Speaker Series
Grounded in Maine, Connected to the World
ONE GOAL: A Coach, A Team, and the Game That Brought A Divided Town Together.
Event Details
In the tradition of Friday Night Lights and Outcasts United, Bass tells the moving and inspiring story of a soccer team in a town bristling with racial tension that united Somali refugees and multi-generation Mainers in their quest for state - and ultimately national - glory.
Bass tells the story of Somali refugees and their families resettling in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town. While scandal threatened to subsume the town, its high school's soccer coach integrated Somali students onto his team, and their passion began to heal old wounds. Bass takes readers behind the tumult of this controversial team, and onto the pitch where the teammates vied to become state champions and achieved a vital sense of understanding and the prejudices that divide us.
According to New England Sports Network, “Bass captures the essence of this unlikely band of brothers perfectly. This isn't a story about a soccer team. More than anything, this is a story of hope. The hope that brought thousands of Africans to a remote corner of America in search of a better life. The hope that made a city finally open its arms to the children of those immigrants. The hope that our future still might be better than our past.”
Being familiar with the book prior to the event may be helpful but is not required. Light refreshments will be available.
About Amy Bass
Emmy-award-winning writer Amy Bass was born and raised in New England, the daughter of two noted local journalists. Bass attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where her fourth book, ONE GOAL, is set. She received a Ph.D. with distinction from Stony Brook University and is currently Chair of the Division of Social Science and Communication and Professor of Sport Studies at Manhattanville College.
In addition to her academic work, Bass has made appearances on NBC, CNN, NPR, and CBS Radio, and has written about sports and politics for Slate, Salon, Current, the Allrounder, and CNN Opinion. She served as senior research supervisor for NBC Olympic Sports across eight Olympic Games, winning her Emmy for her work at the London Olympics in 2012.