In 2019 Kendrick Brothers Productions, the source of top-notch Christian movies such as Facing the Giants and War Room, came out with a story plot that highlights the impact fathers have on our lives. This movie is called Overcomer. If you missed it, you missed a great story.

The coach of the Cougars high school basketball team is played convincingly by Alex Kendrick, The team is hit hard when the largest plant in their town is suddenly closed down, causing the families of some of the team members to move away. The school principal, played by Priscilla Shirer, believes she has a great idea to save cross-country at their school. She talks Coach Harrison into adding cross-country to his basketball coaching—despite the fact that he hates running. His cross-country “team” will consist of one troubled girl with asthma.

Tension in Coach Harrison’s marriage builds when the effects of the dwindling basketball team, a cross-country “team” that seems hopeless, and a pay cut begin to get to him. In the midst of this, Coach Harrison’s pastor  asks him to make some visits to a man in the hospital. It turns out that the man was once a runner. Not only that, but he reminds the coach he may have forgotten that his identity isn’t being a coach—it’s being a Christian.

The coach learns by trying to compete with his one-girl team, Hannah, that cross-country is all about endurance. Like the coach, his sons aren’t too crazy about running, either. They’re not sure it should even be considered a sport. There’s a little humor sprinkled into the script. One of his sons describes a wild idea for making cross-country a more interesting sport from his perspective, since he prefers basketball.

As the plot unfolds, we discover that Hannah’s grandmother has been hiding a secret. We later learn that there is a reason the principal has taken such an interest in Hannah. (Now don’t jump to conclusions.) The intensity of the cross-country competition heats up, and so does the intensity of the hidden story behind Hannah’s life circumstances. I will let you find out the rest of the story for yourself, if you haven’t seen it yet. By watching it, you will see the transforming power of God’s love and the healing power of forgiveness portrayed. The last portion of the story is awesome and heart-warming and shows the imaginative talent of the writers of the script.

Overcomer lasts a minute less than two hours. The Common Sense Media website suggests this movie is appropriate for ages 10 and up. If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you will. (If you watched it a while back, watch it again. I did.) Below is a trailer wherein you can meet the characters in the story.