• Age: 9 to 13
• Grade: 4 to 8
• Reading age: 7 to 10

As captain of the Westside Warriors, Colt plays clean and hard. But lately his coach has been losing his temper and ordering the team to win at any cost, even if it means playing dirty. What makes it worse is that Coach is Colt's father, and his erratic behaviour at home and on the field has Colt wondering if something is seriously wrong with his dad.

Colt follows Coach's orders to go head hunting and take out an opponent with a helmet-to-helmet hit, but Coach then claims that Colt acted on his own. When it turns out that Colt's dad has symptoms from concussions he suffered in his NFL career, Colt is made acting coach for the championship game. But will he let a teammate continue playing after a hit to the head, even when the teammate's own dad is urging him to play through the pain?

This book explores the dangers of concussion in contact sports and the lasting damage they can cause in the context of an action-filled football story.

Eric Howling is an advertising creative director and the author of the Lorimer sports novels Head Hunter, Red Zone Rivals, Hoop Magic, Kayak Combat and Drive. As a boy growing up in Montreal, Quebec, he always had a ball or stick or club in his hands. Now Eric's writing stories about playing some of those exciting sports. His books have been shortlisted for the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award, named Resource Links Year's Best and picked as CCBC Best Books selections. Eric lives in Calgary, Alberta. Follow him on Twitter @erichowling.

Eric Howling's profile page

• Winner, Resource Links The Year's Best - Fiction Grades 7-12

"A useful addition that will encourage sports fans."

Kirkus Reviews

"Both believable and adequate, with the added merit of having a very readable storyline."

Resource Links

"Head Hunter is a fast paced, high energy novel. Consisting of only 125 pages, short, simple sentences and heavy dialogue between characters, Head Hunter is also a quick and easy read, perfect for reluctant readers. High school sports fans will also be interested in this novel for its team dynamics, the relationship between coach and team captain, and the descriptively written plays of the field."

<em>CM Magazine</em>