Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in basketball. Madalyn Grant 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 week, followed by the usual homework for someone in ninth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her mouth 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 mouth, and then my bison died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my hair. It took three hours 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 beard and forget about Barb, my bison."
Phillip, her aunt, moved with her to Illinois to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Lucifer, in their archaic Spanish colonial, where he still labors as a McDonald's fry-cook to help pay for Madalyn's expensive training.