Dan Freedman
Visiting Bow
Friday 26th
November
Biography
• Dan Freedman’s football career began when his
dad took him to his first match when he was four.
He was immediately bitten by the bug.
• Having decided he wanted to become a sports
journalist when he was 13, he built up CV of
considerable work experience while he was still
at school and University.
• In 2000, having graduated with a degree in
English Literature from the University of Bristol,
he landed a job at The Football Association,
where he worked for the next seven years. As
The FA’s Editor, he travelled all over the world
covering the England Football Team over the
course of two World Cup campaigns.
• In 2007, his debut football novel The Kick Off was
published. It is the start of a series, following lead
character Jamie Johnson from his school team
through to his dreams of becoming a professional
player. It has been endorsed by Steven Gerrard
• The sequel, Shoot to Win, endorsed by Gary
Lineker, was published in May 2008.
• Golden Goal was endorsed by Frank Lampard and
published in May 2009.
• Born to Play soon followed and was written
specifically for World Book Day. It is a prequel and
goes back in time to when Jamie was 11.
• Man of the Match was published for the World Cup
last year and endorsed by Ryan Giggs.
The start of Jamie
Johnson's football career.
He's got so much to prove,
The pressure's on, but has
Jamie got what it takes?
Jamie's got
everything to play
for – scouts from
top clubs are coming
to watch him play!
This is his big chance
and he can't wait to
show off his latest
move but the new
coach is bearing a
grudge...Has Jamie
missed his chance?
There's a massive
buzz around Jamie
Johnson. His dreams
of becoming a
professional footballer
seem to be coming
true. But, just when he
seems close to living
the dream, a shocking
event turns his world
upside down...
Jamie Johnson is fast
becoming the most popular
player in the country. He's
playing the best football of his
career for his beloved
Hawkstone. But life at the top
of the league isn't as easy as it
seems..And Hawkstone are
about to sign a new winger...
This is a special story
about Jamie when he was
11. It’s inspired by
something that happened
to Wayne Rooney when
he was the same age. It’s
a prequel to the other
books and a great
introduction to the
series.
As this book was written
specifically for World
Book Day
Complete the activities to WIN A PRIZE!
• Activity 1: Answer the questions.
• Activity 2: Design your own book cover for Dan
Freedman’s latest book. Don’t forget the blurb!
• Activity 3: Recount your favourite funny football
story! Use Dan’s guidelines!
• Activity 4: Come up with your best sentence!
• Activity 5: Make up FIVE really good questions to
ask him next Wednesday.
• Activity 6: Perfect Jamie’s football skills
Give your entries to your English teacher before Wednesday, 3pm.
Footballs, books and a football skills training session to be won!
See the skills to be learnt during the session! They’re in the series!
Activity 1: Answer these questions to win a
prize!
• What is the name of Dan Freedman’s first book?
_____________________________________________
• Who is the footballer who endorsed Dan Freedman’s second book?
___________________
• When is his next book due to come out? ______________
• What job did he do before he became a writer?
____________________________________________________
• What did Dan Freedman want to do when he was 13?
_______________________________________________________
• What is the name of the main character in his novels?
_______________________________________________________
Activity 3: Writing your own funny football
Use Dan’s tips to create your own!
• Embarrassing! You can never go too far wrong embarrassing situations…Have you
ever been in one? Put it in the story…How about the time Jamie gets caught
commentating on his own dribbling in The Kick Off, page 29-30?
• Gross Outs! Have a look at Born to Play, page 13 where kids in the playground throw
sickballs. Or Golden Goal page 74, where the boys try to puss their spots into a target
zone in the mirror! Or all the dog poo on Seaport Town’s training pitches (Man of the
Match, page 55). A bit of gross action’s always a winner!
• Real Stories! Think about a real story that’s happened to you or you’ve seen happen
to someone else. Real life is funnier than anything else. Football-wise, so many funny
things happen on the pitch in every game. Once a player called Di Canio pushed over
a referee! That’s what gave me the idea for Jamie to do the same by mistake on page
70 of Man of the Match.
• Names and Words: Funny names are always a good one. Have a look at Shoot to
Win, page 75 when Jamie finds out Mr Hansard’s first name! Or what about some of
the things Dillon calls Jamie on page 73 of Shoot to Win.
• People trying to be Cool! It’s funny when people try to be too cool! What about
Bertorelli’s appearance on page 29 of Man of the Match? Jamie thinks he looks like a
girl! And in The Kick Off on page 24, Jamie gets all sensitive about the colour of his
hair!
Activity 4: Improving the detail in sentences
Simple sentence:
• The shot flew past the keeper’s dive.
Improve the sentence by adding a
subordinate clause and adjectives.
Complex sentence:
• The stunning rocket of a shot flew past the
‘keeper’s despairing dive, thundering into
the back of the net off the underside of the
quivering crossbar. (By Dan Freedman)
• Come up with your own!
Activity 6: Impress the crowds and perfect these!
The Cross
over!
Drag backs!
Visit his website
where you can hear Dan
reading for his books and
completing interviews
• Dan Freedman - dantheauthor.co.uk
Jamie Johnson has just moved
schools. He was captain of his
previous school's football
team and he is desperate to
make his mark at Kingfield.
Jamie lives and breathes
football. He doesn't think of
anything else. And he's
determined to prove his
undoubted ability. For Jamie
is talented. Quick, tactically
aware and committed, he has
the potential to go all the way.
But has he got the
temperament? Sent off twice
in his first two matches at
Kingfield, it seems perhaps he
hasn't. It's always someone
else's fault and never Jamie's.
Jamie's grandfather, Mike,
just might have the answer in
a training manual written
years ago for him by one of
the country's best football
scouts...
Jamie was in shock. His
mouth hung open. The
coach couldn't just take him
off! Jamie's got a huge
match coming up and
everything to play for scouts from top clubs are
coming to watch! He can't
wait to show off his latest
move but the new coach is
bearing a grudge...Has
Jamie missed his chance?
Give your entries to your
English teacher before 3.30
on Wednesday!
Good luck!
Dan Freedman
Visiting Friday
th
26
November