Streetball Is Life : Lessons Earned on the Asphalt

“[Streetball Is Life] is filled with cinematic details and colorful characters, which bring the streetball subculture to life.”—School Library Journal

From award-winning YA author Paul Volponi comes the true story of his unforgettable summer spent proving himself as a New York City streetballer, only to discover that he had gained skills that would enrich his life off the court, as well.

During the sweltering summer of seventeen-year-old Paul Volponi’s life, he had only one goal—he wanted, no, needed to become a legitimate and respected New York City street basketball player. So he entered through the gates of the Proving Ground, the roughest streetball yard in the city. It was where teens and adults contested pickup games with a ferocity seemingly greater than that of the NBA Finals.

Streetball Is Life is the story of Paul’s summer-long initiation at the Proving Ground. It is a testament of a teenager who wanted more than anything else to earn his stripes in streetball society. Only what he didn’t understand at the time was that this experience would deliver to him a set of skills that would enhance his life far beyond the boundaries of a basketball court.