I don't always seek out a drama with sports as a central theme, but when it's done well they can be really enjoyable. This series does that, but also believably weaves past secrets, murder mysteries, small town beauty and not so beautiful issues, friends, and a slow burn romance. None of those subjects take over the entire experience, they are gently and expertly woven together at a pace that keeps you interested.
The cast was wonderful and it was nice to see so many familiar faces. I was a big fan of the ML's mother, and all of the child actors. The kids made me cry real tears. Both leads were great in that the FL was very good at showing the different sides of herself; while I felt the ML was outstanding with his athleticism and expressiveness. They had great chemistry in all the ways.
The only reason I didn't give it a full 10 was because occasionally the ML would be a bit much for me in his persistent ways, sometimes the dialogue would drag a bit with characters taking quite a while to spit out what they were trying to say, and the ending could have wrapped up a little tighter. But this was still one very worthy and thoroughly enjoyable watch that I highly recommend.