David White

David White's A Man of Character is a book about so much more than a high school basketball team in inner city Los Angeles... This is one of the best books I've read in a long time.”

- J. Cox , Amazon

A Stroke of Genius by David H. White, Jr.

Billy Scott eats, drinks and breathes golf. The young Californian’s goal in life is to play on the PGA Tour and make it big; that means winning big on the weekly tour and also winning Majors...

A Man of Character by David H. White, Jr.

It was a school in disarray and he was a coach looking for a chance to win championships on and off the floor. John Hawkins, a 40-year-old African American coach, left a well-paying job as an assistant basketball coach at Pasadena High School to take over...

Shorty: A Life in Sports by David H. White, Jr.

Shorty: A Life in Sports is a compelling new sports biography and social history. Sportswriter David White, whose highly-acclaimed first book, the regional best-selling Leadership Lessons for Life, examined the key character traits and...

An Exceptional Coach Reviewed by:

K.C. Finn 

Review Rating: 

5 Stars 

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

An Exceptional Coach is a work of fiction in the sports, interpersonal drama, and action genres. Penned by author David H. White, Jr., the plot chronicles the journey of Atwater High School football coach Kirby Williams as he takes on the challenge of building a new football program at Western Alabama University. He faces many obstacles, including opposition from powerful boosters, personal attacks, community tragedies, and corruption while relentlessly pursuing excellence for his team on and off the field. What results is a very emotive tale with a strong sense of character and community at its heart. This is an inspiring and riveting read that delves into the challenges and triumphs of leadership in the face of adversity whilst also delivering a heartwarming story.

Author David H. White, Jr.'s portrayal of Kirby Williams as a dedicated and determined coach is bound to resonate deeply with anyone who has any experience with community sports, and I found all the little dialogue and attitudinal details deeply realistic and heartfelt. As I followed Williams' journey, I was drawn into the narrative, rooting for him as he faced obstacles and stood firm in his pursuit of excellence. The emotional through-line of the work grows stronger thanks to the consistently deep narration and the nuances of the dialogue to convey the shifting personal relationships around Williams. The book's exploration of themes such as integrity, resilience, and the power of teamwork was subtle but grew with a gentle building of emotional investment that definitely left a lasting impression. Overall, I’d certainly recommend An Exceptional Coach as a must-read for fans of heartwarming and resonant sports fiction everywhere.

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An Exceptional Coach Reviewed by:

Essien Asian 

Review Rating: 

5 Stars 

Reviewed by Essien Asian for Readers’ Favorite

Seeking to emerge from the shadow of the other universities in the state, the president of Western Alabama University marshals the institution's resources to field a football team that can contend with the best in the state. Nobody expects it when he turns to Kirby Williams, a successful high school football coach with no prior experience in coaching at higher levels of the sport. He gives Williams the task of quickly assembling a competitive squad. The new coach is unaware that his leadership style has ruffled the feathers of some influential individuals in their close-knit community. They want nothing more than to see him fail and have already put their plans into action in David H. White Jr.'s An Exceptional Coach.

David H. White Jr. extols the virtues of walking the straight and narrow path in An Exceptional Coach. David has incorporated historical dates and sporting details to give the characters' origin stories a real depth, which makes for a masterfully written work that feels authentic. To draw readers into this exciting sports adventure, David employs intriguing dialogue and discreetly concealed clues to connect the dots between the characters. These encourage readers to deduce the antagonists' complicated motivations concurrently. Throughout the book, the themes of upholding moral principles in the face of corruption and the value of family are prevalent, whether amid an intensely detailed football game or a confrontation between Williams and a disgruntled constituent. The author's captivating storytelling and perfect pacing will appeal to fans of the drama and sports genres seeking a different read.

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An Exceptional Coach Reviewed by:

Grant Leishman 

Review Rating: 

5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review! Get your free 5-star seal!

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers’ Favorite

An Exceptional Coach by David H. White Jr. is a sports drama and so much more. It’s the story of preparing young men for life by coaching them in high school and college football. Kirby Williams is the much-respected coach of the Alabama high school team, Atwater. After a stellar high school and college career, Williams realized his passion lay in coaching and, since taking over at Atwater, he has been nothing but successful, with eight state titles in eleven years. When Western Alabama University President Charles Conners bowed to pressure from school boosters and alumni to start a football program at Western, Conners saw in Kirby Williams an honest, principled, and successful coach who cared as much about his player’s achievements academically and socially as he did about their performance on the field. This was the sort of coach President Conners wanted for Western Alabama’s football program. Despite doubts from some about Williams’ ability to transition from coaching high school football to college football, he is appointed and sets about stamping his character and passion on his players, the college, and the town. All will not be plain sailing for this exceptional coach, though.

An Exceptional Coach is my type of sports drama. Although coming from a nation where football is different from this style, I can still appreciate the dynamics that sport can bring to academic life and the great boost any college can receive from a winning team. Author David H. White Jr. has presented a moral and clean-cut figure in Kirby Williams who is passionate about the game but is equally passionate about helping to mold young men into successful high achievers in whatever direction life may take them. I particularly appreciated that the author highlighted the nefarious activities of some within college sports for whom the “win at all costs” attitude is the predominant paradigm. Kirby Williams was certainly presented with some situations where it would have been easy to have lost his cool and struck out at cheats and poor refereeing, but it was his ability to corral his immediate instincts and act with dignity and humility that made him such a fantastic role model for his young charges. When performing in front of 90,000 screaming football fans, as these colleges do at the highest level, it would be easy to look for advantages over the opposition, whether they be strictly fair or not but Coach Williams was never prepared to do this. Easy to read and filled with good morality, excellent life lessons, and great excitement come game time, I can highly recommend this read.

An Exceptional Coach by David H. White, Jr.

Kirby Williams was a coaching legend in high school football in Alabama, dominating the state and nationally. He expected to stay at Atwater High School, but received a call from Western Alabama University President Charles Conners, who wanted him to coach their start up program. Williams accepted and set out on his journey of building a national championship program. An Exceptional Coach is the story of Williams’ challenging and exhilarating journey in pursuit of excellence.