The Walk On
A John Feinstein Novel
The New Kid
The main character in the walk on is 16 year old Alex Myers, a gifted quarterback with an amazing arm. He moves into a new town at the beginning of the school year, and instantly sets out to prove himself. However, he must deal with Matthew Gordon Jr, his competition for the starting QB spot, and Gordon's dad, the coach of the football team.
Supporting Characters
Christine Whitford
A very clever school reporter, Christine Whitford becomes one of Alex's best friends, and Christine will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind a story.
Matthew Gordon Jr
The darling of Chester Heights High School, Matt is the star of his dad's football team, and a very nice and hardworking guy. Matt serves as an interesting counterbalance to his father, the headstrong coach.
Matthew Gordon Sr
The coach of the football team, Coach Gordon looks out for 2 things, himself and his son. He coaches the football team with his heart and soul, and he develops a hatred for Alex, as he thinks that Alex will take away the starting QB position from his son.
Pivotal Event: Knocked Down
In the first game of the season, Alex's team outclasses their opponent in every way, and Alex is put into the game at the end to execute a "kneel down" to end the game. A "kneel down" is used to run down the clock at the end of a game, and is universally seen as a victory formation. However, an opposing player runs through this victory formation to knock down Alex. It is later revealed that the player was mad at Alex's coach for running up the score. This event is Alex's first experience as a Chester Heights football player, and he starts to see the major flaws of his coach, which are that he favors his son too much, and only cares about getting him exposure so Matthew Gordon Jr can sign at a good college.
Steriods
Steroids play a huge role in this book as when Alex takes his steroid test, it shows that Alex took steroids even though he has never taken steroids in his life. This leads Alex and Christine Whitford to believe that someone has edited Alex's steroid test. In the end, Matthew Gordon Jr admits to taking the steroids. He said that he felt pressured to do better because Alex was such a good quarterback, so he took steroids to give him an edge. However, he forgot about the drug testing, and after he tested, he confessed to his father (the coach) that he took steroids. The coach then edited the steroid test so that Alex was framed, which is something that Matt never wanted to happen. Matt resigns the team and Alex is named starting QB as the coach resigns.