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Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player
 
 
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Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player [Hardcover]

Mark St. Amant (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 17, 2006
Nearing 40, standing five feet eight, weighing in at 160 pounds, Mark St. Amant was most definitely not a football player. He had never played a single down of real football in his life and even in the sports he did play, his greatest skill seemed to be choking when the game was on the line. So why on earth did he suddenly become, of all things, a semi-pro football kicker?

Fantasy football writer and self-described poster child for suburban-raised white boy Mark St. Amant tells the unlikely story of how he ditched his television and laptop to join an inner-city football squad the mostly African-American Boston Panthers, one of more than 600 semi-pro teams around the country. With warmth, insight, and his trademark offbeat, self-deprecating humor, Mark recounts the strides he made on and off the field and reveals the powerful bonds that developed among teammates young and not-so-young, struggling and successful, black, white, and Hispanic, all clinging tightly to their dreams and playing the game they love.

From couch potato to field goal kicker, Mark lived out a real-life football fantasy, discovering true teamwork, staring his lifelong fear of athletic failure in the face, witnessing testosterone-fueled hilarity both on and off the field, and achieving gridiron glory in ways he d never imagined.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At age 37, St. Amant (Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie) joined a football team—the Boston Panthers of the EFL, a semipro league based in southern New England—and narrates that first season with the team. It was a stiff test for a man who hadn't engaged in a minute of serious athletics since college; besides being old and out of shape, Amant played an outcast position, kicker, and was a ghost-white face on a black team drawn from the toughest Boston neighborhoods. Over the Panthers season, Amant tries to gain the respect of his teammates and comes face-to-face with his lifelong fear of choking during the big game. In contrast to the glamour of the NFL, semipro football takes place in obscurity on stony fields, the bleachers empty and the uniforms mismatched. The players are an equally heterogeneous lot, too small or too slow to have had a shot at the pros or kept out by injuries, bad decisions or psychological issues. At times, Amant relies too much on humor, but he gives good insight into the makeup of his fellow athletes as well as into his own motivations. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* As a follow-up to his entertaining examination of fantasy football, Committed (2004), St. Amant thought he would write a book about semipro football: has-beens, wannabes, never-weres, and other oddballs banging each other around on sandlot fields. His first interview was with the coaching staff of the Panthers, based in the predominantly black Roxbury neighborhood of his hometown Boston. Suddenly, St. Amant was writing a different book. His high-school and college soccer experience was enough to land him a job as the Panthers' kicker. In the tradition of George Plimpton's Paper Lion (1967), St. Amant shares the experience of his first year on the Panthers. He's worried about both fitting in and failing on the field, but soon he's caught up in the team dynamic, which is very supportive of a newcomer, any newcomer, even a middle-aged white guy who lives in upscale Beacon Hill. He has some success and the team has some, too, but this isn't a Hollywood story in which the hero kicks the winning field goal to claim the league championship. St. Amant's focus is on his teammates, why they play, and how being a part of something outside their daily struggles enhances their lives. Portions are laugh-out-loud funny, but, at other times, reading through misty eyes will be a challenge. St. Amant documents the timeless magic of team sports, and his words will take former athletes back to the best moments of their sporting lives. A good bet to be one of the year's best sports books. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner (October 17, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743286758
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743286756
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #635,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born outside of Chicago. Grew up outside of Boston. Went to college in AMish country Pennsylvania (Franklin & Marshall). Moved back to Boston. Have lived here ever since (minus a 6-month stint in Italy, 2001).

 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story and laugh out loud funny, November 22, 2006
This review is from: Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player (Hardcover)
"Just Kick It" is an excellent follow-up to Mark St. Amant's first book "Committed". I found myself laughing out loud on the train ride home from work. But it is more than just a funny story of an ex-soccer player becoming a place kicker for a semi-pro football team. Mark St. Amant does a wonderful job bringing the reader close to his teammates, each taking a different path to semi-pro football. In describing their stories, I felt closer to the team. "Just Kick It" is about much more than just a football season. And the members of the Boston Panthers are much more than just football players. It is about decisions, priorities, and looking at life from the perspective of others. Keep writing mark, you have a unique talent.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Read in Years, November 1, 2006
This review is from: Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player (Hardcover)
This is the best book I've read in years. I'm going to give it as a gift to many luck people this holiday. I can't wait to see the movie.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Dead Center, November 8, 2006
This review is from: Just Kick It: Tales of an Underdog, Over-Age, Out-of-Place Semi-Pro Football Player (Hardcover)
This is a pretty cool book for a couple of reasons. First and foremost for me, it's real. St. Amant's account of becoming a semi-pro field goal kicker with zero experience is genuine, honest, self-effacing and downright funny. You find yourself rooting for him like an over-aged Rudy. The cast of characters (real guys) is another reason why this book rocks. A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't make up guys like these--Insano, Pee Wee, The Twins. In fact "Pee Wee", a defensive end who spent nine years in the slammer is one of the most inspirational guys in the book. The other really interesting aspect of the book reflected in the "Out of Place" part of the title is the fact that Mark St.Amant is a white, middle class guy from Connecticut who plays on an entirely black and hispanic team. This book is like Cool Runnings (Jamaican Bobsled Team) meets Bad News Bears meets Friday Night Lights. If you ever wanted to know what it's like to find yourself out of your league and over your head, St. Amant nails it. Straight through the uprights.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
postgame prayer, home playoff game, new kicker, left hash mark, kickoff team, football pants, field goal range, big twins, coverage team, late hit, real football
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Coach Pitt, Pee Wee, Super Bowl, English High, Coach O'Neal, Franklin Park, Red Sox, Captain Insano, Beacon Hill, New England, Pop Warner, Big Paul, Drinking Fountain, New York, Irish Blizzard, Boston Panthers, North Carolina, Sugar Bear, Jamaica Plain, Northeastern University, Randolph Oilers, Rhode Island, South End, Coach Cliff, Coach Jones
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