Lessons of the Game: The Untold Story of High School Football

Payoffs (under the table cash), grade tampering , eligibility scandals, illegal recruitment tactics, lies, deception and immorality are all a continuous part of this real life story.

It shows the twisted nature of coaches, administrators, and family, hell-bent on winning while ambivalent to the academic and personal development of the student athlete.

Derek Sparks shows us what it takes to keep a dream alive, in this story of his transfer to four different high schools in four different years. He faces the challenges of loneliness, temptation, ostracism, while living in a gang-land enviroment. He also fights a desperate battle to prove his eligibility, while protecting his scholarship offers, and acheive qualifying SAT scores even after an insidious vow from his coaches: "YOU'LL NEVER PLAY ORGANIZED FOOTBALL AGAIN!"

Derek's story delivers a message to today's students seeking a future in athletics, or to the average student seeking a future in life. It tells of the wisdom and maturity a 21st century student must have to steer their way through a maze of manipulators and opportunists.

Through his mistakes and his successes, Derek conveys his testimony with a vision of a better way. END