SPORTS

Falcons football is subject of film in development

George Robinson
grobinson@theleafchronicle.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Former Fort Campbell High football coach Shawn Berner knows football. He’s coached it most of his adult life. He has three state championship rings to prove it.

Berner will tell you, however, that he knows little about Hollywood.

But during the course of the past couple of years, that has slowly changed.

Berner and his 11-year head coaching experience with the Fort Campbell Falcons is set to become the centerpiece of a dramatic film currently in the early stages of development that will document the lives of Fort Campbell football players and their families who deal with the constant deployment of family members and the toll it takes on the children and spouses left behind.

The entertainment magazine Variety has reported that famed director Richard Donner is attached to the project along with Derek Hoffman, Bobby Sabelhaus and John Zaozirny and is tentatively titled “Sons of Soliders.”

It was Sabelhaus who spent time with Berner and his family, talking about the idea of a film, after Sabelhaus was introduced to the Fort Campbell story through Sports Illustrated writer Andy Staples.

“Well, Bobby played football at the University of Florida, and so did Andy,” Berner said. “But Bobby told me he has wanted to do a big sports movie and after talking with Andy, he called me and we talked about what life is like for a lot of these kids playing football with a mother or father — or sometimes both — fighting overseas. Bobby originally came to Clarksville a few years ago and spent some time with me as we talked about it some more.”

Staples’ story, which detailed the life of high school football on Fort Campbell’s post, was published Sept. 22, 2010, in SI.com. It helped bring the Falcons’ program to the forefront just after Berner had put the finishing touches on three straight state championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Discussions of a possible film didn’t come until two years later when Berner was in the midst of what would be his last season as the Falcons’ head coach.

“I think I was first approached about it before the 2012 season ended,” Berner said. “I resigned in 2013 but the 2012 fall season was my last season coaching. After Bobby came and visited me, he went back and a few months had passed and things kind of died down. Then they started to run with not long after that and it’s really started to take off now.”

Berner said Sabelhaus and screenwriter Robert Eisele have been writing the script for the film and are “about halfway through it.” He said he expects the script to be complete around the end of May or early summer.

“It’s really interesting to see how this whole process works,” Berner said. “I would have never imagined that anyone associated in films would contact me or want to tell this kind of story. It’s a great story to tell but who thinks that this would happen to them? It’s been fun and exciting but I’m more thrilled that this story has a chance for people to see the kinds of sacrifices that these military families are making on a day-to-day basis.”

Berner said he didn’t have to discuss with the producers of this film about the central theme of the movie after they secured the rights from Berner to tell this story.

“They get it,” Berner said. “The one thing they kept reiterating to me is that this was going to be a positive film about how special this community at Fort Campbell is. The men putting this film together, or trying to put this together, are trying to shed some light on the daily struggles that these young kids and their families face when they are dealing with deployment. They want nothing more than to make this the most positive thing that they can put out there and I have trust and faith in them.”

Berner said Sabelhaus returned to Clarksville this past fall and the two attended the Falcons’ game against Caldwell County Sept. 19.

“He stayed the weekend and we talked more about this project,” Berner added. “He got a chance to talk to some former Fort Campbell players and we walked around the school and toured the post. It was a good experience and it kind of showed me how passionate they are about this story. I don’t pretend to know how Hollywood works, but these guys have showed just how passionate they can be when they believe in a story.”

Berner began his coaching career at Fort Campbell as an assistant to Ronny Bell in 2000 and 2001 before taking over the head coaching duties the next year. After a 6-5 record in 2002, the Falcons never lost more than four games in any one season under Berner. He racked up 112 victories, won three state titles, seven district championships and three regional crowns in Kentucky, and he did it with a seemingly ever-changing roster and with players who one would find hard to blame if their attention was anywhere but on the football field.

Berner and his coaching staff through the years have often served as a father figures to many of the Falcons players, as the program has produced two Mr. Football winners in Antonio Andrews and Micah Johnson and had more than 50 players, during Berner’s 11 years at the helm, go on to play college football.

“I’m just a football coach and a teacher,” Berner said. “I don’t know if we’ve done anything special or anything any other coach wouldn’t have done for their kids. The lives of these military kids can be tough but I think they’ve all learned something along the way. I’ve learned just as much as these kids have learned.”

George Robinson. Prep writer. 245-0747. georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com. Follow on Facebook and Twitter: @Cville_Sports.