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A Home on the Field: How One Championship Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America, is the new book from investigative reporter Paul Cuadros. Cuadros set out to write a book about how immigration to the interior states of the midwest and southest United States was changing the face of America. His investigation took him to Siler City, North Carolina to look into how the food processing industry in central North Carolina was causing a mass of immigration to the small towns of the Piedmont and what impact it was having on the area.

Cuadros found, in Siler City, a town struggling to deal with the immigration whose frustration peaked in a now infamous Ku Klux Klan rally headed by David Duke. Among the backdrop of this tumultous situation, Cuadros found himself championing the creation of a soccer team at Jordan Matthews High School to serve as a focal point for the young hispanic boys of the region to have something to look forward to and entice them to stay in school, rather than dropping out and working in the local chicken plant. After years of struggle, Cuadros suceeded and within three short years, against tremendous odds, Cuadros coached JMHS to the State Championships, where they won the title against Lejeune HS at SAS Soccer Park here in Cary.
Cuadros' book recounts the backstory, the creation of the team, and inspiring story of the young men involved in the JMHS soccer program. The story raises some very interesting points related to immigration in the United States and puts a human face on lots of the problems that are facing the US today. On several occasions, I could not decide whether I should be shocked and appalled that some of the things Cuadros was describing were happening right here, a short drive from Triangle. At other times, I was struck by how the behavior reminded me of some of the things I saw growing up in a small town in South Carolina.

I really enjoyed learning the story of Los Jets but one thing really bothered me about this book. It is written in first person and I often felt that Cuadros' description of his role in championing the cause of soccer at JMHS was self-aggrandizing. While I'm sure the reporter never meant to become part of his story, the fact is he played an integral role in the events as they unfolded and then when he was called upon to tell the story from his own point of view, I found the situation awkward. I picked up this book looking to read a story about some dynamic young latino kids...and that story is definitely here...but I also found myself distracted by the fact that much of the story is about how Paul Cuadros helped change the little community of Siler City. I might have enjoyed this book even more had it been told in third person and I had come in to the book expecting to learn as much about the coach's endeavor as I was expecting to learn about the soccer players'.

But that minor point aside, A Home on the Field is an interesting exploration of race relations and immigration right here in our local area set within the framework of a soccer tale.