A compelling blueprint for excellence in sports and life.

REFUSE TO BE ORDINARY takes the reader inside the locker room, inside the huddle of final timeouts, inside the American classroom, and inside the head of a veteran English teacher who was inspired by the unique young men and women he taught and coached. Coach Dennis King combines a life-time of observation, reflection, and personal stories of inspiration to reveal an intense slice of high school basketball never before documented with such a specific lens. A champion is an athlete infected by a dream whose passion, discipline, competitiveness, poise, pride, humility, character, confidence, and courage separate him or her from the ranks of the ordinary. The author of REFUSE TO BE ORDINARY is not a celebrity coach who has written a book trying to cash in on a fleeting national championship. He’s a blue-collar teacher/coach whose entire career has been spent in the trenches of public education devoted to the grassroots mission of helping young people reach their full potential. 10 CHAMPIONSHIP TRAITS DREAMS - Champions dream in high definition. PASSION— Champions self-ignite. COMPETITIVENESS — Champions crave challenges. DISCIPLINE - Champions embrace repetition, habit and sacrifice. POISE — Champions relax. PRIDE — Champions care. HUMILITY — Champions show gratitude. CONFIDENCE- Champions visualize victory. CHARACTER — Champions make right choices. COURAGE — Champions conquer fear.

Coach Dennis King has prowled the sidelines for nearly forty years in two different states. In 1972 after completing his senior season at Shippensburg State College, he was hired as the head boys’ basketball coach at Slippery Rock High School in Pennsylvania. In 1983 he became the head coach and English department chairman at Brentwood High School near Nashville, TN. His varsity teams have won over 650 games.