The kid with a stick
(Book)

"Brandon Nelson is an African-American 12-year old boy who was taken out of his experience of living in several foster homes in the mid-west to a new world of family and caring. He is an athletic, intelligent youngster who never had an opportunity to start developing his real potential until being adopted by an Air Force officer and his wife. Soon after the adoption, Brandon’s new father was transferred overseas for a year causing more instability and challenges. When the Air Force officer returned, the family was transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy for Captain Nelson to serve as a liaison officer. Now, another new adjustment period was thrust into the boy’s life.Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing high school sports in the country, but not known to Brandon. His first image of this “foreign” sport came as he was walking around in his new neighborhood. An athletic teenager was running around an empty field with a strange stick with a net at the end. He was moving the stick back and forth holding a baseball-size ball in the net. Brandon was intrigued and curious. During his adjustment to a new neighborhood, a new school and new classmates and friends, Brandon faced challenges and questions. His parents were new to teenage emotions and tests while they, too, entered a new experience. Although a career Air Force officer, the Navy experience also will produce new challenges for Brandon’s dad. Life on the east coast will be very different from the pace in the metro-St. Louis area.The sport of lacrosse has its roots primarily in the eastern part of the country. In its earliest days, large teams of Native Americans would compete for days with minimal rules, often representing different villages and promoting wagering.While it has experienced geometric growth over the last few decades, there are large pockets where it is relatively unknown, especially in the ghettos. There are just a handful of Division I colleges that offer lacrosse as a varsity sport outside the eastern states, but it continues to grow. Many states are booming with growth in youth and high school lacrosse. That growth ultimately should produce more programs at all levels. How Brandon faces his many challenges and successes while pursuing his goal of attending the U.S. Naval Academy should encourage the young reader to see the merit of working hard to achieve goals and deal with the many challenges teenagers face."-from back cover.