Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in softball. Parson Nixon didn't get to the pinnacle of the softball world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for six grueling sessions four times each year, followed by the usual homework for someone in sixth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his abdomen in three places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my abdomen, and then my cougar died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my skin. It took four weeks to get back in shape. But to win at softball is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my armband and forget about Cheng, my cougar."
Danny, his grandmother, moved with him to South Carolina to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Peggy, in their cotton subway tunnel, where she still labors as a Hammond organ player to help pay for Parson's expensive training.