The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com
Published: Tuesday, March 27, 2007
'You can't let it stop you'
A teacher and author who's received his share of rejection letters tells
students that success requires perseverance and hard work.
By Melissa Slager
Herald Writer
EVERETT - John Foley held up a 3-inch thick stack of
letters rejecting his manuscript, then gave one of
them a good wallop with his fist.
Foley, an English teacher at Cascade High School,
likes to give his students some advice: "Don't listen to
the 'putdown predators.'"
And the stack of letters is proof.
Foley's young adult novel, "Hoops of Steel," was
published this month by a Minnesota-based company
- eight years after its completion.
Teachers often tend to stress to students the need to
succeed, Foley said.
"We don't quite warn you you're going to hit some
bumps along the way," he said. "You can't let it stop
you."
Foley took a day off Monday from his teaching duties to speak to about 500 English students, who rotated
through the school library to hear his story.
The journalist-turned-teacher said he has always loved writing.
As a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs and Alaska, he wrote about anything that would keep him
from meetings about sanitary sewers - crossing paths with people whose quirks and situations fed his
creative writing.
He later turned to teaching, starting out in Alaskan villages, where his experiences resulted in his first
published book, the memoir "Tundra Teacher."
Foley has taught for 13 years, the last seven at Cascade. And he continues to write.
During the school year he writes in 15-minute bursts each morning until he can devote longer chunks of time
to the craft in summer months.
It took about three years to complete "Hoops."
Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Cascade High School teacher John Foley speaks to an
English class about his book "Hoops of Steel."
"I just always wanted to be a writer," Foley said. "I come from a big Irish-Catholic family. We love to sit
around and tell stories."
Then there's the creative rush of energy that comes with sharing what he's written.
The message for students: "If they can find a career and follow that bliss, it leads to a lot of satisfaction,
personally and professionally."
"Hoops of Steel" tells the story of Jackson O'Connell, a high-schooler whose love of basketball helps him
cope with family trauma and a senior year plagued by zits, shyness and team politics.
The book is loosely based on Foley's own basketball days, including second-string on a Division III junior
varsity team.
Ysmael Abad, 16, is reading "Hoops" as part of a sophomore English class.
"It's exciting," he said.
Abad's favorite part so far is when Jackson learns to dunk. But Abad said he's also learning some life
lessons from characters, such as planning for a future beyond high school.
English teacher Steve Garmanian said there was much for students to learn from Foley, even if they don't
read the book.
"It's the humanizing of teachers, understanding that teachers are people who have passions and interests
that go beyond our contact time with students in the classroom," Garmanian said.
"Hoops" contains profanity, scenes with nudity and touches on sensitive topics, such as abuse.
As a teacher, Foley said he goes back and forth on such things as profanity. It's not something he allows in
his classes, for example. But high school athletes can have some pretty foul mouths, he said.
"In the end, I tend to lean toward realism," he said.
"Hoops of Steel" is 233 pages and retails for $8.95. You can learn more at www.fluxnow.com.
Flux, a division of Llewellyn Publications, also plans to publish Foley's sequel to "Hoops," called "Running
with the Wind," in August.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com
.
