Coach Ken Carter

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          Carter is a hero by saving his players from the status quo; it was believed that only 20% would graduate. Carter's done many heroic aspects of his life that included a non-profit organization that helps give kids in the rural areas educational help. Carter played basketball all four years in high school.  He gave his players contracts to enforce discipline and education. He also established his own nonprofit education organization. "In 2002 he established the Coach Ken Carter Foundation, a nonprofit that provided educational opportunities for minority youth, promoting projects designed to further student achievement in math, science, and technology."(Kenneth Carter). "Born ca. 1959 in Fernwood, MS; moved with family to Richmond, CA; children." (Kenneth Carter). Carter played basketball for Richmond in 1973-1977. Carter operated a home business and coached the 1997-2002 Richmond varsity basketball team in 1999. A hero must be determined so that they can always achieve their goals to the best of their abilities. They must also have discipline so that they follow the rules.

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          Carter was determined to discipline his team to excel in both the classroom and on the court. It's very easy to do what everyone else is doing just by saying yes; on the other hand it takes true courage and discipline to say no. In this article, it tells of what happened at the beginning of the lockout:  "He closed the gym asking the team to report to the library, banned all basketball-related activities."(Pittsburgh). As a result of their poor grades, Carter disciplined them by taking away what they loved due to the one third of their program did not fulfill their contract. 15 out of Carter's 45 were failing, rather than banning just those players, he banned them all. Win together lose together, a team is still a team. Carter knows this so he builds his team's determination around teamwork. Carter maintains discipline for both himself and his team to make them better athletes but overall people. Carter's determination to make his team better not only on the court was one of his biggest successes.

          Carter has always put his best foot forward when accomplishing his goals. Many of his goals were achieved by hard work and determination. In an interview Carter explained to the Sacramento Bee how he was prepared to stop the entire season due to the poor grades. "At that point," he told Dixie Reid of the Sacramento Bee, "I was prepared to forfeit the whole season." (Kenneth Carter).  Determined to make his team better, Carter wanted the best for his team, even if it was to cancel what they loved. Another example of how Carter felt a team's lack of education. "... Prepared to cancel the entire season program after 15 of the 45 players failed to live up to their signed classroom achievement contracts."(Pittsburgh). Carter was determined to discipline his team to excel in both the classroom and on the court. Carter's determination to make his team better not only on the court was one of his biggest successes. The respect Carter has for everyone is important in molding him today. He disciplines his team in the same way so they too can respect everyone as well. Carter has the discipline not to follow the peer pressure of his friends. He shows a great deal of trustworthiness, which is a good characteristic to have in a hero. "When he was a teenager, he recalled, his classmates might try to steal sodas from a neighborhood shop, but he was more likely to find the store's owner and ask whether he could sweep the floor or do something else to earn the soda."(Kenneth Carter).  He was determined to give his team the best education they could get by fulfilling their contracts. Carter was disciplined enough not to steal like his classmates instead, he wanted to earn rather than steal.

         Carter wanted to advocate for education in his team. This statistic in Richmond California was proved false by the educational advances of Carter. "A kid in Richmond is 80 percent more likely to go to jail than to college." Carter agreed to take the Richmond coaching post only on the condition that he be given full control over the basketball program."(Kenneth Carter). He wanted to give as much benefit to his basketball team so that they would go to college not jail. He eventually wants to switch the numbers making them 80% go to college rather than jail. Carter's plan is to introduce his players to the school library so that they can use it as a tool to help themselves. "That's the house of learning. We [the team] made the library a very cool place. The library changed our entire school and, a year later, we won the performance award from the governor because of the rise in our overall grade point average and attendance."(Pittsburgh). Carter wanted to introduce the library to his players so they knew a good and safe place to go. To prevent them from doing something ignorant, Carter wanted them to know where to find the library so that it would help them be safe. Carter strongly believes in education because it can take you anywhere.

          Carter strongly believed in education, he was determined to reach his goal with discipline and hard work. He shows why he is worthy of this praise by his works in the community and in each of his player's lives. Carter is an inspiration to many by obtaining his many goals, which were to help each and every one of his players achieve the best benefits they could.  At conference, Carter inspired many with his ad vocational stories. Carter became a hero by helping his teams adhere to the adversity even though they were not destined to graduate or go to college. He deserves to be looked up to by his desire to uphold and maintain strong goals.