The Bulldog Compact (The Masterson Famiy Series Book 1)

There seem to be four inevitable things about Madison, South Dakota: The winters are cold, the summers are hot, the wind never ceases, and the Bulldogs always field a losing basketball team. Lance Masterson, who is known to his peers by the nickname of Bambi, can't do anything about the weather, but he decides he can do something about the basketball program. Though only an eighth grader, he drafts a document dubbed The Bulldog Compact in which the signers pledge to give do everything they can to win the state basketball championship. The mission they chose to accept is to train their bodies, minds, and spirits to make a heroic attempt at conquering the summit of South Dakota basketball. Bambi and his friends come of age as they find it is easier to sign on the dotted line than to pour out the blood, sweat, and tears needed to reach their goal. They discover that not only do they have to overcome the bigger schools of the class A ranks but also have to battle themselves and the naysayers of their own community in order to hang onto their dream. Lance Masterson and his eighth grade teammates are sick of their hometown team losing all of the time. They decide to do something about it. They set a goal of winning the state championship when they get to high school. There's one little problem. The Bulldogs have never qualified for the state tournament before. The reader grows up with the boys as they train and prepare for the special time when they will represent their hometown in maroon and white and get an opportunity to prove that they are not losers. Eighth grader Lance (Bambi) Masterson writes the Bulldog Compact in hopes of improving Madison High School's basketball program; in doing this the team has to overcome bigger schools in the conference and also battle themselves in order to hang onto their dream