Remember why you play summary

Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Kris Hogan. If you enjoyed Friday Night Lights , this book is a must-read. Sports columnist and author David Thomas followed the team for a full season, recording a story that will inspire readers to understand that relationships are more importan If you enjoyed Friday Night Lights , this book is a must-read.

Sports columnist and author David Thomas followed the team for a full season, recording a story that will inspire readers to understand that relationships are more important than winning.

One of the key events was a game that Faith Christian played against the Gainesville State Tornadoes, a school for convicted juvenile offenders. The story of this spectacular game is being made into a movie, titled One Heart , with an anticipated release in November Reminiscent of Hoosiers and Remember the Titans , this true story makes a strong statement about the impact of compassion and sportsmanship.

Get A Copy. More Details Other Editions 3. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Remember Why You Play , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Remember Why You Play. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list ». Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Remember Why You Play.

Dec 07, Josh Napper added it. Josh Napper Remember why you play Remember why you play was a very easy to read book. Being based on football, I never experienced a chapter that was slow and I felt that every new section in the book was unpredictable yet exciting. It is based on a small local high school that is struggling to win games in their high school district. The whole team being hardcore football fans, makes them become somewhat depressed that they cannot win a game no matter how hard they try.

They start to struggle a Josh Napper Remember why you play Remember why you play was a very easy to read book. They start to struggle academically and their parents report that many kids have been staying up for hours re watching game film and memorizing plays. This quote was said by the coach when they were loosing to the 2nd last place team in their district by over 28 points.

They were so sick and tired of losing, despite the effort put in at practice and outside mentally. So fed up, that the whole team was about to quit right their on the spot. The coach says an amazing motivational speech and ends it off with that quote. They go into the second half stronger then ever, arms lets just say it ends well. The essential question I would relate this story too is " at what points does someone's actions relate to adulthood". The boys on this team really seem to understand what the game of football is really about and why they play it.

They realize that winnings not the only thing that they should focus on, but to lead the team to the win, strive to the finish line as a team and that everyone is on the same level. As an adult you have meant responsibilities and when they boys start to acquire those skilled they are able to work together as a team so much better.

Personally I would recommend this book to any high school football fan. It also has a lot of religion throughout it and may be for anyone else who is going through a hard times sports wise. Age limit wise I think it would be best for people over 13 years old.

Jan 29, Jovanny rated it it was amazing. Sep 11, Chance S rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jul 05, Clark Goble rated it really liked it. The author, David Thomas, chronicles a season played by Faith Christian High School in Grapevine, Texas and does a wonderful job of depicting how coach Kris Hogan and his staff combine faith and knowledge to effect great change in the lives of their students.

Along the way, only the most calloused reader will resist falling in love with the players that comprise the Faith Lions. The story culminates in a game between the Lions and the Gainesville State Tornadoes, a team comprised of incarcerated juvenile offenders.

Although many are familiar with the story, I will resist the urge to spoil the ending and simply write that the act of love that occurs during this game should serve to edify and inspire Christians everywhere. If I am being honest, there are moments throughout the book that I feel Thomas is guilty of falling in love with his subjects a little too much. So the next time the pitcher came to bat, Hogan drilled him in the ribs with a fastball. Sore and rattled, the pitcher became hittable for Hogan and his teammates, and they rallied to win the game.

When Reverend Sullivan's daughter, Jamie, is introduced later, her own piousness is perfectly believable, in light of Reverend Sullivan's fire-and-brimstone sermons. Landon's recounting of his experiences with Hegbert also establishes Jamie's father's dislike of — or at least, concern over the eternal soul of — Landon himself. Landon spends time in his narrative summarizing the plot of The Christmas Angel, and his summation is important for three reasons.

First, it foreshadows Hegbert's and Jamie's unique relationship, which is described later in the chapter. Hegbert's much-younger wife died in childbirth, after six miscarriages, and Hegbert, who had been a bachelor for many years, was left to raise a daughter alone. Second, it sets the stage for Landon's involvement in the play, without which Landon's and Jamie's relationship does not have the chance to blossom. Finally, Landon's discussion of the play gives him a chance to describe Jamie Sullivan, who Landon has known his entire life.

Through Landon's eyes, readers get a close-up description of Jamie's physical, social, and spiritual makeup, none of which are appealing to Landon in the early chapters of the novel. Landon finds Jamie odd because of her plain appearance — no makeup; hair pulled back into a bun; librarian-like clothing; constant presence of a Bible in one arm — but perhaps more important, Landon is appalled by Jamie's lack of social aspirations.

Instead of spending her time as most teenagers do, hanging out with friends, dating, and shopping, Jamie chooses to spend her time in religious study and in social activism.

Jamie not only helps anyone in need but also does so with openness, compassion, and cheerfulness. She is not looking to score points or impress people; instead, Jamie is the real deal, and she simply isn't interested in any activity that does not help others. This last set of traits irritates Landon the most: Jamie's goodness creates a model of behavior that no other student, particularly Landon, feels he can meet. Jamie's goodness will eventually become a trait to which Landon aspires, but first he has to notice her as a young woman.

On the first day of their senior year, Landon does indeed notice Jamie in a new way, finding her "almost pretty," and that observation sets the stage both for their relationship to blossom and for Landon's personal transformation that occurs over the course of the novel. Sparks takes a risk with Jamie's character: Jamie has the potential to be too good, too perfect — an unbelievable character with whom readers cannot connect.

But Sparks succeeds in making Jamie believable by making her perfect only in her goodness. If she were also a socialite, a star athlete, or a great beauty, Jamie's character would have crossed the line into the unbelievable. But a dowdy, motherless outcast, whose father is a minister, has enough perceived flaws to succeed as a believable character. Chapter 1 contains two other important elements. First is the segue that Landon makes into his own ancestry, discussing both his father the congressman and his grandfather the near-criminal mastermind, who robbed the poor of their meager savings during the Depression.

Congressman Worth Carter, who spends most of his time in Washington, D. Worth Carter, therefore, acts as an interesting foil to Hegbert Sullivan, whose entire life revolves around his daughter. And I especially recommend it to those of you with a desire to use sports as a tool for ministry.

Hogan, and the Faith football program, gives us a powerful example of how sports can be a ministry tool: to ourselves, and to a watching world. Let me suggest a few ways that I believe Remember Why You Play could be used in a sports ministry context: First, I would recommend this book to coaches of any sport. Along that same line, I think this could also be a useful gift of a coach you may be trying to share the Gospel with, it is not lost in the excitement of the story.

Second, I could also see this book being used as a discipleship tool for a team, a small group, fathers to sons, or in a one-on-one discipleship situation. With a little work, a creative Sports Ministry Leader could develop a study guide to go along with events and lesson of the book.

Although not written solely for a Christian audience, there is enough spiritual and ministry juice to the story to make this a very useable discipleship tool.

And while Thomas tries to be honest, at times the characters—many of whom are High School students—seem almost too good to be true. As a result, I suspect serious literary critics and religious skeptics will not find the book quite as interesting. Nonetheless, these flaws are overcome by the compelling nature of the story; I think a forgiving reader will still find it interesting, and sport ministry leaders will see its potential as a valuable tool for ministry.

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