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Called Up: A Lacrosse Story
Johnny Price and his best friend Kenny have been living and loving lacrosse for as long as they can remember. Johnny is a grinder that constantly works on all aspects of the game, especially face offs. Kenny is a true phenom with a knack for scoring big goals. These two 8th graders have dreamed of playing for Harborview High since they began playing the sport as 4 year olds. Their dream begins to unfold sooner than expected when they are called up to the JV team. Follow them through an exciting season of ups and downs as they chase a championship.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 21, 2018
Kyle Skop
English 9 H
Mr. Schleifer
Hard work pays off is a commonly used quote for athletes to be successful. In the fictional book Called up: A Lacrosse Story by Don McDuffee this theme is shown in many ways through the experiences of the main character Johnny Price. He is constantly practicing lacrosse and preparing himself for his ultimate goal of playing for the HS team.
‘Johnny is an eighth grader, that along with his best friend Kenny, live, eat and sleep lacrosse. They have loved and played lacrosse since they were able to hold a stick in their hands. Johnny is the faceoff guy and Kenny plays attack. Before the season gets started, Ryan the varsity team captain begins training with them, sees their potential and drive and encourages them to try out for the junior varsity lacrosse team. In the end, the boys make the team and actually get called up to Varsity during the playoffs, where they contribute to the team winning sectionals.
I enjoyed this book because it hit very close to home. I am a lacrosse player and the face-off guy for Pelham JV Lacrosse. In the book, they even played some of the same teams that we do. I was impressed with the writer’s ability to use the correct technical terms which made me feel like I was involved in the games myself. I was able to relate to the pressure that Johnny feels during each face-off when the sidelines and coaches are screaming “your ball”! It also shocked me as to how much personal time Johnny put into being the best. It made me realize that I need to be putting in more of an effort if I want to play lacrosse in college. The author, who also writes for Inside Lacrosse, also did a good job of writing about the challenges that young kids face while playing lacrosse. For instance, Johnny got hurt during one of the games and had to sit out for two and a half weeks. This was very frustrating for Johnny. If the author didn’t put in those challenges, it would have been harder for me to relate to the book.
The author also called out some of the ugliness that we see on the lacrosse field when teams are losing or games are close. In Chapter 2, Johnny tells the story of an indoor game where the “the kids were there to tune-up for the season” yet the opposing coach gets very vocal when his team is losing. Not only does he yell at the ref and Johnny’s coach but also the kids on his team. I, unfortunately, have seen this a lot during my short career in lacrosse. There are many coaches out there who just want to win and coach by fear to get there.
I would recommend this book to other male or female lacrosse players. The book is a quick read but some of the lacrosse language is for players at the high school level. In addition to teaching me about the qualities of hard work, I took away from it that teamwork is just as important as skills work. While Johnny was great at winning the face-off he had a large group of teammates that scored and saved the goals.
English 9 H
Mr. Schleifer
Hard work pays off is a commonly used quote for athletes to be successful. In the fictional book Called up: A Lacrosse Story by Don McDuffee this theme is shown in many ways through the experiences of the main character Johnny Price. He is constantly practicing lacrosse and preparing himself for his ultimate goal of playing for the HS team.
‘Johnny is an eighth grader, that along with his best friend Kenny, live, eat and sleep lacrosse. They have loved and played lacrosse since they were able to hold a stick in their hands. Johnny is the faceoff guy and Kenny plays attack. Before the season gets started, Ryan the varsity team captain begins training with them, sees their potential and drive and encourages them to try out for the junior varsity lacrosse team. In the end, the boys make the team and actually get called up to Varsity during the playoffs, where they contribute to the team winning sectionals.
I enjoyed this book because it hit very close to home. I am a lacrosse player and the face-off guy for Pelham JV Lacrosse. In the book, they even played some of the same teams that we do. I was impressed with the writer’s ability to use the correct technical terms which made me feel like I was involved in the games myself. I was able to relate to the pressure that Johnny feels during each face-off when the sidelines and coaches are screaming “your ball”! It also shocked me as to how much personal time Johnny put into being the best. It made me realize that I need to be putting in more of an effort if I want to play lacrosse in college. The author, who also writes for Inside Lacrosse, also did a good job of writing about the challenges that young kids face while playing lacrosse. For instance, Johnny got hurt during one of the games and had to sit out for two and a half weeks. This was very frustrating for Johnny. If the author didn’t put in those challenges, it would have been harder for me to relate to the book.
The author also called out some of the ugliness that we see on the lacrosse field when teams are losing or games are close. In Chapter 2, Johnny tells the story of an indoor game where the “the kids were there to tune-up for the season” yet the opposing coach gets very vocal when his team is losing. Not only does he yell at the ref and Johnny’s coach but also the kids on his team. I, unfortunately, have seen this a lot during my short career in lacrosse. There are many coaches out there who just want to win and coach by fear to get there.
I would recommend this book to other male or female lacrosse players. The book is a quick read but some of the lacrosse language is for players at the high school level. In addition to teaching me about the qualities of hard work, I took away from it that teamwork is just as important as skills work. While Johnny was great at winning the face-off he had a large group of teammates that scored and saved the goals.
September 19, 2013
Called up was one of my favorite books that i read over the summer because it was so inspiring and made me wonder if it was possible for me to play up in lacrosse. this book motivated me in life and also tough me a valuable lesson. i would recommend this book because it's a great story to get pupped about reading and also to motivate you to get things done. in this book 2 middle school friends who play lacrosse, show off the skills and up playing lacrosse with a higher division in high school junior varsity. until the main character Johnny gets an opportunity to play varsity lacrosse and show them who is boss in the face off.
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