Technical Foul

Winning Season #2

by Rich Wallace

Jared knows he's the best basketball player in school. He's got thetalent, the touch, and the shots. With him at center, the Hudson City Hornets finally have a chance at making the playoffs. But Jared's also got a temper, and when the ref throws him out of the game, he watches his team's chances start to slip away. With some help from his friends, he begins to realize that he's got to be a better teammate in order for the Hornets to be a better team.

Genres: Sports

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2004

Reviews

[Alek Severkovski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technical Foul by Rich Wallace is a book about a boy named Jared. He is a great basketball player but cannot share the rock one night he will put up 22 points with 11 rebounds but 0 assists. All his teammates are getting on him to pass the rock. Will the ball be stuck on him or will he make the difference.

I rated this book a 5/5 because it was a good book for me as a basketball player showing me how I should play like a team and not everything is all on you.

I would recommend this book to Mike Lupica fans. Basketball fans who love the game and have a passion for it.

[Dante · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first jared and spencer didn't get along then they worked together and won the champion game together.

[Nicholas Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading “Technical Foul” by Rich Wallace. Rich Wallace has written this book about team work. I liked this book a lot, and enjoyed it because it was about basketball. Jared showed a lot of nerve the way he treated his team in the beginning of this book.

This book is told from the third point of view. It shows how everyone feels, not just the main character. This book has indirect characterization, which is show when Jared, the main character, won’t pass the ball. He is all about himself, which we see when he continues to call for the ball to be passed to him all the time. Spencer realizes the situation and takes the situation into his own hands.

Spencer wants to fight Jared one night outside the school by the tennis court, while a varsity basketball game is going on. They finally figure out that if they work it out, they can turn this season around and play like a team. The boys start hanging out more at each other houses and make the situation work, so they can win the championship game. Jared and Spencer lives in a small town of Hudson City where everything is about sports.

The author is trying to get the readers to understand that if they don’t play like a team, then the season won’t go well for the team. They argue and disagree,and that's never good on a team. If they work together and put aside the differences, the team can have a very successful season while having a lot of fun.

This book is easy to read and understand. Anyone, at any age, would like this book. I would recommend this book, especially to people who are involved in extracurriculars activities, not just sports.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal response:
I really enjoyed this book because it talked a lot about teamwork. It showed how two friends can get back together after getting into a fight and win basketball games. It talks about that when you work together you will win a lot more games.
Plot Summary:
It started out when they were in a game and Jared was going for a layup at the last second that was covered heavily and his teammates were open but he decided to take the layup and he missed the layup. After the game Spencer got mad at him for missing the layup and wanted to fight him. Jared didn't want to fight him but he said that he would if he started it. They ended up not fighting. The next game Jared was getting mad at the refs for not calling the fouls and at the end of the game Jared got to mad and got a technical foul. That means that Jared has to stay out for a game. After the suspension was done for Jared,Spencer felt sorry for getting mad at him last week and they then became friends again. After that they went undefeated and made it to the playoffs. They made it to the championship game and won by a point. They had won the whole thing and became champions of there league.
Recommendations:
I would recommend this book to middle and high schoolers. It is an easy book to read if you want to read a good short basketball book. Everything in it was kid friendly and there are no hard words either.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quarter I am reading a technical foul by Rich Wallace.This book is about a kid named Jared. He is the best player on the team at center,but he has some team problems with a teammate that causes them to fight. Their team was 1-4 because of all of the fighting. Soon they realize they need to build team chemistry,they start winning games and go to the championship because of their team building.

The theme of this book is about teamwork and that the fighting isn't worth it and it's selfish. This theme evolves throughout the book because Jared and Spencer don’t get along because Spencer thinks Jared’s a ball hog but Jared doesn't. They end up going to the tennis courts to fight but end up not fighting and they try to talk it out and they are friends by the end of the book.”Ever since that fight,they've been best buddies.”they're friendship made the team better by beating other team they started 1-4 and at the end they were in the championship game.

I recommend this book to teenages that play sports. I really liked this book because I really like basketball and sports. One reason I didn't like this book was because it was predictable. The ending was pretty predictable because they ended up winning the championship.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book technical foul was a very good book.It was written bout team work.This book shows how to friends can get back together from a fight.This book would be good for teenagers athletes.This would also be a good book for people who love basketball.I also like how the kids make a mistake and learned from it.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the pace, the emotions and the tight story-line of this basketball novel. I think it’s very appealing to kids who enjoys sport - and who recognize the ups and downs of team sport: the overwhelming hunger to win but also the resilience and responsibility that needs to be shown.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book.I like how they fighted in the beginning then they became friends and won the title.

