Mike Lupica has achieved almost everything a sportswriter can achieve. He has written a notable newspaper column for more than 40 years, co-written books with accomplished sports figures Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells and hosted a television sports show.
But kids know Lupica as the author of more than 25 sports books for young readers including such best-selling titles as "Travel Team," "Heat" and "QB 1." Lupica is also a parent and a coach of kids' sports teams. These experiences inspire his writing.
KidsPost talked to Lupica last week before he spoke to a roomful of fans at the Chevy Chase Library in Maryland.
Did you play sports as a kid?

I played baseball, basketball and one year of football, and I ran cross-country. But my best sport …show more content…
I also wrote articles for the Boston Globe and Boston Phoenix (newspapers).
After college, I went to New York, and a week later I was covering the New York Knicks (basketball team).
What did you learn as a kid that helps you as a sportswriter?

All I ever wanted to do was to write. So when I was 10 years old, I was writing mysteries and adventures with me as the main character. In high school, I wrote columns of one-liners that are similar to my "Shooting From the Lip" columns now.
Mike Lupica signs one of his books for a fan named Sachin Muralidhar. Photo: Washington Post photo by Bill O'Leary.
Mike Lupica signs one of his books for a fan named Sachin Muralidhar. Photo: Washington Post photo by Bill O'Leary.

Why did you start writing sports books for kids?

I had no plans to write for kids. Then my son got cut from a basketball travel team. Two days later, I was telling (National Basketball Association) coach Jeff Van Gundy about my son. He said, "If this was a movie, you would take all the kids who got cut, make your own team, and they would win the big game."
So I took all the kids who had been cut, hired a coach and became the general manager of a rogue travel