Maddox, Jake

When fourteen-year-old Leggie LaGrande, star runner on the Bricklin Middle School track team, suffers a hamstring injury at the very start of the season, he figures his shot at the Junior Olympics is over, but his coach insists that even if he cannot run he can still compete in some other track and field event, so he finds himself working out at the shot put, competing with a new student whom he dislikes.

Twelve-year-old Maggie (Magnolia) and her twin sister Beatrice are both figure skaters, but Maggie is trying to find her own style (for instance, cutting her hair and dying it blue) while her sister remains firmly under their uptight mother's thumb--so when their old coach leaves and a man takes over, Maggie seizes the opportunity to try out some of the new spins she has been creating, even if it means upstaging her twin.

When the coach of his middle school summer soccer team retires Andre, his friend Cullen, and their teammates are horrified, and when their new coach implements some highly unusual training methods Cullen is so frustrated that he quits the team--but Andre sticks with it, hoping that there is method in the madness that will lead to a championship.

"Deion tries out for the traveling team playing singles but doesn't make the cut. When his coach points him toward the possibility of playing doubles, Deion finds a new but troublesome option"--Provided by publisher.

Once an inseparable trio, whether in their little band or on the football field, Justin, Tony, and Miles have drifted apart in middle school (Justin to band and his old friends to sports); now, after a summer of jamming, Justin decides to try out the football team with his old friends--but he finds little encouragement from them, and he misses the new friends he made in the school band.

Jake is a top scorer on the Tyndall Tigers, in fact you might say that basketball is in his blood, but when it comes to free throws he has a problem--he gets nervous and cannot seem to make them in a game situation.

Eighth-grader Ellie is a veteran on her volleyball team, but this year she is frustrated because she is having trouble with her footwork, and she hopes that getting involved with coaching the younger girls in the newly organized after-school group at the Boys and Girls Club will help her work through her problems--besides, it is fun and she was instrumental in setting it up.

Brandon's junior high school basketball team is struggling to make the playoffs, and Brandon is starting to feel that his bad luck is dragging them down--and when their bus breaks down on the way to the big game, Brandon has to turn luck into opportunity.

Diego "Clutch" Rivera was the hero of his school's basketball team last year, but this season things have not started well, and Diego is losing his confidence--but with some help from his dad, and a friend who gives him a sketchbook and suggests that he draw his feelings, he starts to rediscover the fun in basketball. In graphic novel format.

"Nolan is a fiery fellow with a lot to say as he campaigns hard as a student council president elect hopeful. In his spare time he's the punter and emergency third-string quarterback for the football team. But when the first two QBs go down with injury, Nolan is suddenly thrust onto center stage in more ways than one"--Provided by the publisher.