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[indistinct conversation]
[Coach Jean] Ready? Goodbye.
Good!
Run through the line! Run through the line.
[Coach Karel] Stay in there!
[Coach Jean] Let's go!
-Come on, ladies! -[Coach Karel] All the way!
[Coach Jean] Get to the line!
Yes!
[panting]
[Coach Jean] Why are you sitting on the ground?
[upbeat music playing]
[reporter] On the track, it's easy to see the Sheppard sisters are special.
All Junior Olympians, who found almost instant success
when a babysitter signed them up for a track meet on a whim.
[Tonia] They never ran before.
[reporter 2] You had no idea they were athletes?
No, not at all.
I knew they liked to jump around and act crazy like kids,
but that's all that there was room to do.
[cheering]
Please welcome Coach Jean Bell, Tonia Handy,
and her three Junior Olympians.
[all cheering]
[Hostin] So, let me ask you,
what's the toughest part about living at the homeless shelter for you?
Um…
Well, I have no privacy,
and I'm not allowed to, um, have any of my friends over.
[Tonia] Good morning, Rainn.
[reporter] Last September, they lost their apartment
when Mom just couldn't keep up with rising rent,
but for her girls, athletic scholarships may be their way out.
-[all applauding] -So Sports Illustrated contacted you girls
to tell you that all three of you have been named
Sports Illustrated "Kids of the Year."
[all applauding]
We work hard and we work hard every day.
Up and down.
-We… -[girl] We are truly honored.
[reporter] What do you wanna be when you grow up?
-A math teacher or a judge. -I wanna be a lawyer and a judge.
They have hopes.
Ladies and gentleman, Tai, Rainn, and Brooke Sheppard.
We are truly honored to be named Sports Illustrated "Kids of the Year."
Thank you.
[all applauding]
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
-♪ Work it ♪ -♪ Hey! ♪
♪ I'm a queen now All hail to the track queens ♪
♪ All hail to the track queens Gotta go, got mad green ♪
[Tonia] Goodness, look at all this beauty going on.
[makeup artist] And Brooklyn, look at those eyes.
[Tai] Mommy, I wonder what they're going to do to your hair.
[Tonia] Yeah, I don't know.
[makeup artist] It's been… Last time I saw you guys…
-was it November, December? -[Tonia] November.
[makeup artist] It was November. Yeah.
And with that comes an extra pound of confidence.
[operator] Three, two…
Twenty seconds.
Tonia, Tyler said he's going to find you and your girls
a place to live and pay your rent for the next two years.
Oh, my God!
-Are you kidding me? -[squealing]
That's from Tyler.
I love him. I love Tyler Perry.
-[Goldberg] Yes. So that's for you. -[Tonia] Thank you!
[crowd applauding]
So, Tyler reached out to us after y'all were on the show.
Tell us what happened.
Uh, we were so happy and so grateful to hear.
I knew that it was going to be a better life for us,
and with this new apartment,
this is definitely a jumpstart in the right direction.
-I'm so grateful. -[audience clapping]
Tonia, you and the girls say
that you've learned a lot from your time at the homeless shelter.
What do you mean by that?
Yes. I learned that you just can't judge a book by its cover.
There's a lot of women and children in there
who's working hard to get out of the shelter and they, you know…
Just regular folks like you and I.
It's just that we just had so much help
from so many people, loving, caring people.
-[Goldberg] Yeah. -[Hostin] Here's a look at your apartment.
-So let's check it out. -[kids squealing]
[Tai] Oh, my God!
[Tai] Mommy, look.
Wait, ready, guys? Close your eyes. One, two…
[gasps] They weren't lying! I thought it was just a photograph.
[Rainn gasps] Look! Look, Coach Karel.
Oh, my God. Look at this.
Oh, we're gonna get some homework done, hey!
[Tai] Look at Mommy's room!
I never framed this picture before.
Now it's framed.
[Coach Karel] So gorgeous.
Just so everything.
Look how many pillows.
[laughing]
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
Look what Mr. Perry did for… [gasps]
Oh, you guys have an award shelf.
This is amazing!
It feels good.
-[sighs in relief] -I like it.
Look at our room! [giggling]
[alarm beeping]
[Tonia] Bye, guys. Be good.
Miss Mildred, and then Coach Michelle's coming to get you, okay?
-[Rainn] Okay. -[Tonia] All right.
