On Saturday, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer George Dohrmann will discuss the culture of youth sports as part of the Arkansas Literary Festival. In 2000, the Sports Illustrated investigative reporter started documenting the lives of talented grade-school basketball players in southern California.
For eight years, he followed these players and their fiery coach as they gained national acclaim by becoming the first middle school team to score a shoe deal while producing a player ranked No. 1 nationally among middle schoolers — Demetrius Walker. Dohrmann’s work was published in his first book “Play Their Hearts Out,” which he will discuss at 2:30 p.m. Saturday during a free appearance on the first floor of the Main Library. Dohrman lives in San Francisco, and finds release from the sports world by building furniture and restoring trolley fareboxes.
Welcome to Arkansas. What brings you to this festival?
Jay Jennings, one of the guys who organizes the festival, is a former Sports Illustrated writer. He reached out to me. I’m happy the logistics worked out and I was able to make it.
Have you been to the state before?
In 2001, I flew into Northwest Arkansas to help report on a guy who burned swastikas and obscenities with acid into the greens at Southern Hills Country Club [in Tulsa], where they had the U.S. Open. It turned out to be this guy who was living up in Eureka Springs. When we found him, he was just playing a guitar.
Wild. Off the top of your head, have you written about any Arkansans?
I was in Las Vegas at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournament, and I met an Arkansan sitting in the stands. He was a really nice guy, and we started talking. He pointed out his son who was playing and was pretty good. He gave me his card. It turns out he was a CEO, and I think his last name was Tyson. I was like ‘Whoa.’… it sort of struck me as a potential storyline somewhere but it never really worked out.