Author Description

For thirteen-year-old Doug Vinci, ten short months in 1958-1959 change him more than his previous twelve years combined. Life for an adolescent boy and his parochial school classmates reveals some interesting changes that each face in their formative years. Growing up in the lush Santa Clara Valley of California as part of an Italian family provides a glimpse of the good life for Doug and his family--but only if they are willing to work long and hard. For Doug, it is imperative to study hard in school and maintain strict discipline both there and at home. And if he or any of his classmates feels that a release is needed from parochial school pressure and family life, it could easily happen on an athletic eld. Sports offers a more physical way to compete--and possibly dominate--at ag football, basketball, and track. It is not easy, however, to balance school work, home work, sports, and family time. To complicate matters, Doug realizes there are physical changes in his own body, not to mention in the bodies of the opposite sex. Perhaps with Doug and his friends facing all these changes at the same time, bonds between one another will form easily, especially as a team on a eld of competition. Varsity Year follows the antics, foibles, traumas, and triumphs of one boy's life during the late 1950s: a period that proves to be the last period of innocence for both Doug and his classmates. Ron Conte was born and raised in San Jose, California. After attending Sacred Heart Grammar School, he attended Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose. After high school, he then enrolled at universities in San Francisco and eventually received his doctorate in pharmacy. His career in pharmacy included many cutting-edge positions. He is a published author in the eld of clinical pharmacy and clinical therapeutics, as well as the co-author of four major textbooks in the elds of nursing and pharmacy. He has received both national and state recognition and awa