Maddox, Jake

Cameron believes his move to an undisciplined, small-town team will provide the excuse he needs to quit playing soccer, but perhaps this new team is exactly what he needs to make the sport fun again.

Seventh-grader Darius Livingston is the star running back for his team, but what he really wants to do is play quarterback, and now that his team's season has been cancelled for lack of players, he may get a chance with the eighth-grade team, especially after both their quarterbacks are injured--but first he must remember that football is a team sport, and stop trying to impress. Includes discussion questions, and writing prompts.

Eager to follow in his father's footsteps, Ramon Hill, a talented sixth-grader playing on the eighth-grade lacrosse team, worries about doing his best and being accepted by his older teammates.

As an eighth grader, Suzy has just joined the high school gymnastics team, so she is crushed when she gets injured and can't practice or compete. Meanwhile her mother wishes she wouldn't participate in gymnastics and would focus her efforts on her piano playing instead. Facing pressures from her team, her coach, and her mother, Suzy has to take charge of her own destiny. Can she make a comeback in time to help her team defeat its biggest rival?.

Zach Thompson can t believe his family can finally afford to send him to the elite hockey camp of his dreams. But even before he hits the rink, Zach feels iced out by his older teammates. They mock the new kid s hand-me-down gear and hog the puck during practice. Can Zach show some hustle and be the leader his team needs to take the camp tournament by storm? With plenty of play-by-play action and extra back matter materials including bonus hockey facts, this Jake Maddox JV sports story is sure to be a hit with any young athlete.

Karate is the most important thing in Aliyah s life. It allows her to fight - and she s good at that. It also makes her feel like a winner. Nothing is more important to Aliyah than taking down an opponent, especially if it s her main rival, Suma. Things soon change with the arrival of a new student, Zoya, who also happens to be Suma s little sister. Aliyah sees something familiar in Zoya - an anger and aggression that reminds Aliyah of herself. Upon the request of Suma, and with the approval of the sensei, Aliyah agrees to train Zoya. Through their training, she helps Zoya control her anger but also manages to learn a valuable lesson of her own - winning isn t everything.

Blake Easton has never played organized sports, so when he makes the local traveling baseball team as a bench player he is thrilled; and when the team's star second baseman (and all around annoyance) Kyle, breaks his foot in the very first game the coach calls on Blake to fill in--but Blake is not sure he can perform as well as Kyle, and even less sure that he can trust Kyle's helpful advice.

When Liv Sutcliffe's hair-trigger temper gets her tossed off her beloved soccer team and alienates her best friend, Liv realizes that she has to do something about her anger issues; so she takes a class in mindfulness and ends up coaching her teacher's son, Damien, in soccer moves--but will her efforts at anger management be successful enough get her reinstated before the big game?.

Late for practice at the ice arena, thirteen-year-old Eva Chen neglects to warm up and suffers a concussion when she falls during a difficult jump; frustrated at missing practice time, and worried about doing her routine at the family showcase, in front of a full arena, her parents, and her grandmother, Eva does not need any extra threats to her confidence--for instance, discovering that some of the other girls are laughing at her Chinese heritage.

Eighth-grader Layla's dedication to volleyball puts her algebra grade at risk, as well as her chance of making the high school team.