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Catch That Pass!
Only one thing keeps Jim from being the best linebacker in the team - his fear of getting tackled. But his friend Chuckie knows Jim isn't a coward. With Chuckie's special courage as an example, can Jim find the strength to face his fears head-on?
110 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
38 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
435 books141 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 10, 2014
The book I read was "Catch that pass!" by Matt Christopher. I liked this book because it deals with football. The position the main character plays is a position I would enjoy playing. I liked this book really well.
This book was about a 13 year old boy named Jim. Jim played linebacker for his school and was very talented. There was one thing about Jim that no other linebacker did... He didn't like being tackled. In one of his games, Jim was playing really well. Jim would intercept the ball a lot, but drop it on purpose so he wouldn't have to be tackled. His teammates made fun of him because he seemed like a "wimp". His friend Chuckie, knew about his fear and helped him overcome it. Jim played in his last game and was having the best game of this year. The opposing team had the ball at the 15 yard line and ready to score. The quarterback threw the ball up and Jim intercepted it!! Jim broke a few tackles instead of dropping the ball and ran for the game winning touchdown! After this, Jim wasn't scared of being tackled and thanked hid friend Chuckie for helping him overcome his fear.
I would recommend this book to any teenage male who likes football. It says that even if you don't like something, you should do it cause it will pay off for you in the end. Always try your best and you will succeed.
This book was about a 13 year old boy named Jim. Jim played linebacker for his school and was very talented. There was one thing about Jim that no other linebacker did... He didn't like being tackled. In one of his games, Jim was playing really well. Jim would intercept the ball a lot, but drop it on purpose so he wouldn't have to be tackled. His teammates made fun of him because he seemed like a "wimp". His friend Chuckie, knew about his fear and helped him overcome it. Jim played in his last game and was having the best game of this year. The opposing team had the ball at the 15 yard line and ready to score. The quarterback threw the ball up and Jim intercepted it!! Jim broke a few tackles instead of dropping the ball and ran for the game winning touchdown! After this, Jim wasn't scared of being tackled and thanked hid friend Chuckie for helping him overcome his fear.
I would recommend this book to any teenage male who likes football. It says that even if you don't like something, you should do it cause it will pay off for you in the end. Always try your best and you will succeed.
November 22, 2013
I read “Catch That Pass” by Matt Christopher. “Catch That Pass,” was a book about Jim Nardi, who is a very good football player for the Vulcans, but he has a problem. He is afraid to take a hit. He is a linebacker and he loves hitting people, but when he intercepts a pass, he drops it because he was going to get hit. His brother Doug, the coach for the Vulcans, had the same problem when he was Jim’s age. Jim wants to be the best he can be, and he knows to do that he has to overcome his fear. Jim does get some help from his best friend, Chuckie, who is in a wheelchair and probably won’t ever walk again. Chuckie tells Jim that if he can live his life in a wheelchair, you can be tackled and it won’t hurt. Jim decides, for his friend, he was going to overcome his fear, and he did. He lead his team to a huge victory to take second in the league, after losing the first three games. Jim had two interceptions in the game and was tackled a couple times. He even broke a tackle for a touchdown.
Jim Nardi is the main character in the book. His best friend Chuckie helps him overcome his fear to allow Jim to be a very good football player. Jim is described very well in the story. He would do anything to help anyone, and he knows he is afraid to get tackled and he even admits it. Jim is very quiet and doesn’t stand up for himself when Hood, the starting safety, yells at him for dropping the ball.
Jim Nardi and his family live in a small town. The book takes place in the fall and its getting really cold. He knows everyone and everyone knows him, which is not always a good thing because they pick on him for being afraid. Most of the story takes place on the field, but part of it takes place in Jim’s garage where he was painting an airplane in the cold. Chuckie came in and scared Jim. Jim bumped the paint and it went into the heater and started a fire. Jim got the fire out, but he was burnt.
The author’s message in this story is that everyone has a fear. If people don’t face their fear, it will always be there. If people face their fear, they can overcome it and will make things better for everyone involved. Fears are not easy to face, but in the long run it will make people much happier.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports, but also anyone who has a fear and need some motivation to overcome that fear. This book would be good for any age group. It is very easy to understand and read.
Jim Nardi is the main character in the book. His best friend Chuckie helps him overcome his fear to allow Jim to be a very good football player. Jim is described very well in the story. He would do anything to help anyone, and he knows he is afraid to get tackled and he even admits it. Jim is very quiet and doesn’t stand up for himself when Hood, the starting safety, yells at him for dropping the ball.
