|
Press/Reviews
| Catch
a Rising Star by Donald W. Albertson |
|
Turnkey, 2006
(2006)
Paperback
|
Book Loons
Reviewed by Sally Selvadurai |
|
Catch a Rising Star
probes the phenomenon of sports parent and
sports rage, something that has been all
too evident in junior sport in the last couple of
decades. Throughout the book Tom Anderson is following
his own dreams for his son Marc, while dismissing
the sporting accomplishments of Marc's twin Katie.
Tom intimates to Katie that her brother has the
potential to make big money through football,
whereas women's sports (apart from golf and tennis)
do not attract big bucks and are therefore
not worthwhile. Tom does not spend nearly as much
time with Katie as with Marc, and is surprised at
her innate drive and tenacity when she informs him
that she will take up tennis so that she too can
become a worthwhile star!
Although Marc is only twelve years old,
he is a very talented quarterback whose abilities
have been noted by an elite team in the area,
a team in desperate need of a replacement quarterback
to take them to the playoffs. Tom's wife Maggie
is reluctant to let Marc leave his neighbourhood
team and the friends and team mates who have been
his companions through several seasons of wins and
losses. Tom prevails, and Marc moves on, dreaming
of leading his new team to the State Championship,
but are these really Marc's dreams? 'Tom
had to let this be Marc's decision. If he forced
him into it and he failed, it would be Tom's fault.
If Marc made up his own mind, he would work harder
at it', while all the time Tom knew he
would have the final say: 'Having
Marc by himself tomorrow morning would be long enough
to convince him that this opportunity was too good
to pass up'.
Tom is so completely
focused on his vision for Marc's future that he
refuses to listen to his wife, his son's old coach
('You don't give a shit about anyone else, only yourself!
Did you stop and think how you're putting your kid
in over his head? He may be a big fish in a little
pond now, but in the ocean he's just bait'),
and even Marc himself. Tom, unable to follow a sports
career himself, is so obsessed with helping his
son make the most of his talent that he loses sight
of the personal strife that Marc is going through,
ignores Maggie's pleas, and loses Katie's respect
when he ignores her achievements, even though they
are as spectacular as her brother's, or even more
so.
This book will certainly give anyone
a modicum of understanding of what drives the sports
parent, and will leave many a reader feeling
a mix of emotions for Tom - anger, sympathy, compassion
and even a small spark of recognition ... after
all, what parent does not want their child to succeed?
However, it should be borne in mind that our children
are not our reincarnations; they have their own
hopes and aspirations, and parents should not live
their lives vicariously through the achievements
of their offspring. |
Note: Opinions expressed in reviews
and articles on this site are those of the author(s)
and not necessarily those of BookLoons.
|
| Find more
Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews |
|
| |
|
|
