Champions of Character: A true story about grit... and a small-town basketball team
By Mary Fichtner
Photographs by Julie Taylor
Small towns provide community, life lessons, and opportunities for young people to grow their character. Sports is one of the biggest events and gathering places and it's all hands-on deck to make the teams the best they can be. In Burns, WY one boys' basketball team provided significance way beyond the court. Their story needed to be shared so the legacy of their grit, overcoming, and beating the odds could encourage others to have faith until the last buzzer rings. This true story helps us to reflect on our own life and see how the choices we make, during the hardest times of our lives, make or break what we become.
Champions of Character
This book is a different style than the other books by Mary Fichtner. Based on the true story of her third son's senior year of basketball in Burns, WY, it is inspirational, endearing, and has an overpowering theme of grit and hope. It includes real photos of the players on the Burn's Broncs 2015 team. The photos are by Julie Taylor, one of the other player's moms, and all the players' names are real in the story. Each page includes a quote by a famous underdog that represents the theme of the story.
This a young reader's story and is recommended for ages 9-17.
