More Than a Coach: Dru Joyce II from "More Than a Game"

More Than a Game is a remarkable documentary filmed over the course of six years by Kristopher Belman. The subject? Five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio, including NBA superstar LeBron James. It's the story of an improbable nine-year journey that takes them from a decrepit inner-city gym to the doorstep of a national high school championship. Along the way, Dru Joyce II, an inspiring and charismatic but inexperienced coach, schools them in basketball and character. I had the opportunity to talk with Coach Joyce the week before the movie opens.

Coach, if you could go back to the year the boys were high school seniors, and could give them one piece of advice, what would it be? Is there any advice you'd give Lebron specifically?

Coach Joyce:    I always talked to the boys a lot about discipline. It's discipline, not desire, that determines your destiny. I challenged them to be disciplined at whatever they did, because even if you're the best player on the team, there are no shortcuts for you. You have to put in the time. I always told them to do the things that everyone else doesn't want to do. Spend the extra time and good things will happen, especially in athletics.

We also talked a lot about character. Who are you when no one's watching? Character carries you a whole lot further than basketball. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have the right character, you'll make the kinds of decisions that tear you down and take away your options. If you make the right decisions, they'll build you up and give you more options. I told them their decisions would create the kind of environment they would have to live in.

I don't think I'd give LeBron any different advice. I think he understands than anyone, even a celebrity, has to discipline himself, and he can't always do or be what comes to mind. But in the midst of all of that, he has to just live his life. There will be a whole lot of scrutiny on  his life, and he'll have to deal with it.

I was a first year coach when we had our first national loss, and there were some tough articles written about me. Most coaches get to make all their mistakes in anonymity, but I made mine in front of TV cameras and all the media. It's a tough way to grow up fast. I thought there was some unfair scrutiny, but honestly, it comes with the territory. If you're successful, people are going to take a longer and closer look. They want to understand why you're successful, they're just curious. But if they find something negative it will get magnified.

Coach, how old were you when you started coaching?

Coach Joyce:    Let's see. I coached my son when he was seven in a rec league, then the traveling basketball team when he was 10, so I was 40 years old when I started. I didn't have a lot of basketball background; I was just a dad who wanted to see his boy achieve at a high level.

When he got to the high school level, I wanted to continue coaching, but I'd taken a pretty non-traditional route to get there. I didn't have the usual player to assistant coach route.

Whenever I got with another coach, I bent their ear and asked questions. I read a lot of books and picked up tapes to study. It helped that the guys were like sponges. They sucked up everything I taught. So I had to keep learning because they kept asking.

I'm not afraid to ask for help. There's no ego involved for me. What I don't know, I'll ask someone. None of us are self-made. All of us, whether we want to acknowledge someone from our past or present who has helped us along the way, that person is there. What harm does it do to acknowledge them? It doesn't diminish me at all to acknowledge them.

Your parents must have instilled the character and desire for education that are so strong in you? Who are the significant people in your life that have influenced you?

Coach Joyce:      My parents instilled the desire for education in me. I wasn't a great reader, but as I've grown, I've realized that readers are leaders, so I read a lot not.

My wife is definitely the most significant person in my life. She is wise beyond her years and helps me with wisdom. She's also my number one supporter.

Someone else who's very influential in my life is the pastor of my church. I didn't have a close relationship with him for a lot of years, but I watched him. He started with four people in a house and grew the church to the largest African-American church in Akron. He does everything at a high quality, and encourages us to do the best with what God gives us. He teaches us that God gives us His best, so we should give our best back to Him. Everything I've done as adult, I've done with that intent.

What were you doing professionally before you started coaching?

Coach Joyce:   I was working in consumer sales in corporate America. I started there right out of college and traveled in the greater Akron area. It was a great opportunity when I was younger.

When I started coaching the boys, I found places for us to practice in the evenings, and we'd travel wherever we could find to play. Then, when the boys started attending St. Vincent/St. Mary's, we shared a gym with the girls' teams. So the girls practiced first and when my workday ended at 5:30, we'd practice the boys.

I kept that schedule all the way through the guys' senior season in 2003. Then there was a change in management at my company and they offered me a buyout. I realized my heart was no longer in climbing the corporate ladder. It was in coaching and being involved with young men. I didn't really have any plans, but decided to take the buyout. I remember my wife and I crying about it and holding each other as we started this new faith journey.

I was really grateful for our savings and the buyout my company offered. I tried several different things, but what stuck was creating a traveling basketball tournament called the King James Shooting Stars Classic. Over 500 teams come to the city of Akron for the tournament, and it generates $3 – 4 million for the city. Kids get exposure and many get college scholarships. It's a way to do something around basketball that sustains our lives and still coach.

I also do basketball camps and individual appearances. It's all good. When I wake up in the morning, I'm excited about the day because I have the opportunity to help people grow into the best person God created them to be. I love what I do.

When you coach a high school team, you take on many different roles with the kids: coach, teacher, father figure, encourager, authority, etc. How do you fill those roles and maintain balance in your personal life?

Coach Joyce:  I always take some personal time. I do have a wife and family, and they need my time too. My wife might say I don't give enough time to my family, but we work it out. My wife is at every game coaching from the other sideline.

Even my daughters are involved in what I'm doing. The tournament is a family affair. My daughters come in to help. The one who's married comes and brings her husband and grandchildren, the other daughter brings her boyfriend with her. They're all involved with what we're doing. It's a great way for us to live our life and still do all the things we do.

There's a lesson in that story, but it's not because of me. It's because of what happened along the way. Kris, the director, told a real great story, and I'm just honored to be part of it.

©2009 ChristianCinema.com

All photos courtesy LionsGate™ Entertainment

Special thanks to my brother David for help with some great questions.