The Coach Buehler Story

UPCOMING EVENT: July 23rd Screening _ Stony Brook Film Festival (NY)

Watch the Trailer Now!A Feature Documentary by Amy E. Unell Executive Producers Grant Hill & Ann Rubenstein Tisch Home
buehler_title logo white

"The tale of Al Buehler is bold and as inspiring as it is powerful. What makes Buehler such a fascinating character isn't how much he won on the track, but how he lived. And how he didn't allow the success to change him and instead used it to help change the lives of others." J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY

About

His office door simply says, “Track & Field Coach.” His life says infinitely more. His name is Al Buehler. Chances are you don’t know him. When you watch this film, you will wish you did, whether or not you're a fan of track and field.Al Buehler has touched and enriched the lives of thousands of athletes including Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Carl Lewis, as well as Duke icons Grant Hill, Shane Battier, and Coach K. And the lives of thousands more who have never owned a pair of track shoes. For 55 years, Al Buehler has inspired countless athletes and met enormous challenges…breaking new ground in women’s athletics, international sport, and race relations. During the height of segregation in the South, Buehler formed a lasting friendship with Dr. LeRoy Walker, the Head Track Coach at the all black North Carolina Central University. Buehler invited Walker’s team to train on Duke’s state-of-the-art track. At the time, Duke’s campus and bleachers above the track were segregated. Few knew of the brotherhood formed by Buehler-Walker and their teams. The two couldn’t change what was happening in the stands, but they could change what was happening on the track.In 1968, when John Carlos and Tommie Smith were asked to leave the Olympic Village in Mexico City, a familiar face showed up to drive them safely to the airport…Coach Buehler. As John Carlos, Olympic bronze medalist recalled, "When I needed someone to be there, God sent an individual such as Al Buehler." When Duke’s Ellison Goodall approached Buehler about running at Duke, he took her under his wing, and the Duke women’s track team was born. And it was Buehler who gave up every men’s scholarship he had to help start Title IX at Duke. “Al Buehler had the foresight to realize that women can be athletes too,“ noted Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic Gold Medalist, who competed against Goodall.Buehler’s career spanned four Olympics, but he never let his success get in the way of his deep desire to help athletes become better people. “There are a lot of great men and there are a lot of great coaches, but there are not a lot of great coaches that are great men. And Coach Buehler was definitely one of those," said Carl Lewis, 9-time Olympic Gold Medalist.Coach Buehler has been thinking about finish lines his entire life. He believes finish lines are something to prepare for; and in his world, they should be a place not of endings but of beginnings…in Coach’s view of life, we really do start at the finish line. Now at 80 years old, Al Buehler faces his latest challenge – an inoperable benign brain tumor. “Starting at the Finish Line” – the story of Al Buehler, the leader, the inspiration, the man everyone who’s ever known him loves to call simply “Coach.” _____________________Following a stellar undergraduate track career at the University of Maryland, Buehler joined the Blue Devils in 1955 as head cross country coach, a job he would hold for four-and-a-half decades.In 1964, Buehler was promoted from assistant to head coach of the track and field team. His celebrated career drew to a close when Buehler retired after Duke hosted the 2000 NCAA Track and Field Championships at Wallace Wade Stadium.During his tenure with the Blue Devils, which included chairing the physical education department at Duke, Buehler coached several All-Americas, seven Penn Relay champions, six ACC championship cross country teams, and five Olympians, two of whom went on to win medals. Along with his accomplishments as a Blue Devil, Buehler also has enjoyed success on the international scene.In 1972, 1984, and 1988, Buehler served on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Teams in Munich, Los Angeles, and Seoul, respectively. At the World Indoor Track Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, Buehler served as head manager for the U.S. contingent.Now in his 56th year at Duke, Buehler continues to teach his popular seminar History and Issues of Sports, and drive his 1969 Karmann Ghia.

