Play On

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

In the earlier Sports Stories Alecia’s Challenges and Offside!, young
protagonist Alecia Sheffield dealt with the problems of a new school, a
new stepfather, and a new teammate who disturbed the harmony of her
soccer team, the Burrades. In Play On, Alecia is still playing with the
Burrades in Vancouver—the team is coached by her stepfather Jeremy
(now her legal adoptive father)—and is coping with all kinds of social
and domestic changes in her life as she turns 14.

Team gossip and backstabbing, not to mention shoplifting accusations
against a teammate, contribute to a growing crisis within the team that
Alecia, as team captain, has to deal with. Alecia knows that the girls
have to support each other, be loyal, and act as a team if they want to
win. To reunite them and get them back on track, Alecia applies a
psychological strategy: she insinuates to the girls that the team might
fold, hoping this will galvanize them into action. When the plan
backfires, Alecia has to face the disapproval of her teammates, their
parents, and her coach/father. All goes well in the end, however. With
hard work and fighting spirit, the team finally pulls together and the
Burrades win the final showdown game.

Though not one of the more engaging novels in the Sports Stories
series, Play On is still recommended.