What do you think?
Rate this book
Jake Maddox Graphic Novels
Soccer Switch
Andre Makuza is excited for another championship season with his middle school summer soccer team. But a new coach is taking over, his unusual training methods have the team feeling frustrated. Will the coach’s oddball ways ever lead to victory, or is the soccer switch too much for Andrea and his teammates to handle? Combining high-stakes sports stories, dynamic full-color comics, and a variety of back matter support materials designed to encourage critical thinking and comprehension, this Jake Maddox Graphic Novel is sure to be a win for young athletes, sports enthusiasts, and reluctant and struggling readers alike.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2017
50 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Jake Maddox
553 books83 followersWho is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler–or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps–literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 18, 2022
Love when he starts to get what the coach has taught him.
September 13, 2018
What a great book with an inspired message for kids. Teamwork, hard work, friendship, determination, respect, all mixed up in a visually appealing graphic novel that was easy to follow. Loved the questions at the end.
October 1, 2017
Jake Maddox's books are very popular with students and this graphic novel series is sure to please. Andre is excited to be on the Mighty Bobcats soccer team. It not only is a winning team but also has legendary Coach Winston as the coach. Andre can't wait to learn from the best. All these dreams come crashing down when they learn Winston has retired and they have a new coach. Coach Barnes has them do weird drills like playing with oven mitts and wearing blindfolds. Not all the players are willing to give Barnes a try and many quit. Now Andre must face a big decision: Does he stick with the team even when times are tough? Or does he follow the other guys and quit? This book has it all - wonderful graphics, fast paced story, and an important life lesson. I highly recommend it and look forward to the others in the series.
February 9, 2021
Andre lives and breathes soccer. Finally he and his best friend Cullin are old enough to join the Bobcat's
team with legendary Coach Winston in charge.
When news of Coach Winston's retirement appears in the sports news, the boys are gutted. Who will take his place?
The new coach isn't anything like they're expecting or used to, and following his way of training is difficult. Cullin wants to quit but Andre has waited too long for this dream...
Author - Brandon Terrell
Art - Arburtov
Age - 8+
As with all books in this Graphic Novel series, there is a section at the rear of the book discussing visual techniques, history, a glossary and game play or legends of the sport. The main character always learns something about themselves too.
team with legendary Coach Winston in charge.
When news of Coach Winston's retirement appears in the sports news, the boys are gutted. Who will take his place?
The new coach isn't anything like they're expecting or used to, and following his way of training is difficult. Cullin wants to quit but Andre has waited too long for this dream...
Author - Brandon Terrell
Art - Arburtov
Age - 8+
As with all books in this Graphic Novel series, there is a section at the rear of the book discussing visual techniques, history, a glossary and game play or legends of the sport. The main character always learns something about themselves too.
September 20, 2018
Very fast read (less than an hour for me) but I enjoyed it. A beginning of school report about what this kid did all summer. Basically he learned that things are worth sticking with even when they are not what we expected them to be and that hard work and perseverance are worth it. I thought it was a great short story to help teach kids these lessons.
April 24, 2018
Andre and his team are so excited that this summer they will finally get to work with Coach Winston, the best soccer coach around. But when he retires it totally changes the way they team works and things get a little sketchy. Will his new coach and new team take the championship?
September 25, 2018
Andre and his team are so excited that this summer they will finally get to work with Coach Winston, the best soccer coach around. But when he retires it totally changes the way they team works and things get a little sketchy. Will his new coach and new team take the championship?
December 19, 2020
This was 2/2 graphic novels I got for my nephew for Xmas and the moral of this story is to trust the process and embrace change. Great, too, that there's obviously diversity on the team as evident in the illustrations as well as the names of the players on the team.
November 14, 2023
even taking into account that this was made for children (which tbh there’s a lot of genuinely good books made for kids), this was the definition of mediocre LMAO
was good for practicing spanish tho, which was the main goal haha
was good for practicing spanish tho, which was the main goal haha
July 3, 2017
I love the visual questions at the back of the book! Perfect for demonstrating how graphic novels can generate higher level thinking skills.
August 27, 2018
I ended up putting the rest of the series on hold.
November 11, 2018
Excellent for the entire library.
January 3, 2019
The art was great. The story was better. I really like how the characters reacted, all of their reactions. I was pleased with the ending, since it wasn't a "And we won! That's what matters!" ending.
February 23, 2019
Beehive Nominee 2019
September 17, 2021
it's an easy book to finish.
October 13, 2021
Good teamwork.
February 3, 2023
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not complete it
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not complete it
June 1, 2018
Andre and Cullin have been best friends and teammates for years. This summer they can finally join the Bobcats soccer team, coached by the famous Coach Winston. But when the news reports Winston is retiring and their new coach makes them run strange drills - blindfolded or with oven mitts on their hands, Cullin quits the team. Andre decides to stay on and make the best of it, but will they have even enough teammates to compete, let alone try for the summer championship?
This early reader graphic novel (actually somewhere between a graphic and a picture book) has a great message, comprehension and further thinking questions, a glossary and soccer moves. It would work well in a classroom, either read together or as independent practice. I hope there are more like this.
Cross posted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
This early reader graphic novel (actually somewhere between a graphic and a picture book) has a great message, comprehension and further thinking questions, a glossary and soccer moves. It would work well in a classroom, either read together or as independent practice. I hope there are more like this.
Cross posted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews