Books in Lorimer Sports Stories series

Eighth-grader Micah is psyched to have made the BC junior goalball team―even though he gets the news while dealing with a flare-up of his degenerative eye condition. What he's not happy about is his parents' decision to get him a guide dog, and the possibility of losing his independence. When Liam, a new, first-rate player, joins the goalball team, Micah's frustration with his vision spills onto the court. He is rude to Liam and starts a fight with another teammate, Sebastian, after practice. It's only with the help of Cam, his Orientation and Mobility Specialist, that Micah starts to get a handle on his aggression and trust people enough to communicate how he feels. But with the team's big junior tournament in Richmond, B.C., quickly approaching, Micah has to reconcile his differences with Liam and Sebastian―both on and off the court―to become a real team player and help his team win the championship.

Eighth-grader Emma is the tallest person in her class. While she used to be into sports in a big way, now that she's hanging out with her new best friend, other things have become more important -- like clothes and makeup and fitting in. When Emma gets roped into volunteering for the girls? volleyball team, she feels the urge to play again. First, though, she?ll have to overcome her fear of what her new friends will say if she does.

All C.J. has ever wanted is to play basketball―one day pro basketball. Already in grade nine she's the captain of her high school team in Naskup, British Columbia. But her success comes at a price: her teammate Debi can't accept someone so young as captain, and is making C.J.'s life as difficult as possible. To make matters much worse, one morning she wakes up and is barely able to get out of bed. When her doctor tells her she has arthritis, she worries whether she deserves to be captain. Recognizing her new limitations, however, she comes to truly understand teamwork, and becomes the leader her coaches knew she could be.

14-year-old Patrick and his mother leave their small town for the city. Out of boredom and frustration, he steals a pair of headphones. When he's caught, the police officer, Constable Jack, is willing to get the charges dropped if Patrick trains with him in parkour for twelve weeks. While Patrick trains extra hard he develops a crush on Parker and a rivalry with Jayden. When the tension with Jayden reaches new heights, Constable Jack decides they'll settle the score in a competition. But they aren't just fighting for best individual ― there's also the prize for best club at stake. That means Patrick and Jayden will have to learn to work together.

Miguel hasn't missed El Salvador since arriving in North America with his mother and sister. But with his father still in El Salvador and gangs shaking down the old neighborhood, life isn't easy for Miguel. When his father's situation becomes critical, Miguel becomes desperate to bring him to North America. But he can't even afford to join his baseball team on a road game―how can his family possibly pay his father's way? A solution comes from Miguel's teammate, who proposes a big baseball fundraiser. As the team learns about the hard realities some new immigrant kids face, Miguel and his family learn to trust their neighbors and teammates.

Hockey rules in Branko Stimac's new hometown, where its star players get the royal treatment. Any other sport―like soccer, where Branko excels―is considered second-rate. This means the sacrifices Branko's Croatian immigrant father made so he can play in Canada go unnoticed, as does Branko's stellar goalkeeping. When Branko makes it onto the Edmonton Select team as the second-string keeper, he keeps the accomplishment to himself, sure that no one in his home town will care. But then a video of one of his spectacular saves gets posted on a sports blog and goes viral. Suddenly Branko has more attention than he dreamed of.

Star player Janine leads her hockey team to victory at the provincial championships. But on the way home from the game, a car accident leaves her paralyzed from the waist down. Her best friend and teammate, Rowena, urges Janine to look into sledge hockey. Adapting to her new life, Janine meets frustration at every turn. Soon Janine begins to appreciate her new sport. Her experiences lead her to speak up about rights for the disabled, taking her cause all the way to the professional sports arena. She might be a sledge hockey rookie, but she knows she's up for any challenge. Based on real-life experience and research, this story tracks the emotional and physical challenges of first dealing with disability.

Miguel hasn't missed El Salvador since arriving in North America with his mother and sister. But with his father still in El Salvador and gangs shaking down the old neighborhood, life isn't easy for Miguel. When his father's situation becomes critical, Miguel becomes desperate to bring him to North America. But he can't even afford to join his baseball team on a road game―how can his family possibly pay his father's way? A solution comes from Miguel's teammate, who proposes a big baseball fundraiser. As the team learns about the hard realities some new immigrant kids face, Miguel and his family learn to trust their neighbors and teammates.

12-year-old Cody loves basketball. When a new well-off kid Nick arrives at school and starts giving Cody pointers, Cody lands a spot on the team. Despite Nick's help, Cody still feels anxious all the time. Cody's performance gets worse until his one big shot at a basket goes into his own team's net! Cody soon realizes that Nick's help isn't what he needs to succeed. To play better, he knows he has to become more self-reliant and work on his basketball skills on his own terms. Set against the backdrop of a struggling small town, Bad Shot touches on the emotional realities of performance anxiety, socioeconomic status, and bullying.

When Coach Gordon suddenly retires, Quinn Brown has to prove to a new coach that he deserves to remain the Spartans' starting quarterback. But Coach Miller's style seems to be throwing Quinn off his game―and big-mouthed second-string Luke is gunning for Quinn's position. To top it off, Quinn has been paired up with a peer tutor for math, and the tutor's a new kid everyone's making fun of. Who would have thought that the new kid would be exactly the kind of friend a struggling quarterback needs―both on and off the football field?

When forest fires to the north cause mass destruction, cross-country runner, Chris doesn't see why he has to participate in the charity run to help refugees from the fire. Then Chris becomes friends with Jason, a Native American kid whose family has been displaced by the fire. When Chris's dad takes special interest in helping Jason and his family, Chris wonders about his father's emigration from Iran as a young man, and starts to think about what it means to be a refugee and to have to actually run for your life.

On his old team, Tom Poulos was a star catcher. But his new team is different. For one thing, all the players are older and bigger than him. For another, no matter how hard he tries or how hard he practices, he can't catch the curve balls that the pitcher sends flying over the plate. Tom feels like he's letting the team down, a feeling that gets worse once a new catcher joins the team and Tom is benched. Can Tom find a way to regain his rightful place behind the plate?