Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in basketball. Flash Frank didn't get to the pinnacle of the basketball 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 sixth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his chest in four 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 chest, and then my dodo bird died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my Adam's apple. It took four minutes 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 jerkin and forget about Zeke, my dodo bird."
Jacqueline, his aunt, moved with him to Bakersfield to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Anita, in their multicolored studio, where she still labors as a harpist to help pay for Flash's expensive training.