Sweet Mama's not up yet?
[giggles]
Her little booty.
She's so cute.
Hey, baby, be good. Okay?
You be good. [kisses] Miss Mildred…
They were in the shelter for almost two years,
which, you know, that's my fault.
They had nothing to do with that,
but they had to look like champions.
-I love you, girls. -I love you, too, Mommy.
[Tonia] Be good. Yeah?
They're strong little girls.
[Tai singing] ♪ Settle down ♪
♪ That you found a girl ♪
♪ And you're married now ♪
I want to become an Olympian.
And then I want to also become a biochemist
and possibly find a cure for cancer.
I want to do something to change the world.
No, up, up, up. Up you go.
Rainn, would you like to water the plants?
[Rainn] No.
Can you do it, please?
[Rainn] Yeah, sure.
Thank you.
[Rainn] My sisters are very, very annoying,
as sisters should be, I guess.
But they also help me.
They tell me when I'm wrong.
They tell me when I'm right, and they're just awesome.
[Brooke] In the shelter, I thought it was all over.
I thought we were just gonna be homeless for the rest of our life.
I guess that was in the beginning when we first moved there,
because I think that shelter was the worst shelter we've been in.
And we've only been in two.
We've been in a motel with only two beds,
literally like the size of this living room.
Felt like it. Yeah.
And I thought, "It's over."
"We're going to stay homeless for the rest of our lives."
In school, I started failing.
Uh, not failing, but, like, I started lagging.
Um, it was harder to learn, it was harder to…
It was harder to talk to my friends.
I would just think about what might happen
if the rest of my life is like this.
[interviewer] What did your mom tell you?
[Brooke] She told us not to give up on her.
In the future, I want my mom to have her dream job,
and I hope Rainn breaks five track records.
I hope Tai will be like the next Beyoncé, you know?
I… want to be an artist and track runner. Both.
[indistinct chatter]
[Coach Jean] Listen. Hello!
Those sticks were terrible. Terrible.
Terrible.
Rainn, you were standing here to get the stick.
Where did you get stick at?
-[Rainn] Right there. -[Coach Jean] Right there.
She had to slow down to give the…
And she's like this trying to get you the stick
because you're standing there like the Statue of Liberty.
You have to move,
and that's something that you learn where?
-[Vanesha] Practice. -At practice. Yes!
That's why it's called practice.
Yay for Vanesha! She's so smart.
You have to pull your girl through the zone.
That will encourage the girl to run harder at the end of the race.
Make sure you are standing with your left hand in a V. V.
[girl] Like this, V? V, like this?
[Coach Jean] How would the girls describe me?
Mean, nice, loud.
Okay, look behind you to see who you are passing…
Caring. Fun.
Scary. [laughs]
I think that's some of the words they would use.
Okay, everybody move down here,
and let's try this again.
The Sheppards are a special case.
Seven months after they started with me, they lost their apartment,
and I was… I was shocked.
And I knew that I had to try to help,
and I didn't know how.
But I've been learning a lot since then.
Got it.
Right there.
I grew up in the projects.
I always said to myself,
"I'm not always going to live in the projects. I'm not."
For me, I always felt like I can do whatever I put my mind to.
I can do whatever I want.
These girls have to have that same feeling
that they can do whatever they want to do,
but they have to understand that education is the key,
and that's the only way they're going to make it.
Okay, drop off two laps, and then report for donuts.
This is the hardest working team on the East Coast,
I'm telling you right now.
You are not going to find a harder working team than this team.
Some of you, your daughters may not make it,
because this is like you getting out of high school
and applying to Harvard and not getting in,
but maybe you could go to Penn State.
It's still a good school.
"Parents are responsible for submitting a copy of their daughter's
report cards to the coaches and staying on top of their grades
because the object of the team is to get them an athletic scholarship
so that they can go off to college, and you don't have to put out money."
That is the goal.
If you want your daughter to go to the Olympics,
then you're in the wrong place.
Higher education is our ultimate goal.
Recently, we have come into some grants
that have been awarded to us and some gifts
because we had three super athletes on the team
who were named Sports Illustrated "Kids of the Year."
That's their mother Tonia Handy right there.
[cheering and applauding]
[Coach Jean] Thank you. Now you gotta get your daughters to running.
[Tonia] I've been almost four years on this job.
