Summer Ball

One important theme in Summer Ball is competition. For Danny, everything becomes a competition, not just what happens on the court. Whether he practices for a game or plans and strategizes, Danny means business. He looks forward to the match up against Lamar, seeing the game as a way to settle their differences fairly.

One classic matchup in the book is Danny facing Lamar; Danny represents the right way to play basketball and the right attitude on the court, whereas Lamar stands for selfishness and bad behavior. When Lamar attacks Zach, the readers see a clear line drawn between the bully and the hero: Danny stands up to Lamar, even though “[Danny] had no chance against this guy” (168). Danny is physically shorter, but the towering Lamar has a small mind. Rasheed also draws a line between himself and Lamar; this is significant because Lamar expects Rasheed to take his side, as both boys come from the same neighborhood. When faced with a choice, Rasheed decides to stand with Danny, who personifies integrity.

Another matchup happens between Danny and Rasheed. Until both boys put aside their differences, those differences keep them apart. First, Danny defeats Rasheed in competition in the travel championship; then, Rasheed outperforms Danny at camp. Rasheed holds a grudge until he realizes Danny is a good guy. Instead of staying enemies, Danny and Rasheed choose to compete together. As Ali Walker tells Danny, “‘one of the secrets to life is picking your fights’” (208). In Summer Ball, even when basketball futures hang in the balance, the right choice can be to put aside competition and work together. For their team, the Celtics, competing egos leads to a losing record. Competing together, as a unit, wins games.

Some characters allow the competitive nature of the game to define them negatively. Coach Powers, for example, holds onto old grudges. He elects to single Danny out because he feels he lost out on coaching Danny’s father during college. From the first day, Coach Powers tells the boys how important it is for him to be the championship-winning coach at Right Way. He even concedes when Rasheed threatens to quit, knowing he stands no chance of winning without Rasheed. At one point, Danny realizes, “‘if we win, which means I win, that means that Coach Powers wins, too’” (217). Danny wants Coach Powers to lose a little, when it comes to life’s competition, so that he might understand a bit about what he did wrong.

Danny competes with himself. Although many people in the country see Danny as a hero, Danny dreads competing against some of the bigger players. When Nick tells the boys it’s time for them to compete at the next level, already “Danny found himself wondering if he was going to run into anybody this summer who didn’t want him to take things to the next level” (31). As he walks around the camp, Danny notices other players and gets anxious “[b]ecause the bigger ones were bigger than Ty, bigger than Tarik. They looked like men” (39). Danny’s negativity reveals itself often in the first part of the novel. Although Danny externalizes his competition—Coach Powers wants him to fail, Ollie blocks his shot—Danny allows his own fear to get the better of him, disallowing for him to be competitive.Until Danny talks to Tess, it seems like he will allow his negativity to get the better of him. Tess, however, reminds him that his success at Right Way is “‘for the championship of you, big guy,’” (139), meaning Danny only has to compete with himself to truly win.

Danny also competes with his father, and what his father accomplished during his basketball career, primarily because his father always brings up his achievements to Danny. In response to Danny’s desire to be taller, Richie reminds Danny that Josh Cameron, who stands just over six feet, never let his size hold him back. Since Danny’s father played professional ball, Danny feels he expects Danny to play professionally. The pressure of following in his father’s footsteps causes problems for Danny competitively. At one point, Danny wonders how he can trust his father’s praise. Danny adores his father, quotes him, follows his advice, but Danny, though similar, is a different person. Often, his father’s expectations cause Danny to falter, such as when he opts to fake an injury rather than admit he cannot make it at camp. Danny almost takes himself out of the competition because the pressure is too much.