Full-Court Press (2) (Hoops)

Full-Court Press (2) (Hoops)

From 2015 WNBA MVP, 2016 Olympic gold medalist, and global ambassador to the Special Olympics Elena Delle Donne comes the second novel in a brand-new middle grade series with as much heart as there is game. When the basketball team is invited to have a service day at the school-affiliated after-school program, Elle falls in love with working with kids with special needs. So she begins to volunteer on two days a week when she doesn’t have practice and makes new friends there. Now, Elle finds herself juggling her new passion, basketball obligations, and schoolwork. But when her grades start to slip, she’s going to have to make a tough decision. Can Elle really do it all? Or will she find herself being pulled in too many directions? Elena Delle Donne has been a professional women’s basketball player since 2013, when she was selected by the Chicago Sky second overall in the WNBA draft. She was the 2015 WNBA MVP and won the gold medal with the USA’s women’s basketball team in the 2016 Olympics. She is the global ambassador for the Special Olympics and became the first national ambassador for the Lyme Research Alliance. Elena also plays host to De11e Donne Academy, a basketball camp that runs throughout the year, where she mentors and coaches girls ages seven to eighteen. She now plays for the Washington, DC, Mystics. Full-Court Press 1 Bad Dog, Good Dog! My dog, Zobe, had been mine for only twenty-four hours, and he was already part of our family. My parents had surprised me the day before by driving me and my older brother, Jim, to the animal shelter to adopt him. I’d seen Zobe at an adoption event at the mall and had fallen in love with him. He was a big Great Dane, sweet and goofy, and bigger than all of the other dogs. Kind of like me. I mean, of course I’m bigger than the other dogs. But at six feet tall, I’m also bigger than everyone else in the seventh grade. And I hadn’t been having an easy time of it. Zobe was bigger than the other dogs, and he was adorable. So it made me think that being awkwardly big wasn’t the worst thing ever. Zobe’s tail was wagging like crazy when we brought him home. He went from room to room, sniffing the floor. When he got to my sister Beth’s room, he bounded up to her wheelchair. It had worried me for a minute. Beth was born deaf and blind, and I thought Zobe might startle her. But her hand had reached out and touched his fur, and she smiled. “We let Beth in on the surprise,” Mom had explained. “She knew Zobe was coming.” After that, Zobe had run upstairs. Mom and Dad had said that Zobe could sleep in my room, so I scrambled after him with the dog bed we’d just bought at the pet supply shop. But Zobe hadn’t been interested in the dog bed. He’d jumped into mine, and that’s where he’d stayed all night. I’d woken up pretty tired this morning, and it wasn’t just because it’s hard for a Great Dane and a six-foot-tall human to share a twin-size bed. I’d also stayed up late researching Great Danes, so I could be a good owner for Zobe. One of the things I’d learned was that Great Danes need thirty to sixty minutes of exercise a day, so I’d put Zobe on his leash and headed to Greenmont Park with him right after school. My friend Blake came with me, and I started telling him all the Great Dane facts I’d learned. “So, Zobe’s coloring is called blue,” I was saying, as we made our way along the circular walking path. “Blue?” Blake repeated. “He looks kind of gray.” “Great Danes can be different shades of gray, but they’re called blue,” I explained. “Dogs with shiny gray fur are called steel blue. I think Zobe is more of a slate blue. What do you think?” Blake nodded. “That makes sense,” he said. “And he’s supposed to eat three or four small meals a day, instead of one big one,” I went on, “or he could get sick.” Blake looked Zobe up and down. “I bet he needs a lot of food.” “He does,” I said. “I can feed him in the morning and at night, and Mom says she’ll feed him during the day.” A woman came walking toward us with a tiny white Chihuahua on a pink leash. I made sure I had both hands on Zobe’s leash. “The animal shelter said that Zobe is good with other dogs, but I still need to be careful,” I explained to Blake. “Definitely,” he agreed. “Zobe could eat that dog up for a midnight snack!” When we were about three feet away from the Chihuahua, the little dog started to yap loudly. Zobe’s tail started to wag. He lurched ahead of me, pulling me with him. Then he stopped short in front of the Chihuahua and started sniffing her. The little dog quieted down. “That’s a beautiful dog you’ve got there,” the woman said, smiling at us. “Thanks,” I replied. “His name is Zobe.” She gave a little tug on the Chihuahua’s leash. “Come on, Tink, let’s say good-bye to Zobe.” Tink’s tail was wagging too as they headed away, and I gave Zobe a pat. “Good boy, Zobe,” I said. We were nearing the fenced-in dog park, where dog owners could let their pets o