The Ultimate Goal (Good Sports League #1) - (The Good Sports League) by Tommy Greenwald

About the Book

Ten-year-old Ben Cutler loves soccer, and he like to have fun while playing too, but when he joins a travel team that takes winning very seriously, he starts to wonder if there is more to the game than just getting a W.

Book Synopsis

Put on your cleats, grab your jersey, and join the Good Sports League! This funny chapter book series about sports and sportsmanship is from acclaimed author Tommy Greenwald.

Ben Cutler loves everything about soccer! He's got a great team, and they have the best pregame chants and half-time jokes. He and his best friend, Jay-Jay, even invent dances for when they score a goal!

And Ben is good at soccer. Like REALLY good. Too good for a casual rec team. Soon he's recruited for a travel team.

His new team plays amazingly well, but they take soccer super seriously. No pregame chants, no juice-box breaks, and the most important rule of all: NO DANCING. Even though his new team is winning all the time, Ben is left to wonder, Is winning all that matters in the end?

Comic panels and spot illustrations bring the sports action to life in a format perfect for reluctant readers.

Review Quotes

Freddy states the moral up front--sports should be enjoyable--and this fast-paced, heartfelt story bears out the message. Good-hearted sporty fun.
--Kirkus

About the Author

Tommy Greenwald is the author of Game Changer, Rivals, and Dinged. Game Changer is on 19 state lists, a YALSA Top Ten pick, and a Junior Library Guild Premier selection. Rivals was also a Junior Library Guild selection, and a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Greenwald is also the author of the Crimebiters! series and the Charlie Joe Jackson series, among many other books for children. Day job-wise, Greenwald is the cofounder of Spotco Advertising, a theatrical and entertainment advertising agency in New York City, and the lyricist and co-bookwriter (with Andrew Lippa) of John & Jen, an off-Broadway musical that has been produced around the country and internationally.
Lesley Vamos earned a bachelor of digital media with high distinction from the University of New South Wales Art and Design, along with an honorary award in hand-drawn animation despite continuing to hold her pencil incorrectly. Vamos has been running her illustration and design business for over a decade and is passionate about telling stories that put good into the world. She is the illustrator of If Dinosaurs Had Hair, Disgusting Justin, and the Good Sports League series. She lives in Sydney with her partner, two children, and a small floofer named Penny.