Peggy V. Beck lives in northern New Mexico where she writes fiction, poetry, articles and essays in the fields of mythology, history and folklore. She has a Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness, and has coached basketball in Taos, New Mexico. She has also written about fly-fishing under the name, Ailm Travler.
Sweet Turnaround J is sixteen-year old Janey Holmes’s account of her sophomore basketball season. An all-state player, Janey Holmes is devastated, her dream shattered, when her old high school suddenly closes over the summer and she finds herself at a new school, on a basketball team that hasn’t won a game in over three years. As the Riverside Ravens climb from a hopeless start to challenge the best teams in the district, Janey learns what happens when her passion for the game and loyalty to her team is threatened by her explosive temper and the free-fall desires of first love.
PG: How did you decide to write a young adult novel about a high school lesbian basketball player?
PVB: The project began as my “what might have been” fantasy. As a kid I played every sport, ran track, and swam, but basketball was my passion. Unfortunately this was at a time when there were very few high schools with organized sports for girls, including my own. Being gay was not even on peoples’ radar screens. So I wanted to write about a girl, who like myself, was a basketball fanatic and who was also dealing with other issues that ultimately had an impact on her game and her dreams. When I actually began writing the book it quickly became Janey Holmes’s story, not mine. Also, during the early phases of researching the novel I had watched high school girl basketball players trying to come to terms with their feelings towards other girls as well as kids’ and adults’ prejudices about being gay. I identified with these girls and wanted to turn their struggles into a dramatic sports novel. In the novel the players deal with abusive and over-zealous parents, jealousies over boys, homework anxiety—and face the unique problems of young lesbians.
PG: Are any parts of the book autobiographical?
PVB: The fact that the novel takes place in the upper Midwest, and a few little things like shooting for hours at a neighbor’s hoop, shoveling snow so I could shoot in the winter, and asking for a basketball for my birthday.
PG: How did you research the book? Did you talk to any high school athletes or coaches?
PVB: For one year I watched almost every practice and all the games of a local team. That summer I went to the AAU 15's Nationals. There I interviewed coaches and observed different coaching styles. I met a team and followed those players through another national tournament. The following year I went to Colorado Springs to the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival and interviewed players, and continued to interview players and coaches from several high school teams in New Mexico and Colorado. Then I became an assistant high school coach for players I had observed the year before, and the next year I coached a seventh grade girls’ team for the entire season. I also read lots of X’s and O’s books, watched lots of X’s and O’s videos, and broke down games on TV.
PG: Are the characters in your novel based on players you met or coached?
PVB: No, they are all made up. Of course, things I observed over the seasons show up in the novel. One example is the theme of Janey’s temper. There was a player on a team I followed whose mother never came to her games. I didn’t know the back story, but I knew (because she mentioned it a few times and would get in a funk about it) that it got to her. It didn’t matter how many people told her she was great if her mother wasn’t there to see it. This girl used to throw tantrums and go off on the refs. She was a naturally gifted player and had a charismatic personality, but there was always a hole in her happiness. Another example in my novel is the character, Penny. She is always “injuring” something in practice. Her injuries aren’t real or at least they are not out of the ordinary. I’ve seen that syndrome, particularly in perfectionists or kids who are under pressure by their parents to excel.
PG: Was being a lesbian an issue for teams you followed or coached?
PVB: It was an issue for athletes who identified as lesbian, or were exploring lesbian relationships but who had no support networks, or mentors with whom to talk when things got hot and heavy. Identifying as lesbian becomes an issue for a team when there is drama (maybe two players are seeing each other, they break up, or someone complains to a parent, or another player is jealous). The same thing happens to non-gay kids, but it isn’t a big deal. If a coach is clueless about gay issues, or is afraid to discuss subjects like racism and homophobia with his/her players and their parents before the season begins, then these things may end up becoming issues.
PG: How do you see the experiences of young lesbian athletes differing from the experiences of young gay male athletes?
PVB: The conventional wisdom seems to be, “there is no such thing as a gay male athlete.” For girls, the stereotype is, “if you are an athlete you must be a lesbian.” For boys, being gay is more personally threatening and taboo. For girls, anti-lesbian talk is insidious and sexist, but in many cases there is more tolerance towards lesbians. Sadly, both gay boys and girls are forced to suffer the effects of ignorance and bigotry in silence.
PG: How have parents, especially parents of a gay child, responded to the book?
PVB: I am just beginning to get feedback from people who have read the book, and so far it has been really great. People really like the kids on the team. People into basketball also appreciate that the game of basketball isn’t shortchanged in the book. It will be interesting to hear from parents. Knowledgeable parents are the key to successful and healthy players and their teams. It still shocks me the way many parents behave at games, the pressures they put on coaches and kids, and the prejudices they instilled in their daughters. I wish there was a standard curriculum, such as those It Takes a Team! promotes, to counter negative attitudes and behaviors around high school sports. When I was researching my book and coaching, I met several parents of gay athletes who didn’t know their kids were gay, but I didn’t feel it was my role to tell them. I hope my book will open a dialogue between gay high school athletes and their parents.
PG: Thanks for doing this interview. I read the book and loved it. I think it provides a wonderful way for young lesbian athletes to see their experiences reflected back to them in a positive way and can be one part of breaking down the isolation many of them feel.
Also, check out the web site for Sweet Turnaround J