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From the playground to the premier league, Leo K. Doyle knows keep calm and play ball...even when faced with his biggest challenge yet: the London Dragons. Riding high after their performance in the Tournament of Champions, Leo and his teammates forgot that their league ranking is bad. Like, really bad, and they don't have much time before they compete with the feared London Dragons. When a group of new players join the Knights, bad turns to worse as the team struggles to find its rhythm and a new player threatens Leo's central midfielder position.But when Leo has a setback that might ruin his season, not to mention his soccer career, team competition and league rankings are the least of Leo's worries. Can Leo and his team overcome their soccer struggles and fight for what matters most?For premier fans and soccer enthusiasts, T.Z. Layton's inspiring fourth book in The Academy series is perfect for middle grade readers and sports fans ages 7-13.Keep score with the other books in The Aca

From the playground to the premier league, Leo K. Doyle has dodged and dribbled his way to soccer stardom...but is he prepared to represent his country at the Cup of Nations? Leo has big, dragon slaying, soccer pro sensation level dreams. But the Cup of Nations? As a team USA player? The biggest, scariest dream of all, even for a Youth Premier League star. But Leo is up for the challenge......or so he thinks. Terrible team chemistry, competition stress, and only a few weeks to prepare seem to spell disaster for Leo and his so called "teammates." It doesn't help that the United States is this year's host nation, and the pressure is on to make a good showing. Will Leo and his teammates flame out, or rally themselves to scorch the competition?For premier fans and soccer enthusiasts, T.Z. Layton's sensational fifth book in The Academy series is perfect for middle grade readers and sports fans ages 7-13.Keep score with the other books in The Academy series: The AcademyThe Academy II: The Jo

An all-new, action-packed novel from New York Times bestselling author T.Z. Layton! Cat Griffin cares about three things: her mom, her friends, and volleyball. But when tragedy strikes, Cat's life is turned upside down in the middle of her sophomore year. She is uprooted from her quiet Kentucky town and moves across the country to live with her estranged father in Silver Beach, California. Cat suspected the transition would be rough. But the reality is much worse.California might as well be a foreign country, and from day one, Cat is bullied by a group of girls on the varsity volleyball team, the most popular sport at Silver Beach High. Life at "home" isn't much better. Her dad can barely make a sandwich and has no idea how to raise a daughter. With nowhere to turn, and all her friends a thousand miles away, Cat has never felt so lost. Her only hope is something she discovers about her father: He used to play beach volleyball and agrees to train her for the all-important school volleyb

From the playground to the premier league, Leo K. Doyle is a soccer star in the UK...but a soccer wannabe in the highly competitive, international Tournament of Champions Last season, Leo and his teammates saved the Lewisham Knights...only to learn that their team is in jeopardy again thanks to a division reshuffle. And placing in their league is no longer enough to save the Knights or Leo's Olympic-sized soccer dreams.But all might not be lost. The team owner has entered the U14s in the Tournament of Champions, an ultra competitive, youth summer league for the top teams in the world. And the Knights aren't just playing for a trophy: a loophole assures the winner of the tournament will stay in the youth Premier League.As Leo juggles tourney pressure, a new teammate with some serious attitude problems, and someone on the inside trying to oust the U14s from the competition, will the young soccer star find a way to pull his team together and have a fighting chance at winning?For premier f

Fresh off his success with the junior national soccer team, Leo K. Doyle is back in England and playing for the U16s, where he'll be a newbie all over again.Will Leo get any playing time? Can he work his way into a starting lineup filled with older, bigger, and more experienced players?Unfortunately, the move to a new division might be the easy part. There's a new contender in the Youth Prem--the Southwark F.C. Scorpions--who have a roster full of superstars that play to win at any cost. They're the dirtiest, roughest team Leo has ever faced, led by an old enemy who cheats at every turn. Starting high school. Meeting a pretty girl. An intense race for the title. Dealing with a tragedy that threatens to ruin the whole season.Whew.Playing at the highest level is never easy, but this might be Leo's toughest season yet. Can he and his friends overcome their challenges and make another run at the title?The inspiring, action-packed sixth book in The Academy series perfect for young readers 7

