Bad Shot

Lorimer Sports Stories

by Sylvia Taekema

Bad Shot is about a 12-year-old basketball player whose shaky self-confidence is undermined by a much better-off player who targets him, first in subtle ways and then more aggressively. To play better, he has to come to grips with the bullying, become more self-reliant, and take advantage of his skills playing the sport.



When a new kid arrives in town, Cody is impressed with the kid's wealth and skills, judging himself inferior. The newbie seems to take an interest in Cody on the court but his "helpful" hints are undermining Cody's performance -- right up to him scoring a basket in his own team's net. Cody has to come to grips with his situation and make moves to challenge the bullying, as well as working to hone his basketball skills.This story plays out against the realistic backdrop of an economically struggling small town, a fictional version of Chatham, and touches on the emotional realities of performance anxiety, socioeconomic status issues experienced by kids, depression, and bullying.

Genres: Sports

128 pages, ebook

Published August 15, 2017

About the author

Because she loves to read, loves to write, and thinks kids are the best, writing books for children and having them published is a dream come true for Sylvia Taekema. Besides spending time with her own children, she also enjoys working with kids in schools and in various programs in her community of Chatham, Ontario. "Seconds," her first novel for young readers, was voted a Silver Birch Express Honour Book in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Program, 2015. It was also a nominee for the 2015 Diamond Willow Award.