Special Teams

Gr 3-7–Leo Campbell wants nothing more than to make the Newport High School Raiders junior-varsity football team, and he has been practicing flag football with his friends Abby, Ginny, Seth, and Hank all summer. Leo really wants to play on the offense so that he can score touchdowns. But when the roster is posted, he finds himself assigned to defense. A disappointed Leo accepts his fate and gives his best efforts in all the practices and games. When the Raiders’ punt receiver is injured, Leo gets his chance to join the special-teams unit, and his dream of scoring a touchdown (even a non-offensive TD would do) seems once again within reach. As the season progresses, Leo learns a lot about the game of football, like how to secure the ball before you make the next move and how to move your feet. But more importantly, he learns that everyone on a team has an important role to play. Bowen is known for his athletic books centering various sports, and each football practice session and game in this novel is written with rich detail and play-by-play descriptions that drop readers into the heart of the action. A concluding chapter explaining how touchdowns can be scored by different members of the team (and making reference to recognizable football stars) rounds out this short but very enjoyable book.