12 歲的 Leo K. Doyle 在小鎮長大，從沒看過大海，也沒搭過飛機，但他始終相信，足球能帶自己走得更遠。當職業球探邀請他前往英國，參加 London Dragons 青訓學院的選拔，Leo 第一次離開熟悉的家鄉，迎接真正的考驗。兩百名來自各地的優秀少年球員，要競爭僅僅十一個名額，光有球技遠遠不夠。陌生的國家、嚴格的訓練、難相處的室友與不斷找麻煩的隊友，都讓這趟足球之旅比想像中艱難。本書是 T.Z. Layton 創作的 The Academy Series 首集，以足球競技結合成長故事，適合喜歡運動題材的中階小說讀者。● 榮登 New York Times、Publishers Weekly 與 New England Indie 暢銷榜，並獲 Junior Library Guild 秋季選書● 從兩百名少年球員中競爭十一個青訓名額，完整呈現選拔、訓練與球場競爭● 足球冒險結合離家成長、友情與自我挑戰，推薦給 7–13 歲足球迷與中階小說讀者New York Times BestsellerBest Kids Books (Barnes & Nobles)Junior Library Guild Fall SelectionMorning Calm Award (Korea Librarians Association)"Most Anticipated Fall Books for Young Readers" (Kirkus)50 Books Kids Love Most (The Week Junior Magazine)New England Indie Bestsellers List"The Best New Books for Kids Published in 2025" (The Strategist)Best Books of the Year (Indigo)Publisher's Weekly BestsellerFrom the playground to the premier league, Leo K. Doyle brings his soccer 'A' game everywhere he goes...even abroad!Born and raised in a small town, 12-year-

Leo goes for glory with his junior national team!Leo K. Doyle has become a star in the Youth Premier League and one of the brightest young players in the world. But he faces his toughest challenge yet when he joins his junior national team and tries to lead an underdog squad to victory in the greatest tournament of all for his age group: the U15 Cup of Nations.Unlike the Lewisham Knights, Leo's national team doesn't have a roster full of Premier League talent. Plus, the team has terrible chemistry and very little time to improve.The stakes have never been higher. The United States is the host nation, and the pressure is on to make a good showing. Will Leo and his teammates flame out in the group stage and disappoint their country? Or can Leo become a true leader and bring his team together?

Leo tries to lead his team to glory in some of the most exciting, high-stakes soccer in the world.Last season, Leo and his teammates saved the Lewisham Knights by avoiding a last-place finish in the U14 Premier League. Their future looks bright-until they learn the adult Knights have dropped down to the second division, again putting the future of the U14s in jeopardy. All might not be lost. The team owner has entered the U14s in the Tournament of Champions, which takes place over the summer. Leo and his teammates will pack their bags and travel across Europe to play against some of the top youth teams in the world. But the tournament isn't just for pride and a trophy. Something else is at stake: a loophole that allows the winner of the tournament to stay in the youth Premier League. The competition will be fiercer than ever. No one is giving the Knights a chance to win. As if the tourney wasn't enough to deal with, someone is trying to sabotage the team, and the Knights have a new sta

Leo and his teammates are riding high after their performance in the Tournament of Champions. But last season, they still finished near the bottom of the table in the U14 Premier League. If they want to compete with the London Dragons, they have a big challenge ahead of them.Samantha is back to coach the Knights, but some of Leo's friends have moved on to the U16s or transferred to other clubs. There's a whole new group of players, including Goran, a tough central midfielder who is determined to take Leo's position. To make matters worse, Leo has a setback that might ruin his season-or even his future career.The Youth Premier League is the best in the world, and Leo and his teammates will be tested like never before. Can they handle the pressure, overcome a whole new set of obstacles, and rise to the challenge of a TITLE FIGHT?

From the Playground to the Premier LeagueBorn and raised in a small town, twelve-year-old Leo K. Doyle has never seen the ocean or stepped foot on a plane. But Leo is a star soccer player with big dreams in life.Rock-star, Olympic gold, dragon-slaying dreams.While Leo longs to make the pros one day, he has no idea how to achieve this goal-until a professional scout pays a chance visit to one of Leo's games and extends an invitation to try out for the London Dragons youth squad, known as The Academy.Leo is stunned. The London Dragons isn't just any old soccer team. It's a world-famous English Premier League team.Soon Leo is off to a whole new country, embarking on the greatest adventure of his life. The downside? Only eleven players can make the team.Eleven out of two hundred of the very best twelve-year-old players on the planet.Along with the grueling competition, Leo must also face a bully intent on torpedoing his summer, a roomie who doesn't know how to have fun, a terrifying camp d