I nodded, and Chris pushed me out the door. Okay, then I’ll see you next Wednesday, ready to work. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but that’s the way it is. Nobody gets a jersey just because they played last year.
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I’m in charge, and I’ll pick my team the way I want to. I don’t think you do, he said, dropping into his chair. Getting a whole sentence out of my mouth would have been awesome. He was probably closer to fourteen feet tall.īecause I was on the team last year, and. And why is that? he asked, standing up straight and crossing his arms over his chest. I just don’t think I need to."Ĭoach Baxter finally looked at me, and I wished he hadn’t. No exceptions.Ĭhris elbowed me and whispered, Let’s go.īut I wasn’t finished. I saw the sign, but I wanted to talk to you about it because. Uh … it’s about the tryouts.Ĭoach lined up the books on the middle shelf, from tallest to shortest. The clock is ticking, Coach Baxter growled. But so did we, the Lewis and Clark Middle School Pioneers. The guy obviously knew what he was doing. I checked out the team photos on the wall behind his desk, the framed newspaper pages with champ headlines, and the shiny trophies on top of his bookcase. What can I do for you? he asked, without looking up from the box of books he was unpacking. It sounded like a squeak, so I cleared my throat and tried again. And it was all muscle.īefore I could say anything, I heard Chris breathing next to me. He wanted us to try out for our own team. I only knew three facts about our new coach:ģ. I rolled my eyes, turned the knob, and swung the door open. Uh … He took a couple of steps away from me. You coming? I asked Chris, hoping I had backup. Talk to the coach, I said, knocking on his door.Ĭome in, a deep voice boomed from inside the office. Next Wednesday afternoon, Chris said, then pointed at the word as he read it. We were undefeated in sixth grade (if you didn’t count our five losses, which I didn’t because the refs had been out to get us), and we’d been shooting hoops at Sunset Park all summer to stay on top of our game. Unbelievable, I muttered, staring at the sign-up sheet on our new coach’s office door.Ĭhris, the rest of the guys, and I had been playing together since Cotter Elementary. The first book was a Cybils nominee this year, but these opinions are mine alone and not meant to reflect the committee as a whole.Seventh-grade basketball started out all wrong, and it only got worse. We enjoyed this second installment almost as much as the first, and await the 3rd (set for release this summer!). They are excellent basketball players and identical twins, and they even excel academically! Will Owen’s jealousy get the best of him? Will Russell lose his status as the only mathlete and athlete in the school?
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The big news is the arrival of the Twin Towers from Minnesota, Mitch and Marcus.
#Mathlete vs athlete series how to
Russell is still trying to figure out how to best manage the Masters of the Mind team since one of their members moved, and they haven’t found a suitable replacement.
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Owen and Russell have made their peace with sharing the spotlight on the court.
#Mathlete vs athlete series series
Mathlete: Double Dribble is the second in the series (with a 3rd coming out this summer!). It made for a real and funny story.Īthlete vs. I loved the plotlines about sibling rivalry, family, and finding one’s place at school. Can he do both? They’ve always been able to shine in different areas, but will Russell steal Owen’s spotlight on the court? Or will sharing an interest actually make them closer? Russell also has to come to terms with being an athlete and try to balance his schoolwork and being captain of his Masters of the Mind team. When Russell makes the team, the dynamic shifts. Owen doesn’t want to get on his bad side, but he also doesn’t want his uncoordinated brother to embarrass him. When a new basketball coach comes to their middle school, he encourages Russell to try out for the team, thinking his height will be an advantage.īoth Russ and Owen are floored by this news, but the tough coach doesn’t really present it as an option, but as a requirement. Owen is strong and stocky and Russell is tall and gangly. In addition to their different strengths, the fraternal twins look completely different as well. This story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of twin brothers Owen, the athlete, and Russell, the mathlete. My 4th grade son is neither a mathlete nor an athlete, but is closer to the former than the latter. My son and I really enjoyed reading Athlete vs.