Participants
Grant HillProducer, Executive Producer NBA superstar Grant Hill is an All-Star on and off the court. A forward for the Phoenix Suns, Grant has had an award-winning career since his days in the early '90s playing for Duke University, where he led the Blue Devils to two back-to-back NCAA championships, and took Coach Buehler's "History and Issues of Sports" class. He was named Co-Rookie of the Year in 1995, and prior to the Suns played for the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, where he was been named to the NBA All-Star team seven times. He is widely considered one of the best players in the game, often leading his teams in points, rebounds and assists.Hill's accomplishments off the court are equally extraordinary. A three-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award, Hill's community investment activities span the entire United States, including his hometown of Orlando, Florida as well as many other cities and towns to where he is connected and/or has visited. His intention is to try to assist as many people as he can through personal support, advocacy for causes he believes in and financial contributions.Ann Rubenstein TischExecutive Producer A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Ms. Tisch began a 19-year career in broadcast journalism at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kansas. She then moved to WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and later joined NBC Network News as a National Correspondent. At NBC, Ms. Tisch worked on several magazine shows covering political, medical, and human-interest stories. She also served as a substitute anchor on the Today Show and NBC at Sunrise.As a National Correspondent, Ms. Tisch developed a strong interest in educational issues. After covering dozens of education stories for the network, as well as reading and studying data on single-gender education, she conceived the idea of an all-girls public school. In 1996, with the help of the Center for Educational Innovation and the unanimous approval of the New York City Board of Education, Ms. Tisch turned her idea into a reality.Ms. Tisch serves as a Trustee on the Board of Washington University, her alma mater. She also serves on the Deans Council of The New York University Tisch School for the Arts and the Advisory Board of the Center for Educational Innovation. She is currently consulting with school districts and parents' groups across the country about creating schools similar to The Young Womens Leadership School.Amy E. UnellDirector, Producer Amy Unell is a Midwesterner who strives to tell positive, inspiring stories. Amy was a producer for NBC Today Show based out of the NBC News Los Angeles bureau for over six years. Passionate about producing stories for the Today Show series, "Making A Difference TODAY," Amy received a 2008 Emmy Nomination for her piece, Hoops of Hope, about Austin Gutwein, a teen who started basketball-a-thons across the country to build schools and medical centers for AIDS orphans in Africa. She has covered a diverse range of subjects, including the Academy Awards and Sarah Palin's Vice-Presidential Nomination in Alaska, as well as the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the Olympic Games in Athens and Salt Lake City. Amy is a graduate of Duke University, where she was a student in Coach Buehler's class. She was 2009-2010 Media Fellow at Duke's DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Amy taught the seminar course "Advanced Filmmaking: The Coach Buehler Story" at Duke in the Spring of 2010. John LarsonWriterAs a correspondent for PBS and NBC News, John Larson's work is among the most awarded in the broadcast news industry. In 2010, Larson was awarded his second George Foster Peabody Award for Cannabis Cowboys an investigation of Mexican drug cartels and Illegal pot farming in California. He also won 2010 Emmy Awards for Best Writer, and Best Hard News Reporting from the Los Angleses NATAS Chapter. As West Coast Correspondent for Dateline NBC beginning in 1994, Larson excelled in investigative, breaking and feature news reporting for Dateline NBC, NBC Nightly News and The Today Show. His investigation of the insurance industry for Dateline NBC, "The Paper Chase", became