Born in Sin by Evelyn Coleman
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, c2001
Despite serious obstacles and setbacks, fourteen-year-old Keisha pursues her dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer and medical doctor.
YT FICTION COL

The Brave by Robert Lipsyte
HarperKeypoint, 1993
Having left the Indian reservation for the streets of New York, seventeen-year-old boxer Sonny Bear tries to harness his inner rage by training with Alfred Brooks, who has left the sport to become a policeman.
PB YA FICTION LIP

Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott
Pantheon Books, c1997
Rosie, obsessed with tournament tennis, finds that her athletic gifts, initially a source of triumph, now place her in peril, as a shadowy man who stalks her from the bleachers seems to be developing an obsession of his own.
FICTION LAM

Danger Zone by David Klass
Scholastic, c1996
When he joins a predominantly African American "Teen Dream Team" that will be representing the United States in an international basketball tournament in Rome, Jimmy Doyle makes some unexpected discoveries about prejudice, racism, and politics.
YA FICTION KLA

Farm Team by Will Weaver
HarperCollins, c1995
With his father in jail and his mother working full-time, fourteen-year-old Billy Baggs finds himself in charge of running the family farm in northern Minnesota and having to give up the thing he loves most--baseball.
YT FICTION WEA

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak
Arthur A. Levine Books, c2001
Partly because of their family's poor finances and partly to prove themselves, brothers Ruben and Cameron take jobs as fighters and find themselves reacting very differently in the boxing ring.
YA FICTION ZUS

Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker
Joy Street Books, c1993
Seth faces a strain on his friendship with Jimmy, who is both a baseball champion and something of an irresponsible fool, when Jimmy is kicked off the team.
YA FICTION DEU

Ironman by Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books, c1995
While training for a triathlon, seventeen-year-old Bo attends an anger management group at school which leads him to examine his relationship with his father.
YA FICTION CRU

Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry
Atlantic Monthly Press, c1991
Only the toughest and the most able come to compete in this annual torturous test of endurance, skill, and courage. Now, suddenly and inexplicably, the top Iditarod contestants are dying one by one in bizarre and gruesome ways.
MYSTERY HEN

Necessary Roughness by Marie G. Lee
HarperCollins, c1996
Sixteen-year-old Korean American Chan moves from Los Angeles to a small town in Minnesota, where he must cope not only with racism on the football team but also with the tensions in his relationship with his strict father.
YT FICTION LEE

Playing without the Ball by Rich Wallace
Alfred A. Knopf, c2000
Feeling abandoned by his parents, who have gone their separate ways and left him behind in a small Pennsylvania town, seventeen-year-old Jay finds hope for the future in a church-sponsored basketball team and a female friend.
YA FICTION WAL

Plunking Reggie Jackson by James W. Bennett
Simon & Schuster Books c2001
High school baseball star Coley Burke tries to deal with an ankle injury, back spasms, a pregnant girlfriend, academic failure, pressure from his father, and the legacy of his dead older brother.
YA FICTION BEN

Skullcrack by Ben Bo
Lerner Sports, 2000
Jonah, a troubled boy who escapes from his dreary life with an alcoholic father by surfing on the coast of Ireland, discovers that he has a twin sister with whom he has an unusual mental link.
YA FICTION BO

Slam! by Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic Press, c1996
Seventeen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.
YA FICTION MYE

Slot Machine by Chris Lynch
HarperCollins Publishers, c1995
When overweight thirteen-year-old Elvin Bishop is sent to camp at St. Paul's Seminary Retreat Center, he and his two best friends are forced to try out various sports in order to find out where they belong.
YT FICTION LYN

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books, c1993
The daily class discussions about the nature of human-kind, the existence of God, abortion, organized religion, suicide and other contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high-school senior's attempt to answer a friend's dramatic cry for help.
YA FICTION CRU

Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Harcourt Brace, c1997
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.
YT FICTION BLO

There's a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c1991
Thirteen-year-old Maisie joins her school's formerly all-male wrestling team and tries to last through the season, despite opposition from other students, her best friend, and her own teammates.
YT FICTION SPI

Three Clams and an Oyster by Randy Powell
Farrar Straus Giroux, c2002
During their humorous search to find a fourth player for their flag football team, three high school juniors are forced to examine their long friendship, their individual flaws, and their inability to try new experiences.
YA FICTION POW

Winners and Losers by Stephen Hoffius
Aladdin Paperbacks, 1996
When a heart condition threatens to curtail his friend Daryl's track career, Curt finds himself taking Daryl's place as lead contender for the conference championship and as the new obsession of Daryl's driven father.
PB YT FICTION HOFF

Wrestling Sturbridge by Rich Wallace
Alfred A. Knopf, 1997
Stuck in a small town where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to sit on the bench while his best friend becomes state champion, Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip by without challenging his friend and the future.
YA FICTION WAL