bringing them together into a close-knit team. When Messina High School enrolls colored students for the first time, Coach Rake welcomes them onto the team. He plays his players not according to their skin color but only by their skill. Rake never allows violence or disagreement among his players off the field. The Messina football team grows to become a brotherhood where its members are respected and seen as stars all because of Eddie