one of the most honored broadcasts in broadcast journalism history Larson has received extensive national recognition -- 3 Columbia DuPont Silver Batons, for his reporting on Racial Profiling, the Insurance Industry, and the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He has won 22 Emmy Awards, including two National Emmys for Breaking News Coverage Houston Floods and Investigative Journalism Probable Cause. Larson is also a much sought after speaker, teacher and motivator. He currently consults for the E.W Scripps Company -- teaching and motivating more than 400 working journalists. He speaks regularly at the National Writer's Workshops, the Poynter Institute, and the National Press Photographers' National Workshop and local affiliates. He has participated in the Committee of Concerned Journalists, sponsored by the Nieman Foundation of Harvard University. In 2009, Larson left NBC to work as an international correspondent for PBS - contributing to World Focus, Need to Know and Southern California Connected. He also launched his own production company, began training in digital journalism, and began consulting with media companies. Lisa BerglundEditorLisa Berglund, the founder of Gold Dog Media, is an award-winning videographer, editor, producer, and storyteller.Lisa's work with corporations, international news groups, and nonprofit organizations has given her powerful professional experience including shooting, producing, and editing news, marketing, and promotional videos, documentaries, PSAs, and music videos. She also works as a media consultant, providing training in visual storytelling and video techniques. Lisa's specialty is working in remote corners of the world, because she feels strongly about giving a voice to people who are rarely heard. She has circled the globe and captured stories in over 25 countries worldwide. Gregg HoerdemannDirector of Photography Chip CrellSoundHeather ArmentGraphic DesignerOne of Heather Arments feet is planted firmly in the world of documentary filmmaking, while the other can be found in the world of motion graphics. She likes to play hopscotch between the two, engendering a distinctive body of work that draws on her expertise in both fields. Heathers short film War Games was recently featured in WGBH Labs War Stories Open Call series, winning her a New England Emmy Award for advanced media animator/motion graphic design. She puts her artistic innovation to work as a freelance filmmaker from her home studio in Seattle, WA.Liza BishopWeb & Print DesignerLiza Bishop is a Charlottesville, VA native and Duke University graduate. She is the owner of Sweet Life Studio (her photography and design love-child), where she specializes in documentary and portrait photography, as well as web design. Liza has a very personal connection to the film; her mother is famed marathon runner, Ellison Goodall Bishop.Alec PuroMusic ComposerAlec Puro has played varying keynotes in the music world for over fifteen years. Combining his hard-earned experience and a long-time passion for music, Alec began composing for both film and television. Starting out by licensing music to popular television shows like Chicago Hope and NYPD Blue, industry icons such as Michael Mann began taking an interest in his work. In 2006, Alec founded Gramoscope Inc. Since its inception, Gramoscope has created an extensive catalog of music covering all genres for film and television. A big break came when he composed the score for 2007 Sundance hit film The Good Night starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Penelope Cruz. Alec continues to score numerous independent films, documentaries and television shows working with such esteemed producers as Steven Bochco and Simon Fuller. In 2009, Alec & Gramoscope formed a partnership with The Music Collective, combining their talent and experience and putting both companies in a position to better service the needs of their clients and projects.Duke University Seminar Class:"Advanced Filmmaking: The Coach Buehler Story," Spring 2010Production Assistants Curtis BeachLara GlaswandCaitlin HardingMolly HimmelsteinChristine KoJen KozinJames LeeJess LehighTrevor RaganChristopher RossAlexandra TiradoSophia TreakleToni WeiLucie ZhangEmmeline Zhao