I'm now getting minimum wage.
I'm looking at the interviews I'm going on and the pay,
and if I had one of these jobs,
it wouldn't be this bad.
I'm getting paid literally now minimum wage,
now that minimum wage is $10.50.
That's what I'm getting where I'm working.
I've been on a couple of interviews in the last couple of months,
last few months, I should say, and I haven't gotten a better job.
I don't want to be too nervous at the interview.
I really don't.
I want to be more relaxed, you know?
Right now, with Mr. Perry paying the rent, it's just basically…
I'm putting it in savings,
and so when it's done, I'll have to pay my own rent.
So a lot of things will be, I guess, cut in half.
In order for me to save the way I would like to,
I would have to get a better job, maybe go back to school.
I'll just save what I can.
Kick, kick, kick…
Left, right, left, right, left, right, left.
There are people here who do not have their grades together.
If your grades are not together,
then you are going to be sat down for the season
until you get your grades together.
Did you get a message before me?
Yeah, I forgot. My mom told me today.
-You forgot? -Yeah.
-[Coach Karel] Mr. Joseph. 74. Okay. -[Rainn] Mmm-hmm.
[Coach Karel] That's not terrible grades, Rainn.
This is what's not good because you're "talking too much in class."
[male coach] Get out of lane two!
-"Missing work." -[female coach] Tami…
-That's unacceptable. -[female coach] Go in front!
That means you don't want to run. Right?
[male coach] Every time you're in lane two, you should pass.
-You don't want to run? -I do wanna run.
Then you better show. We're not here playing games, Rainn.
The next step is you'll be out for the season. Do you hear me?
So you better let this be a lesson… in getting humble.
If this is too much for you, then you'll just do school,
that's the most important thing. Do you hear me?
Yeah. [sniffling]
Yeah, it hurts not to be out here, right?
-Is this mine or yours? -You can have it.
Okay. Go ahead. Back to work.
No training and no running.
3:41.
[indistinct chatter]
There's a three and…
Why does your teacher give so much homework?
This one is easy homework. Usually he gives me hard homework.
My homework was easy.
…21, 22, 23, 24.
[indistinct shouting]
[Coach Jean] Girls are always the same.
Girls start out sweet.
They turn a little crazy when they're 13, 14, and 15,
and then they come to their senses with my help.
[chuckles]
Jeuness means to me promise and hope for the future,
for our kids, and peace of mind for myself.
-[announcer] On your mark! -[starting shot fires]
[Coach Jean] When I started the team, I was just coaching,
but after a while I realized that when girls got older,
they would say, "Oh, that was the greatest experience of my life."
[chuckles softly]
So I realized that there was more going on.
You look good today, Brookie.
That's why I'm saving it.
Sonic. [laughing]
What's at stake is their whole life
and where they go with it.
[indistinct shouting]
[Coach Jean] Stay off the streets.
Stay away from drugs.
Stay away from teen pregnancy.
And it's an everyday struggle.
The most important thing I give the girls is a sense of empowerment.
They get that by being part of something bigger than themselves,
and setting goals, and reaching those goals,
and not taking no for an answer.
[all] JTC4L!
And that would take them far.
♪ It's got feeling… ♪
You know this song? Oh, gosh. [giggles]
It was a movie.
♪ The places… ♪
[Coach Jean] When they first came on the team,
they were a hot mess.
They didn't know anything about track.
It's good that we got a chance
to come here just to broaden their horizons,
so they can see that there's a whole world out there,
and they can be part of it.
[Brooke] Am I forgetting something?
[giggling]
I'm going to have to call.
Okay, keep it quiet when we're in the hallway.
Try not to break the camera.
Something going on up here.
Acne?
No, just dryness.
I had no thought of doing track, and here I am.
[Coach Jean] The AAU Junior Olympic Nationals
is a national meet with athletes from all over the country.
A portion of the girls on the team did qualify
to get to the national meet, and they're all very excited.
It's a really big deal
because you know that you're going to be on a national stage
running against the top athletes in the country.
[indistinct shouting]
[indistinct]
-[starting shot fires] -Come on! Get it, Tai!
Go get 'em!
Go get 'em! Go get 'em!
-12:66. -Is that fast?
Yes.
Yay, Tai. She was excellent, wasn't she?
-[Coach Karel] Was she ever! -[Coach Jean] Oh!
