On the Mat

Claude is very big for his age. He has been teased about his size all his life, especially by Tom De Silva, “the school champion of everything”. He’s too slow to be good at running, football, soccer, swimming – any sport. Then he meets Mario, a small, skinny boy, and his life changes. Mario Milano, named after a famous wrestler, is a wrestler himself, and he can see Claude’s potential. He begins training Claude in a makeshift ring set up in his backyard. Claude and Mario, professionally known as “Whitetail” (“small but lethal, that’s me”) become friends as they train for an exhibition bout celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of a famous charity bout. Then Claude discovers something about his father, who has passed away – something that links him with Mario, and with the wrestler who took part in that famous bout all those years ago. In the process he learns something about himself, and he knows he must win the exhibition bout not only for himself, but also for his father.