Twelve-year-old Nick loves soccer and hates books, but soon learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams.
After moving to California, seventh-grader Devin is afraid she will not make the soccer team but finds, instead, that the team is so bad that she is compelled to take the lead and turn it into something the players and coach can all be proud of.
Charlie, Tommy, and Hector have high hopes for their soccer team this season until they find out that their new coach isn't all that interested in the fantabulous plays the three friends have worked out together.
For soccer games Sierra rides a bus out of the city to fields that are nicer than the "lot" in her neighborhood, but so her auntie can be at her last game, she asks Coach Marco if the team might play in her neighborhood on a day her aunt does not work.
Soccer is the new craze at Bennett Elementary School, and fourth grader Jim Nasium wants to join in the game--but first he must overcome the natural tendency to use his hands instead of his feet.
Eighth-grade soccer forward Nick Osborne and his teammates are highly competitive but, with help from his soccer-playing aunt, Nick begins to see that good sportsmanship is more important than winning. Includes a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the real story behind the novel.
