Rommel Macatangay

ENGL 112B

Professor Warner

The Power of Sports

Sports play an extremely important role in many lives. For some young adults, sports may be seen as a good way to exercise, to have fun. Others view sports as (and rightfully so) a competition to be won, something to be successful at. In any of these views, it is well documented that sports are indeed powerful figures, regardless of what sport it may be (though some sports are more popular than others)

Many of these books focus on the obsession that surrounds sports, rather than the sports themselves. Some of these novels focus more on the mental aspect of what it means to compete, or the consequences of participating in a sport. Most explore the idea of right and wrong ‑ what's fair and unfair. All, however, place emphasis on the journey taken by the protagonist in order to reach the peak of their sport, whether it be being the best, or simply doing his or her best.

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk Laurel‑Leaf Books, 2001

T.J is on a quest. He is determined to gain the varsity letter jacket that his sports‑obsessed school covets. However, he makes his attempt through a team that others consider a joke: the swimming team. He fills the teams ranks with those that would be considered misfits, such as a boy who is mentally challenged, a dork, and also a student who is near mute. He challenges the status quo of the sports committee, and strives to win the letter for all his teammates.

The novel portrays what can be accomplished through hard work. T.J. is at first apathetic to the idea of participating in a team, but his sense of right and wrong compel him to get involved with an aspect of school he'd rather not associate with. While he is a natural, many of his teammates are not, and thus the novel shows them working as hard as they can in order to reach their goal.

Weesner, Theodore. Winning the City Avalon Books, 1991

Set in the Detroit of the 1950's, this novel is about a boy named Dale Wheeler. He's a fifteen year‑old boy that has directed all his efforts on practicing basketball, with the singular intention of winning the City League of Detroit.

Young adults can definitely relate to this story, since the main character is a young student that has all the trappings of one who is not yet comfortable in his skin. His relationship with his alcoholic father, his view on how the world is inherently unfair and that it's focused on wealth and privilege. It also shows his weaknesses, such as how delicate his pride is, how he yearns to shape an identity for himself‑ making Dale very human.

B. Jenkins, Jerry. The Youngest Hero Warner Faith, 2002

This story focuses on Elgin Woodell, a boy who inherits his alcoholic fathers' natural talent for baseball. Throughout the novel, Elgin struggles with the both the advantages and problems his talent brings. He must deal with his father's legacy and push past his mother's fears that Elgin will follow his father's footsteps into ruin.

The book is meant to be an inspirational read to all young adults. Though Elgin has immense talent (he can be referred to as a genius in regards to baseball), he does not rely completely on that talent. Rather, he works as hard as he can, forcing himself to achieve greater heights in order to realize his dream of making it into the major leagues.

Hallberg, William. The Rub of the Green Ballantine Books, 1998

The protagonist of this novel is Ted Kendall, a relatively new pro‑golfer. He excels at the sport, but has trouble dealing with actual people. A twist in this novel is that he is incarcerated for the attempted murder of his best friend and peer ‑ which sets off events that eventually culminate with Ted restoring a 2‑hole golf course during his sentence. He eventually decides to play again, and finds that he has learned much over the course of time.

Evaluation here

Cronley, Jay. Fall Guy. Signet 1979

Fall Guy is about Ben Elliot, who was a star football player back in his high school. When he enters the state university, however, he finds that he is not unique ‑ he is simply a small fish in a big pond. Things begin to fall apart for him as he finds that he is no longer head of the pack, but rather one of the many.

Many young adults will face this dilemma. Be it sports or another aspect of their life, there comes a time when they will realize that though they are the best in their field at the current time and place, they will eventually ascend to a level in which they are simply average.

Shields, David. Heroes Bison Books, 2004

Albert Biederman is a sportswriter in River City, Iowa, where the obsession is basketball. A new player has been transferred in, elevating the local teams' playing level with his talent. Unfortunately, Albert finds that his transcripts have been forged, as well as evidence of multiple recruiting violations. He is torn between uncovering the story as a means to land a better job, and protecting the town and the player in question happiness. Focusing more on morals and the sense of 'right and wrong', Heroes is less about sports that some novels, but places enough emphasis on competitiveness that it is clear it is a sports novel.

Martino, Alfred. Pinned Harcourt Paperbacks, 2006

In the high school wrestling novel Pinned, the focus settles on two boys from wildly different backgrounds. One is from a wealthy upbringing, which is the captain of a team that respects him, and is on their way to a promising future. The other is a proverbial lone wolf, who shuns his teammates and coach, and receives the same in turn. Both are dedicated wrestlers that are literally obsessed with winning the state title.

This book focuses a lot of different aspects of life, as well as emotions, that young adults will come across. Obsession, dedication, pride and friendships are a few of those covered in this book, making it a novel that everyone, not just young adults, can relate to or, even better, learn from.

Deuker, Carl. Night Hoops HarperTeen, 2001

Night Hoops is a story about a boy named Nick and his trials. Nick is obsessed about basketball, and is envious of his brother who by all accounts is a natural at it. Nick's father is also obsessed, but mainly because he didn't go as far in his own basketball career as he believes he should have. Over time, this stress causes Nick's family to fracture, and he eventually finds an unlikely companion in a tough neighborhood kid named Trent.

Nick is the younger brother in this story. He is almost always overlooked in favor of his brother Scott, despite having far more interest and intensity in the sport. He practices as hard as he can, as often as he can and develops into a good player ‑ exactly what his father wants, but only from his older brother.

Cochran, Thomas. Roughnecks Harcourt Paperbacks, 1999

Roughnecks centers around a boy named Travis. The novel is about his experiences on the day of a very important game. His team had played this opponent previously, and Travis blames himself for their loss. To this end, he wants to "redeem" himself and win against their town's biggest rival.

The novel focuses more on Travis' journey rather than the game itself. In fact, the big game is never finished ‑ the novel ends right before the game begins. Furthermore, the novel takes place over the course of a single day, the day of the game. You see into his thoughts throughout the course of the day, and the mental struggles he must go through before his second chance.

Lipsyte, Robert. The Contender. HarperTeen, 1987

The Contender is a sports novel that focuses much on boxing, but more on the struggles that Alfred Brooks, the 17‑year old protagonist of the story, faces. Alfred comes from a broken family (father deserted him, while his mother died several years back), and only has his best friend to depend on. He eventually joins a boxing gym, and attempts to remodel his life in order to be successful. He eventually applies this new attitude to helping out his best friend (who eventually becomes a drug addict) in repairing his own life.

This novel shows that perseverance and determination are especially important in any task, but most of all in problems that cannot be solved easily. Regardless of the doubts he has of himself, Alfred realizes that he must finish what he started in order to be a contender both in life and in his chosen sport.