John Foley talks to Marla Arbach about his basketball-themed novel Hoops of Steel
Read the review of Hoops of Steel here.
Q) About you – Please introduce yourself.
I’m John Foley, a writer and high school English teacher, currently
residing in Everett, Washington, a bit north of Seattle; moving this
summer to Ridgefield, WA, a bit north of Portland, OR.
Q) Of all the jobs you’ve had, which did you like the most?
Hard to say. I love teaching English, but I also enjoyed being a newspaper
reporter – most of the time. Attending municipal meetings was typically
boring (although I did see a non-smoking city councilman pull a squirt gun
and douse his neighbor’s cigarette), but as a feature writer I got to
skydive, ride with a motorcycle gang, investigate rumors of a lake monster
in Alaska – lots of fun stuff.
Q) Why did you become a writer? Why did you choose to write for young adults?
I loved reading from a young age. When my brother Mike was really angry
with me as a kid, he’d rip up my paperbacks because he knew they were
important to me. Then I wrote a story as a college freshman that a
professor praised and which received laughs when she read it aloud in
class. That experience triggered my path. I initially chose to write
features and columns for newspapers – I still enjoy the short form and
contribute to papers and magazines – and eventually I wanted to try my
hand at a novel. I’ve always liked the young adult genre, and a cousin who
is an editor thought I had a natural voice for that age group. I believe
the medical term is Arrested Development.
Q) Do you plan to continue writing? Do you have any projects in the works?
I do plan to continue writing. I’m about 60 pages into another young adult
novel now. And about once a month an experience or cluster of thoughts
will demand expression in a column. Even if I stop writing novels, I think
I’ll continue to write shorter pieces as long as I can think and type.
Q) About the book – Who do you think should read/will enjoy Hoops of Steel, and why?
I believe Hoops will appeal to basketball fans of all ages, but especially
young players and fans. The story goes beyond the court, however, and I
think folks of every stripe would enjoy the read.
Q) Why did you choose to write a novel so deeply focused on basketball? How
did you get involved in the sport?
As a kid, my dream was to be a professional basketball player. I enjoyed
all sports, but at age 12 became very focused on basketball – I just loved
to play and was very dedicated. Hoops is highly autobiographical in that
sense. My dream didn’t work out – I simply did not have the athletic
talent – and for a while I felt I wasted my youth. Now I think perhaps I
went through those hoop dreams so I could write a good novel about the
sport.
Q) How do you manage to write in the voice of a seventeen-year-old?
In some ways the voice came naturally; I have a good memory for how I
spoke as a young man, and hanging around teens all day helped me capture
the rhythms and diction. I did have to simplify the vocabulary in parts;
the first draft had a few dozen words that would not spring from the lips
of a typical 17-year-old. I was grateful my agent criticized that aspect
of the draft.
Q) In what ways is your novel funny? Was is hard to reconcile humour with the
seriousness of the subject matter?
I thought some of the experiences I had with friends and teammates as a
kid were very funny, and would stand the test of time. I really did have a
friend who liked to walk around naked – in public — for no particular
reason. He’s been happily married for many years, has kids of his own, and
so I assume he kicked his exhibitionist habit…I tried to make some
chapters serious, some light and humorous – it strikes a nice balance and
keeps the reader guessing.
Q) How much of yourself is in the characters? Are you most like Jackson, or
Gerry, or neither?
There is much of me in both the Jackson and Gerry characters, my youthful
and adult personas, respectively. Of course, I did take dramatic license,
too. I didn’t become a teacher until I was in my early 30s, so I’ve never
had students perceive me as a peer, invite me to parties, that sort of
thing – but I’ve observed some of my younger colleagues go through this.
It’s a challenge for them to keep a professional distance.
Q) With all the rivalry in competitive sports, do you really believe that a
game can bring people together?
I do believe sports can bring people together. Oddly, intense competition
leads to a bond of respect. When boxers and NFL lineman hug at the end of
a contest — after trying to beat each other bloody — it’s not out of a
phony sense of sportsmanship. There is a real feeling of kinship. And I
think you could argue that sports has been the most positive influence on
race relations in America, right up there with a Civil Rights Movement. I
know I never would have met and befriended so many African-Americans as a
kid if they hadn’t been teammates and/or rivals on the court.
Q) As Kelly keeps telling him, Jackson underestimates himself because he’s
self-conscious about his acne. What would you say to a young person who
had a low opinion of him/herself because of his/her appearance?
The world will turn, and nobody cares about you as much as you think they
do. I wish I had been a better friend to myself as a kid; just accepted
the zits as my reality of the moment rather than feeling so embarrassed
that I avoided people and social situations.
Q) When Jackson is hurt by his friend Thaddeus’ comments and wants to hurt
him back, he uses a racial slur. How is this scene and its follow-up
(where the two boys mend their friendship) significant, and what motivated
you to write them?
When I was younger I had a tendency to say the worst thing I could think
of in the heat of a serious disagreement. I hurt friends and family
members in this manner, and had to work hard to make amends. In high
school, I had a fistfight with one of my African-American teammates, and
we didn’t talk for a couple of months, though eventually we apologized to
each other and became friends again. The fight was based on competition
for the same position, and I didn’t use a racial slur, but I might have if
we’d exchanged more words before we started slugging each other. I’m not
proud of this.
Q) As Jackson has learned, tragedies happen, families break up, but life goes
on. What do you think the novel says to young people who are going through
tough times like Jackson?
I think the novel says that, however tough things get, there are usually
compensating blessings and things to be thankful for. Pain and suffering
can in themselves be a blessing in the sense that they make you a stronger
person.
Q) Does Hoops of Steel have a message?
The primary message is to forgive each other and to play the game of life
with joy and delight.
Q) Tell us a little bit about Running with the Wind, the upcoming sequel to
Hoops of Steel.
Running with the Wind begins a few months after the conclusion of Hoops of
Steel. Jackson’s scholarship hopes did not pan out, and he doesn’t know
what he wants to do with his life. I think many high school seniors find
themselves in this situation. Eventually, most of them – like Jackson –
find a path.
Q) Fun stuff – If you had a time machine and could live in any historical period and
place, where would you live and what would your job be?
I’d be a crewman on Captain Cook’s Endeavor, exploring Alaska, Hawaii and
other exotic places that, at the time, were like distant planets.
Q) If you won a million dollars, what would you do with the money?
Donate a chunk to charity (good karma), buy a large live-aboard sailboat,
cruise around the San Juan and Gulf Islands, and write full-time.
Q) Who would be on your basketball dream team?
Jordan, Bird, Abdul-Jabbar, Magic and Karl Malone. I’d be the Sixth Man. 