[announcer] In second place, from Brooklyn, New York,
with a time of 12:66, Tai Sheppard.
[all cheering]
[girl] We love you, Tai!
[Coach Jean] Tai's a great athlete.
She has so much potential…
Yes!
…and not just on the track.
Brooke is the youngest of the three,
and she has big shoes to fill.
She's just finding that now.
-[indistinct conversation] -[starting shot fires]
[Coach Jean] Go, Brooklyn!
Come on, Brooklyn!
Now, Brooke. Keep your head down. Good.
-Come on, Brooke. Hold them off. -[female coach] Come on, Brookie!
Yo, Brooklyn at 5:13.
She ran a 5:13.
[Coach Jean] That was excellent.
She was excellent.
[announcer] In fourth place, from Brooklyn, New York, Brooke Sheppard.
[crowd cheering]
[Coach Jean] Rainn is here with high expectations.
She won a gold medal and came in first place last year,
but unfortunately, she had some setbacks.
So, we'll see.
[man over megaphone] On your marks.
[starting shot fires]
-[Coach Jean] Come on, Rainn! -[Coach Karel] Let's go!
[Coach Karel] 1:16! 1:16!
[shouts indistinctly]
[Coach Karel] Did what she could.
4:55.
-[Coach Karel] Good try. -[Coach Jean] Yeah, it was a good try.
[Coach Karel] Be better next year.
[Coach Jean] Maybe if she doesn't have to take several weeks off
because her grades sucked.
[announcer] In fourth place, from Brooklyn, New York, Rainn Sheppard.
[all cheering and applauding]
[announcer] In third place, from Cedar Park…
You were good, pumpkin.
You were good. You did your best, right?
-Yeah. -Okay.
You know what the difference is between where you could have been this year?
What happened in the beginning of the season?
Got bad grades.
Yeah.
It all comes back to haunt you,
and then on top of that you got an injury, and that, you know, all played a part,
but you got to remember that for next year, all right?
Yeah.
[Coach Jean] You didn't win, but you got a medal. You were great.
-Thank you. -[Brooke] Good job, Rainn.
[Coach Jean] Good. Good job.
-[indistinct chatter] -[Coach Jean laughing]
You all right, Brookie?
This is it for you. It's lights out.
-No. -[snorts]
[Tai] My mouth just can't stop talking.
Yeah, I noticed.
[Brooke] Look at my mom.
Mommy! Hi!
[inaudible conversation]
We are celebrating so many things.
It's Sharon's birthday.
Sharon is the woman who took Tai, Rainn, and Brooke
and got them into races, and that's how the coach found them.
Yeah.
That's what we're celebrating. Of course, along with my fabulous job.
[Sharon] Job. Your new job, that's the most important.
Come on, we need to celebrate that.
[Brooke] Sharon's birthday!
-[Sharon] Your new job and my birthday. -[Tonia] Exactly.
-[Sharon] Okay. -[Tonia] Perfect.
[Brooke gasps] Ooh.
I got… Dang.
Oh, I got one.
Oh, my gosh. It's so cold.
Want to see something?
This is me and my brother.
We look alike.
How old's Kamaui, Mom?
[Tonia] Would have been… Ah…
He would have been…
…22.
[Brooke] He would have been 22.
On the 26th of this month.
He died.
He went to a party. He got shot.
I really miss him.
♪ I see the way that you look When you hear his name ♪
♪ I see his picture up in your frame ♪
♪ And you refuse to admit You still miss him ♪
♪ But it's okay ♪
All right, that's Brooke 'cause she's not running tomorrow.
This is Tai.
That's my son, Kamaui.
He's no longer with us.
[interviewer] He looks like you, I think.
Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
I have these brown eyes that go from brown to hazel,
and Brooke and Kamaui were the only ones with my eyes.
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah, he was my male twin, I guess.
Yeah.
Mmm-hmm.
[clicks tongue] He was their babysitter when…
So I can go to the gym…
mmm-hmm, and do things.
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah.
So I always tell the girls they, um…
They're just like little good luck charms. [chuckles]
Because I think if it wasn't for them,
you know, doing what they do best…
Yeah.
[Tai] ♪ One thing this holiday ♪
♪ I want more than anything ♪
♪ Is to spend Christmas With the ones I love ♪
♪ More than anything ♪
[Tai] Is that Jean?
