NASHUA – Mike Lupica grew up before ESPN. He grew up before laptops, cell phones or text messaging. He grew up even before video games.

As he told middle school students about his “tragic” childhood at Keefe Auditorium on Thursday, groans and gasps followed. Some shook their heads in disbelief.

“So, what did I do? I read books,” Lupica said. “There’s still nothing better than page one, chapter one, of a book you want to read.”

Lupica, who grew up in Nashua and graduated from Bishop Guertin High School, talked to Elm Street and Fairgrounds Middle School students Thursday morning about reading. He told stories about coaching his four children, and how it led him to write young adult sports novels.

“There are no vampires, no werewolves in my books,” he said. “Most of my books, I’m writing about you, boys and girls like you trying to do something magical in sports.”

The appearance was part of a book tour for his latest children’s novel, “Game Changers.” He also spoke and signed books at Barnes & Noble in south Nashua on Thursday night.

Lupica writes regularly for The New York Daily News and appears on ESPN for “The Sports Reporters,” but it’s his books like “Travel Team” and “Heat” that make him famous to young boys and girls.

“He’s such a great speaker for boys,” sixth-grade teacher Rosemary Brandi said. “It’s so hard to find men who really write what boys like to read.”

Lupica said writing about sports makes his books more accessible to young boys, but he feels proud of the female characters in his novels, too. As one girl walked up to have her copy of “Miracle on 49th Street” signed, he smiled.

“Have you read this one yet?” he asked. She shook her head. “Well, the main character’s a girl. A cool girl.”

Dozens of students lined up to have their books signed before and after his speech. Several students bought his new book, but many had tattered copies of his other books. Lupica said he loves to see that because it shows he’s having an impact on young readers.

“When I get a copy of my book that looks like it’s been read and re-read, that’s really special,” he said.

Lupica said his experiences on the field, both as a child and adult, helped to shape his books.

“Friendship, teamwork, and loyalty: those are the themes in my books,” he said. “I get to make sports come out the way I want it to, and I want the good guys to win.”

His family moved to Nashua from New York when Lupica was in seventh grade. He attended Sacred Heart School for two years and graduated from Bishop Guertin in 1970.

Lupica was a former correspondent for The Telegraph, too. He started writing Bishop Guertin sports stories as a junior and senior in high school for $5 apiece, he said.

But it’s his love of reading that led him to a career in writing. He told students he used to buy copies of John Blaine’s “Rick Brant Science-Adventure Series” for a dollar and spend days reading Chip Hilton stories by author Clair Bee.

He said that he hopes his books can be that inspiration for young kids today, even with all the technology and touch screens out there.

“There’s still nothing better than a good story,” he said.

Cameron Kittle can be reached at 594-6523 or ckittle@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Kittle on Twitter (@Telegraph_CamK).