Gus Blackburn daydreams of being a hero wide receiver on his school's football team, but he is not naturally athletic or fast, so he spends most of his time on the bench--until his father points out that most dreams actually take hard work before they can come true.

When the coach of his middle school summer soccer team retires Andre, his friend Cullen, and their teammates are horrified, and when their new coach implements some highly unusual training methods Cullen is so frustrated that he quits the team--but Andre sticks with it, hoping that there is method in the madness that will lead to a championship.