Yay, it's Jean!
[indistinct chatter]
[Coach Jean] These have Whoopi Goldberg locks.
[Rainn] Ooh. This is cool.
-[Tai] I like this. -[all chuckling]
[Rainn] I don't know whose feet is bigger, Tai's or Santa's.
[Coach Jean] I'm sure it's Tai's.
[Rainn] Yeah, me, too.
[Tai] This is very pretty. Ooh! This is a nice ornament.
-Yeah, that is gorgeous. -That's gorgeous.
[Rainn] Wait, so how does this go on?
[indistinct chatter]
[Rainn] Plug that in.
[laughing and chatting indistinctly]
[Coach Jean] Glad you can have Christmas in your own house this year.
[Tai] Oh, my gosh. I love it so much.
[Coach Jean] "Tonia, Tai, Rainn, Brooke."
[Tonia] Oh, my gosh.
[Brooke] Why do I have to be last?
Wow.
This is so amazing.
So, I just got this camera, and I'm very excited about it.
Christmas was two days ago.
It's the 27th now.
Tomorrow is my sister Rainn's birthday, December 28th.
[Rainn reading] "My sunshine in blue."
"You're sweet and amazing and keeps it brand-new."
"You're always so relaxed. I can learn from you."
[Brooke] Rainn, how do you feel? You're 13.
[Coach Jean] Yeah, Rainn. How do you feel? You're 13.
A happy birthday.
Thirteen, thirteen, Rainn drop.
-When did you get this? -[Coach Jean laughing]
Before or after I'm yelling at you all day.
It is so good.
[Coach Jean] Yeah?
[Rainn] It is good.
[indistinct chatter]
[Miss Orapullo] All right, ladies,
with the exception of Tai, it is lunch time.
I don't want you to miss lunch, all right?
Tai, why weren't you in school yesterday?
[Tai] I was cleaning. That's it.
You were cleaning, so you didn't come to school yesterday?
Mmm-hmm. That's it. I was cleaning the whole house. It took hours.
[Miss Orapullo] So what did you miss as a result of staying home?
Nothing. 'Cause I already know what we're doing--
-I could pull up your progress report. -Oh, sure.
How do you think you're doing?
Hmm.
Math, you have an 80.
Great science grade. Fabulous art grade.
Mmm.
-You need to be in school. -That's 'cause I finished the project.
Let's see.
I got my TAKS test results back.
-I did okay. -[Miss Orapullo] You did pretty good?
I got a hundred something in ELA , and the rest was 800.
[Miss Orapullo] That's awesome.
How that works, too, is you can get money for how you test.
I can get money?
Scholarship money that goes towards your tuition
because if you're going to a private school or a Catholic school,
you're paying tuition.
Oh.
And you can also get a full ride.
That means you don't pay anything to go there.
They can offer you a full ride.
They'll say you don't need to pay anything to come here.
[Tai] Really?
But you have to do track for all four years.
Oh. Yeah.
So the goal would be to find schools where you could potentially get a full ride.
-[Tai] Definitely. -That also means to keep those grades up…
[Tai] And have a good attendance?
[whispering] You have to be in school.
[Tai] I'll be at school.
To tie it back to what happened, to make it go all the way around,
you have to be at school.
So getting into the habit of, "I know that my attendance matters…"
-Hmm. -[Miss Orapullo] Those skills start now.
[Coach Jean] Okay, listen!
Does everybody know where their quads are?
[all] Yes.
[Coach Jean] It's supposed to build up your hip flexor and your quads.
Legs up and kick.
Kick. I'm hearing too much noise.
Kick and kick and kick and kick.
Turn around other side.
And kick and kick…
Tai is bursting with all kinds of talent, and not just on the track.
She's super, super smart,
and it's just a matter of funneling all that energy in the right direction.
And kick and kick and kick.
This is what you need.
Right now, all they want to do is run.
They want to train, they're really committed to it,
but, you know, puberty can cause that to change in a heartbeat. [chuckles]
And kick and kick.
[upbeat song playing]
[Tonia] My mom wasn't hands-on with me.
I never met my, ah, biological father.
No.
And I met my biological mom now.
-I met her a couple of times. -[Tai humming]
[Brooke] She didn't want to take you back?
Well, I was older when…
[Brooke] Oh.
I was your age when I met her.
[Brooke] She didn't want to take you back?
