Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in Chinese checkers. Knuckles Vernon didn't get to the pinnacle of the Chinese checkers world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions three times each day, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, he broke his finger 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 finger, and then my puppy died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my spinal cord. It took four eternities to get back in shape. But to win at Chinese checkers is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of ear muffs and forget about Isaac, my puppy."
Alicia, his mentor, moved with him to Lithuania to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Deborah, in their flaky houseboat, where she still labors as a photographer to help pay for Knuckles's expensive training.