We’re not sure if  is a fan of the classic 1986 basketball movie “Hoosiers.”

But last month, the coach of the Dearborn Novice Crystalletes shared a piece of the film with one of her skaters, and got historic results.

On Saturday, March 7, just before taking the ice for a national competition in Portland, Maine, a reference from the movie never seemed more appropriate.Denise Dobert

The synchronized team from the Dearborn Figure Skating Club wasn’t expected to win because, well, quite frankly, they had never before won a gold medal on a national stage. And the team was skating in a different arena, far away from home. So, naturally the girls were a little on edge when they saw the 9,000-seat Civic Center for the first time.

The response was “Whoa!”

In fact, one girl was so nervous, she leaned on her coach for comfort and confidence.

Denise, knowingly or unknowingly, quoted Gene Hackman from the movie, telling her skater that the dimensions of the sheet of ice were the same they had seen every day in their arena back home in Dearborn.

(In Hoosiers, Hackman, reminded his boys that the dimensions of the basketball floor and the height of the rim were the same they had seen in their hometown of Hickory.)

Dobert’s words (or Hackman’s words, if you prefer) took root.

That previously nervous girl and her teammates pulled off a flawless performance to win its first national gold medal in team history.

What the girls likely didn’t know is that Dobert was secretly more nervous than anyone else.

And now — to borrow a phrase from the late Paul Harvey — you know the rest of the story.*