Jim Nardi and his family live in a small town. The book takes place in the fall and its getting really cold. He knows everyone and everyone knows him, which is not always a good thing because they pick on him for being afraid. Most of the story takes place on the field, but part of it takes place in Jim’s garage where he was painting an airplane in the cold. Chuckie came in and scared Jim. Jim bumped the paint and it went into the heater and started a fire. Jim got the fire out, but he was burnt.
The author’s message in this story is that everyone has a fear. If people don’t face their fear, it will always be there. If people face their fear, they can overcome it and will make things better for everyone involved. Fears are not easy to face, but in the long run it will make people much happier.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports, but also anyone who has a fear and need some motivation to overcome that fear. This book would be good for any age group. It is very easy to understand and read.
May 20, 2015
Catch that Pass was an awesome book. Jim is one of the best linebackers his school has seen. The only thing that keeps him from being the greatest is that he is scared of being tackled. While playing defense he would drop an interception just so he does not have to get tackled. He is afraid that he will get hurt and not be able to play anymore. His friends then picked on him during school. They called him a chicken and a wimp. Chuckie was their to help him overcome his fear. He did not like seeing his friend being picked on. After practice Chuckie talked to Jim and told him that there is nothing to worry about being tackled. He said kids get tackled on every down and they survive it. When it came down to the last game Jim overcame his fear big time. He was tackling kids left and right. Then with a couple seconds left he intercepted a ball, hung onto it and returned it for a touchdown.
Jim was one of the most athletic kids in his school. He was also very smart. Just like every other kid he had a fear. He was not going to let that stop him. He overcame his fear and played an amazing game. Jim gives all the credit to his friend for helping him overcome that.
I would recommend this book to all football players from middle to high school. If you are scared of something you can easily overcome it, if you just do it one time. It will help you grow as a person and help you ability to play the sport grow.
Jim was one of the most athletic kids in his school. He was also very smart. Just like every other kid he had a fear. He was not going to let that stop him. He overcame his fear and played an amazing game. Jim gives all the credit to his friend for helping him overcome that.
I would recommend this book to all football players from middle to high school. If you are scared of something you can easily overcome it, if you just do it one time. It will help you grow as a person and help you ability to play the sport grow.
September 27, 2016
Good book!!!
Read
March 19, 2018Personal response:
The book I read was "Catch That Pass!" by Matt Christopher. I enjoyed this book because it dealt with football which is my favorite sport. The position as a linebacker that the main character plays is where I play, which also makes it a good book. I enjoyed this book a lot.
Plot Summary:
This book was about a 13-year-old guy named Jim. Jim played linebacker on his football team and was pretty skilled but didn't know how to use it. Jim always froze up if he got the ball because he didn't like being tackled. Jim would have had a few good games but every time he intercepted a pass he dropped it. Most of his teammates made fun of him and called him a "wimp." His friend Chuckie helped him get through it. Jim was playing his last game and was having his best one yet. The other team was at the 15-yard line and was about to score. The quarterback threw the ball in the air, and Jim intercepted it. Jim didn't let his fear of getting tackled get ahold of him. He broke a few tackles and scored the game-winning touchdown. After that, he wasn't scared of getting tackled anymore.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any teenage guy that likes football. Its an excellent book for people who need to keep trying at something or overcome a fear. It also shows teamwork.
The book I read was "Catch That Pass!" by Matt Christopher. I enjoyed this book because it dealt with football which is my favorite sport. The position as a linebacker that the main character plays is where I play, which also makes it a good book. I enjoyed this book a lot.
Plot Summary:
This book was about a 13-year-old guy named Jim. Jim played linebacker on his football team and was pretty skilled but didn't know how to use it. Jim always froze up if he got the ball because he didn't like being tackled. Jim would have had a few good games but every time he intercepted a pass he dropped it. Most of his teammates made fun of him and called him a "wimp." His friend Chuckie helped him get through it. Jim was playing his last game and was having his best one yet. The other team was at the 15-yard line and was about to score. The quarterback threw the ball in the air, and Jim intercepted it. Jim didn't let his fear of getting tackled get ahold of him. He broke a few tackles and scored the game-winning touchdown. After that, he wasn't scared of getting tackled anymore.
Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to any teenage guy that likes football. Its an excellent book for people who need to keep trying at something or overcome a fear. It also shows teamwork.
January 21, 2018
This book is no exception from the standard model of adolescent sports fiction books, there is a major theme to the story. Jim Nardi is a very good linebacker for the middle school football team called the Vulcans. He shows no fear of contact when he tackles the members of the opposition. However, when he has the opportunity to make an interception and face the prospect if being hit, he expresses great fear. So much so that he will deliberately drop the ball. True to form, Jim is able to overcome this phobia before the season ends. In a break from the expected, the Vulcans are not playing for the championship in their last game.
The best thing about this story is the author, even the weakest of his stories are well worth reading. They move quickly with little in the way of extraneous action or dialog. This one follows that well-traveled and effective pattern.
