Off the Bench

Chris wants to be a star scorer like his brother—so why does his coach keep him waiting on the bench?

Chris comes from a sports-loving family. His brother is the star scorer on the high school team, and is being recruited by Division 3 colleges. Chris longs to earn the same adulation, and he’s a good scorer for his junior high team. But why won’t his coach start him? He’s better on defense than his rival, Carlos, and nearly as good a shooter. 

Soon Chris becomes obsessed with earning a place in his team’s starting lineup. He does everything he can think of—including being an invaluable player every time he comes in. But nothing seems to get Coach’s attention. Even after he learns the history of the valuable “6th man,” Chris can’t seem to let it go. How will he ever be a big scoring star? 

For every kid who hates to read but loves basketball, comes a suspenseful novel with plenty of play-by-play sports action.A lifelong sports fanatic, Fred Bowen has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post.

• Kids who don’t like to read but love sports! This book has tons of sports action 
  
• Parents and teacher eager to lure reluctant middle grade readers 
  
• Basketball fans, and Boston Celtics fans in particular, since this book celebrates their great history