Bad Shot
by Sylvia Taekema
"Bad Shot" touches on the emotional realities of performance anxiety, socioeconomic status, financial inequality and bullying. 12-year-old Cody loves basketball. When a new student, an affluent kid named Nick, arrives at school and starts giving Cody pointers, Cody lands a spot on the team. Despite Nick's help, Cody still feels anxious all the time. Cody's performance gets worse until his one big shot at a basket goes into his own team's net! Cody soon realizes that Nick's help isn't what he needs to succeed. To play better, he knows he has to become more self-confident and work on his basketball skills on his own terms.