For the students at Charlotte Secondary, a small charter school in North Carolina, lacrosse might seem an unlikely pastime. The school, scarce on funding, cannot afford a gym or a proper sports field, so the school’s athletic director applies for a grant that provides lacrosse equipment for schools with limited resources, even though none of the students has ever played the game before. Thus what begins as a casual after-school activity to keep at-risk high schoolers occupied soon becomes a serious discipline, as the ragtag team unexpectedly becomes a contender for the state championship. Along the way, their coach, Bobby Selkin, becomes a tutor, mentor, and father figure, working to give his team a fighting chance both on and off the field in this inspirational sports documentary.

—Andrea Passafiume