Mick continues to narrate the story. This part of the book shows real determination for Mick, he had to work really hard this time around. With a brand new coach it seemed like it was time for some change. Mick decided that after the big disappointment in the last game, he wanted to get stronger. He started working out at school in the weight room and taking protein shakes. His rival, Matt Drager left the school after he was kicked off the team and this is where the conflict began. One of Drager's friends provoked Mick to say he was stronger than Drager and this caused Drager to come back to the school and embarrass Mick in the weight room. This resulted in an unfair fight, featuring Mick against Drager and one of his friends. Mick got a little beat up and was embarrassed for weeks. Mick uses his anger to help fuel his need to get stronger and thanks to his father he gets a chance to workout with a personal trainer at a gym outside of school. But will he get the results he is looking for?
Themes
Determination- Mick was more determined than ever to get stronger. He became addicted to working out and taking protein shakes. He truly is willing to do just about anything to achieve his dream.
Dissatisfaction- Mick is not satisfied with the results of his weight lifting at school especially after the incident Drager. It seemed like he was doing the opposite of progressing and this angered him.
Fixation- After the fight with Drager and his friend, Mick and everyone else at the school is "fixated" on that for weeks. Everyone approaches Mick and says they are on his side and how Drager is scum, but Mick just wants to forget about it all. However even Mick himself is unable to get over it, he constantly envisions Drager showing him up like how he did and this makes Mick unable to focus at the school weight room.
Underestimation- The whole team doubts the abilities of the new head coach who is also the janitor. At first some players even assumed that it was a joke and their old coach was not really leaving.
Hope- After the players realize that the new coach actually knows about football, some of them search him up and it turns out he is an amazing football coach with an fantastic record. It gives the team a new sense of ambition and aspiration. They now have high hopes for the season, especially since this coach does not have any rules against starting freshmen.
Important Quotes
- "They were telling me that it wasn't enough to have moves and speed. In the ed zone, in those final twenty yards, power was the name of the game. Not speed, not agility, not finesse. Raw power".
This quote is important because Mick realized that to become a better football player he needs to get stronger. If he wants to achieve his dream he must do whatever it takes. Also he wants to make sure that he doesn't make the same mistake he made in the last game.
- "My dad always said, you couldn't be the best until you know what the best looked like".
This quote is important because out of all the teammates, Mick was the only one wh wanted to go watch the championship game. He wanted to analyse the players so he can see how good he needs to be. This shows that he is getting smarter and even more determined to be the best he can be.
- "He actually thinks Rogers is going to win, what's he been smoking?".
- "Let a team hang around, and they'll end up beating you".
- "You know something? our new coach knows football".
These quotes are important because at this time, both the players on the team and the reader, realize that the new coach must really be good. He was so confident that the team that everyone was expecting to lose would make a comeback and he was right. He left the other players in shick with his prediction
- If you want to experience a championship, then you have to put in a champion's effort.
This quote was important because Mick did not enjoy weight lifting but when he heard his coach say this he got a wake up call. He knew that he would have to work harder than he ever had before in his life, if he wanted to get stronger. It was easy to see that Mick was going to change his ways and take his health and fitness seriously.
Personal
I really enjoyed this section for various reasons. I liked how Mick decided to get stronger and work really hard for it. A lot of good things were coming his way, from getting his license and the jeep to getting a part time job at his dads work. My favourite part of the chapter was when Mick and his friend went to the gym outside of the school and made jokes about people being gay at the gyms what they were going to. This was funny because Mick was nervous whenever the trainer touched him even though it is later revealed that his trainer has a girlfriend. My least favourite part of this section was when Drager and his friend ganged up on Mick in the weight room and nobody jumped in, in time to stop it. Because of this, I highly dislike Drager because since he was out of the school he had no business coming back just for a dispute. I completely understand why Mick decided to stop going to the schools weight room, there was to many distractions there. I also dislike Mick's new personal trainer because he offered Mick steroids and made them seem like they are no big deal. He referred to them as "Gym Candy" which is also the title of the book so I think it is foreshadowing the fact that Mick may end up taking steroids. This was a really good part of the book and it keeps on getting more and more interesting so I can't wait to keep on reading.
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