There’s no doubt, our family is incredibly sports oriented. When we were at our public library we spotted the “Eddie the Eagle” movie. We verified it was an age appropriate movie for all (lesson learned from previous movies) and excitedly began watching the movie. The kids are obviously too young to know about an Olympic athlete who competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary but they were excited to learn his story.

“Eddie the Eagle” was born Michael “Eddie” Edwards. From little on, Eddie knew he would be in the Olympics someday. The movie depicts a young child in leg braces trying different sports to get him to the Games someday. In the movie, his trials begin with holding his breath underwater and eventually ends with Eddie transitioning from downhill skiing and landing in ski jumping.

He is the complete underdog from the moment the movie begins to the end. Throughout the movie, he has a “can-do” attitude and an incredibly supportive mother. Eddie knew he wasn’t the best athlete but was competing for the experience and the love of the sport. It was a movie that provided many teachable moments about never giving up, keeping your chin up, having a good attitude, and surrounding yourself with positive people/role models.

As a hockey coach, my favorite line of the movie: “focused, not tense”. This is something I try to teach my kids. Once you tense up your head isn’t in the game.

The movie is a definite must watch for anyone who wants to show what a good attitude in sports looks like. It’s also a fun movie to watch from the parents’ perspective and a gentle reminder that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.