Jamario, Jaquan, Jailen, and Teague are teammates on the J.O. Johnson High School wrestling team in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by their passionate coach, they are trying to qualify for the State Championships but the pressures outside of the ring – emotional breakdowns, racial profiling by the police, teenage pregnancy – are mounting for each of the young men.
Hoop Dreams goes to the mat in this intimate coming-of-age documentary about four members of a high-school wrestling team at Huntsville's J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama's list of failing schools.