Grant Hill

Duke Advanced Filmmaking Class

Heather Arment

Liza Bishop

Alec Puro

John Larson

Lisa Berglund

Gregg Hoerdemann

Amy Unell

Ann R. Tisch

Videos

The Coach Buehler StoryTrailer

4/21/10 Grant Hill Previews "Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story"

Coach Buehler photo shoot BTS

Teaser Trailer

Stills

Photo Ellison Goodall Bishop

Photo Amy E. Unell

Photo Amy E. Unell

Photo Amy E. Unell

Photo Amy E. Unell

Photo Liza Bishop

Photo Duke Megan Morr

Photo Duke Megan Morr

Coach Buehler with Amy Unell

Official Poster

Photo

Photo Megan Morr

Photo Duke Megan Morr

Photo Amy E. Unell

Photo Amy E. Unell

Press

The Chronicle

TowerView Magazine Article

USA Today September 2010

Walking with Coach Buehler

GoDuke.com Article

Go Duke Magazine

The News Observer

The Herald Sun

The Herald Sun

Press

Download "The Coach Buehler Story" Press Kit Starting at the Finish Line in the NewsNCAA.com (video!)May 8, 2011NYTimesApril 24, 2011MSNBC TV (video!)April 22, 2011ESPN April 22, 2011ABC'S Good Morning America (video!)April 21, 2011Yahoo! Sports April 21, 2011Suns BlogApril 21, 2011USA Today, April 2, 2011The lights have dimmed on the Phoenix Suns' season. They're four and a half games out of the eighth and final playoff spot with only eight games remaining in their season going into Friday night vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.Grant Hill, however, has something to look forward to even if the Suns miss the playoffs after advancing to the Western Conference finals a year ago. Read More...____NBA.com, March 30, 2011When Amy Unell interviewed Grant Hill for a documentary on legendary Duke track and field coach Al Buehler, she had no idea she was looking at her future executive producer. Neither did Hill. Read More...____Duke Magazine, March 2011 On the first day of spring-semester classes in January, students enrolled in P.E. 49S, “History & Issues of American Sports,” shuffle into room 101 of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Most of them are varsity athletes, and the football players and wrestlers among them somehow manage to maneuver beefy bodies and oversized backpacks into the tight space crammed with plastic chairs, a creaky wooden bench, bronze trophies, DVDs, a sofa that’s older than the President of the U.S., and stacks and stacks of sports-related periodicals.Read More... ____USA Today, September 2010A different kind of work consumed Grant Hill this offseason. It wasn't rehabilitation for the formerly oft-injured Phoenix Suns forward, and the lights, cameras and action were focused, for a change, on someone else.Last weekend, executive producer Hill presented at Duke, his alma mater, a private, rough-cut screening of Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story. It's Hill's first venture into film, joining him with teammate Steve Nash as documentary producers.Read More...____Go Duke, The Magazine, July 2010 Al Buehler is a storyteller. It is a role he has inhabited for much of his life. The man synonymous with Duke University’s track and field and cross country programs for nearly five decades has drawn the admiration of students, athletes, friends and colleagues alike for just as long.Read More...____The News & Observer, July 2010 As a Duke student, Amy E. Unell sat in the front row of her History and Issues of Sports class, enthralled by the anecdotes shared by the course's instructor, Blue Devils track and field coach Al Buehler.Read More...____The Herald-Sun, July 2010 I am serving as an executive producer of the documentary, “Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story,” telling the incomparable story of the life of one of Durham’s own, Coach Al Buehler, the legendary Duke and Olympic track coach.Read More...____The Herald-Sun, May 2010 As Al Buehler walks into his office inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, crowded but not cluttered by his 55 years on the job, he takes off his sports jacket and hangs it on a coat rack in the corner.Read More...____USA Today Cover Story, May 2010 Hill has interests far beyond basketball. He's a 20th-century African-American art collector, a passion passed from his parents, and has staged exhibits.Now Hill is pursuing a film project with Amy Unell, a teacher at Duke, about the school's former track and field and Olympic coach, Al Buehler. Hill and Unell took a sports history class at separate times under Buehler.Read More...____USA Today Film Production, May 2010 Being on a team like the Phoenix Suns has made it easy for Grant Hill to branch out...Hill, now an executive producer of his first film —Starting at the Finish Line, a documentary on Olympic track coach and Duke's Al Buehler — is new on the scene.Read More...____Duke Chronicle Article, April 2010 Duke basketball legend, African-American art collector and current NBA star Grant Hill can now add another title to his already impressive resume: documentary film producer.Hill, Trinity ’94, officially signed on as an executive producer for Starting at the Finish Line: The Coach Buehler Story, a sports documentary about former Duke University track coach Al Buehler Read More...____TowerView Magazine Article, February 2010Despite the cold January downpour outside, Amy Unell, Trinity ’03, recently entered the Alumni House, calm and collected. Her relaxed, engaging nature came as quite a shock, considering how large a project Unell has been quietly but firmly captaining over the past five months, an enterprise that has slowly expanded across Duke’s campus. Unell is finally achieving a dream she’s had ever since she took a class as a doe-eyed freshman from the Midwest. She’s telling the world the story of former Duke track head coach Al Buehler. Read More...____GoDuke.com Article, November 2006 Cross country is a curious sport. Running long distances through wooded trails can be the most solitary of activities, but it’s also a tight-knit team sport. It’s one of the most popular participant sports at the high school level but it’s the least spectator-friendly sport imaginable. Skilled coaches plan workouts in minute detail but stand by helplessly during competitions, without the option of calling timeouts, inserting substitutes or changing strategies....How does one succeed in such a sport? According to former Duke coach Al Buehler, cross country is...Read More...

