Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in archery. Stan Higgenbottom didn't get to the pinnacle of the archery world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for five grueling sessions two times each hour, followed by the usual homework for someone in ninth grade.
Two years ago, he broke his little toe 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 little toe, and then my lemur died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my belly button. It took fifteen months to get back in shape. But to win at archery is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of false eyelashes and forget about Bunny, my lemur."
Elaine, his mother, moved with him to Ann Arbor to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Maggie, in their woven homeless shelter, where she still labors as a goldsmith to help pay for Stan's expensive training.