Hercules the Greater was late for basketball practice because his father went on his annual Thanksgiving hunting trip and decided to stay a couple extra days leaving the family without a car. Coach Westerode understood, but he had to make example of Hercules the Greater so the entire team ran laps.
Most of the players at General John G. Pershing Elementary School knew the situation so they all ran together. He was the Greater so the guys just ran laps and joked about working off the extra holiday food.
Hercules the Greater just kept his head down and ran. He was puzzled about the idea that he was so well liked and respected by everyone in town – in fact everyone he’d ever met – but his own father treated him like an afterthought. So the boys all ran. Coach Westerode couldn’t even look Hercules the Greater in the eye. The coach had a daughter at home who absolutely no interest in athletics. It didn’t take long before the coach learned to love ballet and musical theater 
