Offsides!

Offsides! is a classic story of how two kids learned to stand up to oppression at the dawn of the days of the internet. Back in 1996, Davey T. Franklin was afraid of being "a nobody"; unseen and unnoticed by the kids at his school, but it was that fear that led him to help others that felt the same way. His best friend and classmate, Linc Cole, a Black kid from Southern Indiana, knew what it felt like to be overlooked and misunderstood. Davey was white, and straight, and had yet to take a stand for those he cared about most, but his time was coming all too quickly.

Linc leads Davey into some small-town trouble, and that trouble leads Davey to an unwanted, unpaid "job" as the ball boy for the local high school football team. Davey is forced by his parents to attend the weekly practices and games as a means of keeping him out of trouble. Davey must make a decision to support the team he loves, and he will learn that he is far from "a nobody" as he stands up for what he believes in with his best friend by his side. Tears will be shed, but in the end, Davey and Linc will find the deep reward that comes to those who with courage. Offsides! is a coming-of-age novel for the underdog in all of us.