Florida High School Coach Uses Religion To Get Winning Team

The Orlando Sentinel today carries a story about the successful football program of East Ridge High School in Clermont, Florida. High school coach, Bud O'Hara, regularly leads his team in prayer and attributes the success of the team to his religious motivation of the players. "When we started this program four years ago, we made a commitment that we were gonna play for our savior," said O'Hara. "And we're not ashamed. When you play for a higher power, you seem to play a little harder, run a little faster and do things you normally couldn't do." O'Hara said that neither school officials nor parents have ever questioned the religious component of his program. Constitutional experts however question the propriety of O'Hara's approach.