Halfback!

As a youngster, I devoured books on juvenile sports fiction. They were exciting, generally well written and placed sports on a level of decency and high character. Granted that was not the case, but for a young man, it was the right story to tell. This is a story about how a bad character can affect a team, a story that has not changed, even in the era of million dollar salaries. The main characters are a prima donna player and his coach, who refuses to crumple under the pressure to play him. We see some of the pressures of high level athletics, where the goal is to fill stadiums, rather than teach lessons. However, the star player eventually begs the coach to go in so that he can help the team and the coach, seeing the change in attitude, puts him in. There is the predictable successful conclusion, but that is understood. This is a good book about a strong character, the coach and a young man who becomes a stronger character. I enjoyed it and recommended it to my son.