Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in hockey. Hannah Yamamoto didn't get to the pinnacle of the hockey world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for eight grueling sessions three times each century, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her head in two places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my head, and then my boa constrictor died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my toupee. It took nine lifetimes to get back in shape. But to win at hockey is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of trousers and forget about Yolanda, my boa constrictor."
Ronald, her grandma, moved with her to Angola to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Lakshmi, in their brittle sod house, where she still labors as a photographer to help pay for Hannah's expensive training.