Donate
Mask Up

Click the button above to make your gift online.

Please note Coach Buehler Project in the "Additional Designations" field

A special thank you to all of our donors who are making this film possible.

Store

Order the poster!

E-Mail info_coachbuehler.com to get your copy now.

* More merchandise coming soon, so check back often! *

Events

Calendar of Events
July 23rd, 2011 Stony Brook Film FestivalStony Brook, NYJune 25th, 2011 Private Screening, W HollywoodLos Angeles, CaliforniaMay 6th, 2011 Atlanta Film FestivalMay 5th, 2011 Newport Beach Film FestivalApril 22nd, 2011Private screening hosted by ESPNTribeca Film Theater, NYCApril 21st, 2011Watch Grant Hill on ABC's Good Morning America at 8:30am for The Coach Buehler Story!April 15th - 17th, 2011HATCH Asheville Film FestivalApril 7th, 2011Kansas City FilmFestMarch 31st, 2011Grant Hill attends World Premiere at the 2011 Phoenix Film Festival (Watch the Video!)September 24, 2010 Private "Rough Cut" Screening, Duke UniversityStay tuned for more festival screenings!Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and the Buehler Blog to stay up-to-date on the latest news!

Contact

The Coach Buehler Story

Yellow Envelope

Home

About

Participants

Videos

Stills

Press

Donate

Store

Events

Contact

his office door simply says, "Track & Field Coach."

his life says infinitely more.

what they're saying...

news & events

"He is someone that has left an indelible mark in my life and just a great person, a great human being." Jackie Joyner-Kersee, 3-Time Olympic Gold Medalist"This film is far more than the story of one man and the barriers he broke- it's a tribute to a sports legend." Grant Hill, NBA All-StarScroll to Read More...“Coach Buehler is an unsung hero who went above and beyond to help others over the years. He did it with dignity and without seeking publicity and notoriety." Dick Vitale, ESPN“Al Buehler defines the word ‘coach.’ He set a standard for all of us to follow.” Coach Mike Krzyzewski, 4-Time NCAA Championship Coach, Duke University"There are a lot of great men and there are a lot of great coaches, but there are not a lot of great coaches that are great men. And Coach Buehler was definitely one of those." Carl Lewis, 9-Time Olympic Gold Medalist"Al Buehler had the foresight to realize that women can be athletes too." Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic Gold Medalist "I think what made Coach Buehler stand out in the sport most over all these years is that he wasn't egotistical. He wasn't in the sport to promote Coach Buehler."Mary Decker-Slaney, Olympian and 2-Time World Champion"When I needed someone to be there, God sent an individual such as Al Buehler"John Carlos, Olympic Bronze Medalist "The tale of Al Buehler is bold and as inspiring as it is powerful. This documentary sings, showing how often there's no separating sports from American history and how that perfect harmony can lead to ground-breaking change. What makes Buehler such a fascinating character isn't how much he won on the track, but how he lived. And how he didn't allow the success to change him and instead used it to help change the lives of others. The only pity is, there's probably no one else like him." J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY

the

Buehler

Blog

|Yellow Envelope|||

site designed by Liza Bishop