My Losing Season

My Losing Season is a memoir by Pat Conroy. It primarily deals with his senior season as the starting point guard on the basketball team of The Citadel in 1966–67. Conroy describes his tumultuous relationship with his coach, Mel Thompson, as well as the harsh, malevolent, male-dominated society of The Citadel. Pat Conroy tells the story using flashbacks going back to his rough childhood where he remembers growing up with a tough father. He describes one memory when his mother tried to stab his father with a butcher knife and his father backhanded her and started laughing. The book also deals with the team's experience of losing. In his final season, his team finished with an 8–17 record.

As a side note, there is a reference of a basketball game against Asheville Catholic on page 54 that states incorrectly that Asheville Catholic lost the game, when in fact Asheville Catholic won. Jerry Vincent, who is mentioned, made Mr Conroy aware of this fact and sent Mr Conroy the local newspaper article as proof.