Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in basketball. Mama Gutierrez didn't get to the pinnacle of the basketball world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for seven grueling sessions one time each month, followed by the usual homework for someone in ninth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her tummy in three 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 tummy, and then my deer died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my pancreas. It took five weeks to get back in shape. But to win at basketball is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of earrings and forget about Wilson, my deer."
Trixie, her cousin, moved with her to Alexandria to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Clive, in their flaky apartment, where he still labors as a nurse to help pay for Mama's expensive training.