Synopsis for
Hard Ball (2001) More at IMDbPro »

Conor O'Neill is a gambler who has bet on his dead father's account and is now severely in debt. In order to repay the debt he must coach a baseball team of troubled kids in the Cabrini-Green housing projects of Chicago. He had decided that once he repaid his debts he would leave the team but soon Connor connects with the kids and finds it harder to leave than he thought. Elizabeth Wilkes is a school teacher that forces the attention of O'Neil away from his pressing problems to the real daunting challenges that nine boys on the team face daily. We see real wealth highlighted by real poverty in Chicago. We see wasted talent in a mentor draw out the potential of young men amidst broken lives Cabrini-Green. Despite being language challenged this is a story worth being seen by all young men. A modern day Boys town?