TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue - Up in Flames
A New Day
A Brother From A Different Mother
Assimilation and Belonging
The Honeymoon Is Over
The Lost Year
Fixing What I Broke
An Almost Good Plan
When The Shit Hits The Fan
GET UP !
Doing What You Want, Not What You Can
My "Jesus" Moment
A Lost Innocence
Anybody Remember What The Sun Looks Like?
Trying To Be Something You're Not
Please Prepare For Landing
Dancing The Night Away
Closing The Chapter
​Epilogue

~  FOREWARD ~
For 32 years I have had the privilege of watching over a thousand boys and girls enter high school at age 14 and graduate four years later as young men and women ready to attack the world. When they arrive they exhibit varying degrees of confidence, but without fail, all of them are petrified inside, much like John was in this book. Typically the ones with the biggest attitudes at the front door are the most insecure. And when they eventually leave, there is still fear and insecurity, but generally excitement at what lies ahead.
We as adults are conditioned to believe that we`re the ones that have it tough…that we`re the ones who have "real life" problems to deal with. But I have always believed that we, as adults, are far more equipped to deal with our pressures than teenagers are to deal with theirs. One thing I've learned is their mistakes are theirs to make and theirs alone. No matter how hard we try, as parents or coaches, we cant make their mistakes for them and they will rarely learn from ours. These mistakes are necessary for growth and teach them more than anything they will learn in a classroom or a field. They also provide John with so many of the memories that come rushing back during and after his reunion.
As this book takes you through the ups and downs of John`s high school years, athletics, particularly football, plays an important role in his identity, as it has been for almost all of the young men I have worked with. Sports provide a sense of belonging, an outlet and for many a safe haven. For others it also gives them the focus and motivation they so desperately need to make it through those four challenging years. There will also be failure, forgiveness and an opportunity to try again, lessons that will prove valuable to John upon graduation.
Farhan Lalji
TSN – West Coast Reporter

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