[Trence · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good

[Yerami Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the story, Winning Season: Technical Foul, I believe the author, Rich Wallace, purposed many outstanding ideas. You have this underdog basketball team with an over-confident player, fighting their way to total victory of the championship title, as well as toughing out personal dilemmas as well. My favorite dilemma in this story is when Jared and Spencer have a confrontation. I was really thinking this team got their act together after going 0-3, but I guess both Jared and Spencer threw back all the pieces they bit off. Because they just ended up making up, which was good for the team. After that, the team morale and team chemistry sky-rocketed!!! Jared was passing more often, and the team was sinking in way more shots. I think their shooting percentage went up by double digits! The way the team went on a winning streak from 0-3 to 6-4 before the last two games was off the charts! When they made the playoffs, I was overly-excited for them. Then, when they won the title, I bet nothing could have made them happier. Especially Jared, who worked so hard to achieve this accolade. He could only throw two fists in the air. Overall, this was a really good book. I would recommend it to anyone who likes sports stories and I give this book a 4 out of 5. Great job Rich Wallace.

[Tanner Simonson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book of "Technical Foul" took place in different school gyms for basketball games. Towards the beginning of the story, Jared was a very selfish player who felt he should be scoring all the points for the team. One of the leaders on the Hudson City team is Spencer, and he starts getting upset about how Jared is not passing the ball to other teammates and not playing as a team. They get in an argument and almost get into a fight. Jared got kicked out of a game and had to sit out of the next game which the Hudson City team actually still did win. Jared started realizing that he needed to work together better with his teammates which included listening to his them and the coach and working as a team. As they started working more as a team, they made it to the the playoffs and even won the championship game against the Palisades team. Jared started off in the book as a very selfish basketball player wanting to score all the points. He learned that passing the ball and working as a team is the main purpose and is a lot more fun than playing alone. I really like to read sports books so I read this book. It also looked really interesting.

[Jadyn Rojas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technical Foul is about a kid named Jared and Spencer. They both are 6th graders and play basketball. At the beginning they want to fight because Spencer thinks Jared is a ball hog. They end up becoming best friends and leading there team to the championship. I liked this book because I look anything about basketball, and this is a interesting book. I recommend this book to someone who likes basketball. Also to someone who enjoys reading about it

[Lee]

The book about a time when someone was under pressure. It at the end of a basketball game and player has butterfly in there stomach. Some of the player had attitude but some people where nice. The whole book didnt place on the court. The Palisades cheerleaders were on the court when Hudson city emerged from the locker room, and the walls above the blechers on both sides of the court.

[Fernando]

This book is about a kid who tried to be the best player on his team but his team said it was not about being a hero it was about being a team.His team does not give him the ball so he would learn that he had to play as a team. But this book is a book that I recommend if you want to read an interesting book about a team that learns to play as a team not as a single player

[Kyrah Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a very good book for teenage athletes. It tells a story on how this teams goes through, winning and losing struggles. Everyday problems for the teammates and coaches. Basketball players can relate to this book. I suggest athletes to read this book, it teaches you how to be a team player and where being a team player can lead you.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book to add to the Rich Wallace series. This is a book of competition. When one kid join his school basketball team and luckily their team makes it to the finals. If you want to know more read the book.

[Jesse B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i gave this book three stars because i thought this book was ok. it never really kept my attention. it wasn't very exciting. although it had some parts that i liked. thats why i gave this book three stars.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jared is a star basketball player whose unwillingness to share the ball and to be a part of his team just might cost them the championship. Can he learn to work with his teammates in time to save the season?

The play-by-play game descriptions will be interesting to basketball fans.

[Endi Delic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine. The book really isn't about basketball. This book is mostly about two kids trying to figure out why they cant win games when the play together. The kids are best friends out of school, but when they step on the court the whole mood changes between eachother

[Arryneshia]

I really think that this was a great book. This book is about a basketball team called Hudson City. The first game lost and they kept losing. At the end of the story they started to win their games. I really enjoyed that book so much, because I love Basketball!

[Renan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not done with the book so I don't know what to say.But i really do like it.It's cool and i learned that u need to always do team work.

[Hursh · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY GOOD

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

thats what im takin bout

[Jordan arieno]

Im still in the same part of the book i was last week

[Mike S]

2-15-11

i am reading diary of ma wimpy kid . i have just begun becase i saw the movie and wanted to read it

[Michael 11-12 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 reasons why I liked it.

1.It kept me reading it every day.

2.Had a good setting that fit the story.

3.It stayed on topic.

[Mthompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book because basketball is my favorite sport and some of the things that happened in the book happened o me and I had a lot of connections with the characters.

[Jennifer Zingaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great theme for kids, I like how none of the characters were perfect, they made mistakes and learned from them. Low reading level, high interest for middle school boys.

[Alexis Hull]

It was a great book for kids who love reading about basketball. It has a great meaning to the story as to go with a lesson.

[Terrence.712 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is really good with lots of basketball action.