The best thing about this story is the author, even the weakest of his stories are well worth reading. They move quickly with little in the way of extraneous action or dialog. This one follows that well-traveled and effective pattern.
August 25, 2019
This book was great because I wanted to see how Jim would conquer his fear of being tackled and Matt Christopher really did such a great job on describing the sports action.He learned from this friend Chuck is that his brother Doug had that same problem when he was in High School, so he felt better and gained the confidence he needed. My favorite part was when Jim intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown(known as a pick six)
March 12, 2024
This is about a teenage boy.
He is a great player, but he is afraid to get hit. His crippled friend believes in him.
He comes to watch his football games. He finally builds up the courage and starts to take hits and becomes a great football player.
He is a great player, but he is afraid to get hit. His crippled friend believes in him.
He comes to watch his football games. He finally builds up the courage and starts to take hits and becomes a great football player.
June 21, 2020
Leí este libro en inglés, para mejorar mi habilidad en ese idioma, fue una buena elección, sencillo y entretenido.
January 31, 2022
I liked how Jim found out his older brother had the same problem he had of being tackled which gave him the confidence he needed
December 18, 2023
Good book about never giving up.
Read
October 2, 2017i am on page 14 of 109, and i think the point of veiw is third person because the person is telling the story.And this book that i am reading as been good so far and i like sports and football is one of them
October 19, 2010
I liked the book it was very funny at some points and very frustrating. If anyone is looking for a football book that is fun to read I recommend this book to all those people. This book is one of the best football book I have read in my life. You will have to read into this book to under stand it. This isn’t one of those books that you can read the first chapter and tell if its good or not you will have to read the whole book. I can tell you right now its not a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
March 17, 2017
Personal Response:
I thought this was a good book because it talks about courage. When the boy in the story has little to no courage at all because he is afraid of getting hit. When he finally developed enough strength to catch a pass and run with it for the winning touchdown. He celebrates for the touchdown and gets a penalty for it and the touchdown is called back
I thought this was a good book because it talks about courage. When the boy in the story has little to no courage at all because he is afraid of getting hit. When he finally developed enough strength to catch a pass and run with it for the winning touchdown. He celebrates for the touchdown and gets a penalty for it and the touchdown is called back
September 22, 2009
I gave this book 2 stars because I didn't like it very much. One reason is because it wasn't very interesting. Another reason is that the plot wasn't exciting. Also the characters weren't very good. Lastly, the book didn't make sense.
November 11, 2010
I gave this book 4 stars it is a really good book. It is mostly about football. I can relate to it because I played football before. If you don’t think this book is good I would recommend this book to see what you think of it. You might change your mind about it. I think you should read this book.
January 21, 2011
I loved this book it is aboout a football player named Jim Nardi who is an excellent linebacker who plays for the Vulcans. Jim has a problem that he tries to fix. He is afraid to catch the ball and get tackled.
September 30, 2011
I think Jim with a lot of practice will be able to catch that pass so he can make a touch down becuase with the hard work he's doing and the his love for foot ball I think or am posititve that he mite be able to catch that pass and get his first touchdown ever!!!!!
June 18, 2012
Great scenes. I loved how the readers were given an insight into Jim's mind and what he was thinking and feeling. The readers will love this and all of the action within these pages. I enjoyed this very much.
October 21, 2015
Finn: This is a book for kids who love sports and who enjoy reading about football. The best part is when Jim finally catches that pass. It's cool because it feels like you're in the book watching the football game.
February 12, 2010
I've been trying to read this book but I just havent had the time I've been caught up with everything. This book looks like I would like it!
November 2, 2012
I think this book shows a lot about the main characters personality. It is about a kid that every time a ball is thrown at him he stops because he is afraid to get hit. Does he get over that or not?
Want to read
September 9, 2014Catching that pass is about a guy name Jim.Jim is the star linebacker that got hands..Jim have one big Promble he scared of getting tackle.
May 8, 2009
Great kids sports writer!
February 11, 2015
It was about footballl.so I like that book.
January 6, 2016
Great book for anyone who likes the sport of football
Read
December 23, 2016Being football illiterate, I am totally unqualified to review a book that begins: "Third and eight. The pass down." However, hoping this will be a hit with the 9 year old sports lover in the family. Gift for Corey, Christmas 2016.
Read
December 19, 2017Jim could be the best linebacker on his team, but he’s scared of getting hit. He hits everybody with everything he can all the time with no problem. But, when he attempts to intercept a pass, he gets scared of being hit and drops the ball. His older brother, also his coach, was a star football player. Jim finds out that his brother had the same problem. To find out how he solves his problem, read Catch that Pass by Matt Christopher.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews