DADDY, IT'S ONLY A GAME is a novel based on real events. It tells the story of a young Long Island student-athlete, Jennifer, who is plagued with overzealous parents, injury, and her own coming of age. In the process of Jennifer "finding herself" she is successful in the end at not only making the correct career decisions, but also enlightening her parents with regard to the meaning of school, sports, and life in general. Containing more narrative than dialogue, this work gives multiple examples of violence in the world of sports and other abuses of a similar nature, ranging from the Peewees to professional, and olympic athletes in the United States and worldwide, as reported by the media during the last thirty years.

Although this work contains nothing objectionable for young readers, it is intended as a type of primmer for all adults in their roles as parents, teachers, coaches, school administrators, and all promoters of athletics during their rearing, supporting, and nurturing of children in their charge.

The localized setting of this work and the descriptions of more specific communities may evoke emotion and possible objection to the author's chastising of the population at large regarding its apparent (misguided) order of priorities in life. The fact is, that economic pressures, egos, and the feeling of having to "keep up with the Joneses" all unwittingly result in a loss of focus by parents, other adults, and unfortunately also the children, on the values that are most important in the formation of a well-rounded person. These forces must be kept in a proper and delicate balance, in order to secure a safer and more stable society in the future for all, especially our children.