Everything you need to understand or teach Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher.
In Chinese Handcuffs, high school junior Dillon Hemingway, a fantastic athlete, refuses to participate in any school sports. He believes that too many coaches "have somehow confused athletic commitment with patriotism and human spiritual values, among other things." Dillon instead trains for triathlons because "it's so mental" and "you do it all for yourself." As the story unfolds, Dillon encounters much pain in his own life and in that of his girlfriend Jennifer...