Stefen "Stef" Djordjevic (Tom Cruise) is bored with his home town, and he wants out. When his coach (Craig T. Nelson) pushes him to pursue an athletic scholarship to a major university, it seems like the perfect way out - but he soon begins to question what he really wants out of life, and finds himself in a conflict between his sports-mided coach, and his girlfriend Lisa (Lea Thompson), who encourages him to aim higher.