Larry Gelwix the real 'Forever Strong' coach

Larry Gelwix, the former LDS seminary teacher and unofficial Man of the Hour in

Salt Lake City, says he is enjoying his brush with fame, and so it would seem.

He dipped into his savings to take his family to New York for the premier of

"Forever Strong," the movie about Gelwix and his Highland High rugby team. He

attended another premier in Los Angeles and still another one in Utah.

He has been interviewed by radio, TV, newspaper and magazine reporters from

Texas, California, England, New Zealand, Argentina, New York and Chicago. When a

local reporter called the other day, he was making the rounds of Salt Lake TV

stations and had to check with a PR man to find an opening in his schedule.

"We're having a lot of fun with this," said Gelwix, whose cell phone vibrates

every few minutes during a two-hour interview.

Gelwix is the real-life coach who is portrayed in "Forever Strong" by veteran

actor Gary Cole. In his day job, Gelwix owns a travel agency. In his evening

job, he coaches high school kids.

For 33 of his 58 years, Gelwix has coached Highland's powerhouse rugby team.

It's probably inevitable that rugby, one of the world's most popular sports but

no more than an afterthought in America, would have its turn for a movie

treatment, since every sport from horse racing to cheerleading has already been featured.

Gelwix joins Don Haskins ("Glory Road"), Herman Boone ("Remember the Titans")

and Jack Lengvel ("We Are Marshall") as coaches whose stories are told on the

silver screen.

The answer to your next question: "I am thrilled with the movie," said

Gelwix.

The project began nearly three years ago when screenwriter Dave Pliler and