 "Photo: Andrea Lai")
Augie Garrido may be the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history in any sport, but nobody but serious Longhorn fans probably knows this.
That may change thanks to a new documentary.
Tuesday marked the world premiere of Richard Linklater's latest film, "Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach," put on by the Austin Film Society.
Tickets are on sale now online at www.gettix.net, and the documentary will air on ESPN June 15.
The film profiles the coach's career and unique approach to the game with unprecedented access to his team meetings, practices and conversations with the players during games.
The documentary features appearances from special guests ranging from Kevin Costner to Roger Clemens. The film starts out with random tidbits and philosophies from Garrido as well as game footage and guest appearances. After about 30 minutes, it finally starts going in chronological order from Garrido's humble beginnings growing up, to his humble beginnings at Cal-State Fullerton.
It covers the rise of the program under Garrido at Cal-State Fullerton and the rebuilding process and eventual success of his tenure at Texas.
The most important thing the film focuses on is Garrido's interactions with his players and coaching philosophy. The title "Inning by Inning" refers to Garrido's message to the players on how they should focus on winning each inning and playing the best they can that inning rather than on focusing on stats or the scoreboard.
Garrido's desire for tough, passionate and hardworking players is echoed throughout the film. It shows how basing strategy decisions off that idea led to his national championships in 2002 and 2005 at Texas. In 2002 he started Chris Carmichael in left field for the championship game based on his work ethic, despite the fact that Carmichael had not started for about 15 games prior to that and wasn't the team's most talented left fielder.
The decision paid off when Carmichael blasted a three-run homerun.
Another similar situation was when Garrido stuck with Chance Wheeless to hit in the final inning of the Baylor semifinal game in 2005. The documentary chronicles the struggles and discomfort Wheeless had been going through leading up to the at bat and the eventual
outcome.
Any sports fan will find the film interesting, but one of its flaws may be that it fails to capture and inspire the casual viewer.
It's definitely not on the same level as acclaimed sports documentaries such as "Hoop Dreams," "Go Tigers," and "The Heart of the Game."
It could have been pieced together a little better and maybe more focused, but it is very entertaining and paints a vivid picture of coach Garrido and lets people understand why he has been so successful at what he does. Any sports fan or Texas fan will love this film.
Hopefully, after its theater and ESPN showing, the film will be available for sale at all the UT fan stores and gift shops.
The national media may not ever give much press to coach Garrido, but the film's airing on June 15 is a step in the
right direction.
