The Analysis Of The Book "The Extra Yard" By Mike Lupica
The Extra Yard, by Mike Lupica, is a book about a football player named Teddy and the many challenges he had to face. Teddy is in middle school and the book starts off with his father leaving him at a young age. Teddy was overweight but he wanted to play football so he trained and worked out to lose weight. This made him fast and athletic allowing him to play football as a quarter back. Teddy was a nice guy and he had many friends, on and off the team. He did have negative emotions when his dad came back into his life. He was angry and reserved and did not want to allow his dad back into his life but as time went on their relationship improved. His dad became his football coach which allowed them to grow closer together.
The book takes place in a small rural town called Walton. Teddy has just become a member of the Wildcats football team in his local middle school. Teddy and his new teammates trained every day outside in the middle school’s football field to get ready for the upcoming games. While they spend time practicing at their local middle school the team also travels often to play opposing middle schools around the county. As most action in the book revolves around football it is clear that football is one of the most important things for Teddy.
Once Teddy starts working out and getting in shape life gets better for him. He makes new friends and he makes his dream of making the football team come true. All is good in his life until his mom tells him that his father, who left them a long time ago, is coming back to live in Walton. At first Teddy avoided his father as much as he could and did not want him back in his life. As time went on, it became clear that Teddy’s dad was a former star football player and he even coached Teddy’s current coach. Teddy did not know if his dad was interested in him only because of football and the fact that he was now on the team. His dad was never a part of his life until now, now that he became the quarterback.
As Teddy’s dad attended more practices and become more familiar with the team he begins to offer coaching advice. As Teddy’s dad is close to the current coach he is eventually asked to become the assistant coach. At first Teddy was very unhappy by this development as he did not trust his dad. His dad left him at a young age with little explanation and never kept in touch. Teddy grew up for years without ever hearing from him. As his dad re-entered his life, he was skeptical and reserved maybe even angry at times. However, as time went on he slowly started to appreciating his dad’s help and coaching skills. He started seeing his dad’s value as a coach and what he could bring to the team.
Once Teddy’s dad became the assistant coach, the Wildcats started winning games and feeling more confident in their ability and strength as a team. Teddy starts trusting his dad more, he starts listing to his advice and he becomes open to his coaching recommendations. As they won more and more games their relationship got better and they became true father and son. The theme of this book is that nothing is more important than a father son relationship. “Being your dad is what I love to do most in the world. That’s the only job I want”.
