Hamrick’s book opens with a prologue describing a tragedy—the death of a high school football player after he collapsed on the field during a game. Jason “Meat” Yancy was just 16, and his death hit his coaches, teammates, town, and family hard. The book moves from his death to an earlier time when Jerry “Slugger” Hamrick, the father of the author, arrived as coach for the Bremond Tigers, determined to revive the team’s program. Players including Yancy, Matthew Yanowski, Gary Nolan, Daniel Green, and Hunter Hamrick were key to his plan. The book is divided into two sections, covering the events leading up to Yancy’s death and then the aftermath, on the field and off. Coach Hamrick guided his team as they mourned the loss of their friend; their mantra became “Play like he would,” referring to Yancy. The story is touchingly recounted, and never too maudlin or sentimental; the author provides a realistic look at how young people go on with their lives after a traumatic loss, even when there are no easy answers. The team did eventually find renewed success, and the book’s epilogue takes place after player Gary Nolan’s death, which was eight years after Yancy’s. Hamrick then updates the stories of many of the key players, including his father. The author is smart enough to know that Bremond’s wins and losses are not the real subject of his book—what happens on the football field is secondary to what unfolds in the lives of the players, their friends, and their families, and his strongest passages focus on the ordinary details of life off the field. Hamrick deftly leverages his dual roles as both witness to the events described and as the son of the coach involved to provide a uniquely insightful perspective. The result is a moving tribute to the memory of Jason Yancy and the steady leadership of Slugger Hamrick.