The Coach’s Son
by Jeffrey Hickey
Published by Blooming Twig Books(to come)
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Barbara L. Fielder
(Also available as audio book)
As an avid football fan, I enjoyed the insights and historical perspectives of the Superbowl, and the author’s careful authentic detail describing teams in both leagues that were in various stages of growth, disarray and grandeur during the 1960s and 1970s.
Two football teams are at the center of the author’s attention, the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. These teams are intertwined with the young, impressionable and remarkable primary character, Mark. You realize early, in The Coach’s Son that this little boy possesses a provocative and engaging special gift that influences game plays and game outcomes. In his early years, Mark believes that his external voluntary ticks and fidgeting wills his team to big wins, but it often leads to costly and humorous disaster.
Now that being said, I had no idea where this book was going to take me. And, that is definitely part of the book’s allure.
Mark is hovered over by a loving but overly protective, religious mother who is a dominate force in the young boy’s life. His father, Chester, consumed by coaching football, and later as the premier talent scout for the Cowboys, is portrayed is as a laid back, understanding, but absent father. Mark’s older brothers float in and out of the story, with slight significance.
Without giving away the storyline, I’ll leave you with this note. Mark’s childhood friendships, or lack thereof, love of family, relationships with nuns at Catholic school and his special gifts to influence outcomes of a variety of life changing events, do not hamper, but enhance his sense of humor, childhood pranks, religion, world view and growing up as the coach’s son.
See authors Web site for ordering information for the book and audio: http://www.JeffreyHickey.com
Armchair Interviews says: Everyone wills their team to win, don’t we?