Basketball-crazy Jake Burnett is thrilled to be leaving home to attend prestigious Centerville Prep. It's an opportunity to pursue his hoop dreams at the highest level. But things aren't quite as advertised at his new school, and Jake soon finds himself struggling both on and off the court. At first, Jake is determined to play harder and ignore the warning signs. Until he discovers that his new head coach is a scam artist, putting kids at risk for his own gain. Now Jake has a difficult choice to make—advance his basketball career or do the right thing.

Kyle is a rising star on the school's basketball team, but when he connects with an old friend and auditions for the school play, he finds opposition both on and off the court.

High school linebacker Reggie Scott must deal with the psychological and legal consequences when he is involved in a play that paralyzes a player on the opposing team.

Fresh from a thrilling basketball season playing for the varsity team, Matt is looking forward to a new challenge: baseball. The South Side team seems to be strong this year—if only Matt can control his fear of being hit by an errant pitch. But when Matt's friend, Jake, the team's star, falls in with the wrong crowd, the entire season—not to mention their long-standing friendship—seems to be on the line.

Trying to land a spot on the South Side Middle School football team isn't the biggest challenge Matt Hill faces in the third installment of this popular series. Besides catching passes and dodging defenders, Matt also has to deal with the return of his estranged father following a ten-year absence. But while Matt comes to grips with forgiving his father and gets used to having him around, he must also help a teammate deal with the damage inflicted by his own overbearing and sometimes violent dad.Full of the exciting sports action that marked the first two volumes of the South Side Sports series, First and Ten is a tale of choices made and lessons learned, both on and off the field.