Shut-Out!

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes novels for pre-teens; her latest books are
Jessa Be Nimble, Rebel Be Quick; Raven’s Revenge; and Tarragon Island.

David loves soccer and would do anything to play. His team’s new
coach, however, has other ideas. With a “win at any cost” attitude,
Coach Prescott plays only the best boys while the rest watch from the
sidelines.

As David struggles to find a way to play the game he loves, he also
finds his home life increasingly stressful after his aging grandfather
moves in. No longer able to do the things he once did, Gramps is cranky
and distant, and the closeness he once shared with David seems gone for
good.

Of the two main storylines, the one exploring the relationship between
David and Gramps is the more successful. Unfortunately, the Coach
Prescott character seems too extreme, too unidimensional to be
believable. As a result, the main storyline often feels contrived. The
ending (in which David’s grandfather is the one to confront the coach
in front of a group of parents) doesn’t give David enough involvement
in orchestrating a solution to the problems he faces. In the final
analysis, the coach’s response to Gramps’ accusations of
inappropriate coaching doesn’t seem plausible either. Prescott does
agree to focus on fun rather than winning, but so grumpily it seems very
odd the parents don’t fire him on the spot.

Though the idea was sound (poor coaching decisions have a negative
impact on a boy’s desire to play soccer), its execution in Shut-Out!
fails to fully exploit the potential of this plot. Not a first-choice
purchase.