Well, would you want to leave me if you found out that I was not your real mom
and you came across your real mother?
At this point, would you want to leave me?
-[Brooke] Oh, no. -All right, then.
[Brooke] Wait, you are my real mom.
[Tonia chuckles] I said "if."
[Brooke] You would never abandon me. Right?
-[Tonia] No. -[Brooke] Okay, good.
What are you doing in bed? Do you know what time it is?
Why are the blankets on you?
You put too much gel. That's why you're making my acne grow bigger.
[chuckles] I don't put too much gel.
-Yes, you do. I can feel it. -No.
I don't care. Like, I can do those edges in my sleep.
It's business day. I think you could be--
A lawyer.
No. Lawyers don't wear those colors.
I can be… Lawyers can wear whatever they want.
[Rainn] Mmm.
Well, in suit form.
-They choose to look professional. -This is professional.
[Rainn] Mmm-hmm.
That's mine.
-No. -Give me, Tai.
-Give me. -Ouch!
Give me, Tai.
-Before I mess up your edges. -You never use it.
Let me have it.
-[Rainn] It's mine and I need it. -[Tai] I was using it first.
Let me have it. We'll talk about it later.
Where's your hat at?
My hair. You can't do this to me.
Tai, you just got over a stuffy time.
-No. -Here.
"Twix" kissed me on Friday.
[friend] Who?
Twix kissed me on Friday.
-[friend] Ooh. -Yeah. There was this whole story
where in the staircase, his bag broke,
and then I was fixing it, right?
And then he took my chin and kissed me.
And on upstairs, and then he kept doing it again,
but this time was like longer.
But we kept hearing people so we just stopped.
He was banned when he refused to fight for his country.
[imperceptible]
[woman narrating] She's changing from a young girl to a young woman.
Puberty is a stage of life everyone goes through.
Hair will begin to grow in your pubic area,
under your arms, and on your legs.
These changes are triggered by chemicals in your body called hormones.
[Coach Jean] Okay, so one of the changes that's going to happen to you very soon
is called menstruation.
Everybody know where their vagina is? Point in that direction.
[all laughing]
-[Tonia] One would hope. -[Coach Jean] Yeah.
Another thing that you can use for your period is called a tampon.
-[Tonia] Yes, Brooke? -Doesn't it go up?
[Coach Jean] Yes. I'm getting ready to tell you.
So you put it at the bottom of your vagina, okay?
When you're ready to change it, you go to the bathroom,
squat over the toilet, pull this out.
If you are an athlete, it's easier to use,
easier to get rid of, and just easier to take.
Anybody have any questions about…
Yes, Brooke, of course.
Don't you have three holes?
-[Coach Jean] You have three holes. One-- -Which one do you put it in?
[Coach Jean] You put it in the middle one.
The only one it can go in.
It can't go in your butthole 'cause that's where your poo-poo comes out.
[all laughing]
[Coach Jean] Um, okay. So you do have three holes down there.
One you pee out of,
then there's a bigger hole, and then there's your butthole.
[kids gigglng]
Don't put anything up in there. That's just for things to come out.
This is too little for things to go in.
There's only one hole where things can actually go up in there.
And that's where your tampon goes,
where the baby comes out, where the sperm goes in.
A lot of things go on with that hole.
[all giggle]
That's the middle hole.
As these changes start to occur,
not only will boys look at you differently,
but men will look at you differently.
And they'll do things that make you uncomfortable,
and when they do, you come to me.
Okay? Does everybody understand that?
Yeah.
[Coach Jean] Okay.
[girls] …six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…
[Coach Jean] Hi, girls.
…13…
Hi, sweetie pie. I missed you.
-Me, too. I made you something from camp. -Oh, yeah?
[Tai] I think it'll go on your keychain. I have to find it.
[Coach Jean] So your mother took you for an MRI?
-That's an X-ray, right? -Sort of like an X-ray.
-Yeah. -What did they say?
The bone right here is separated from my knee.
-Yeah. -Like that.
It's a growing thing, right?
'Cause I see you're taller than me now.
Yes, I am.
And that wasn't the way it was at the beginning of the summer.
I told you.
-I hate that. -I was gonna be taller than you.
You did. I didn't think you were gonna grow.
-Thought you were gonna be shorty doo-wop. -Well…
And what did he say you have to do? Did they give you exercises…
-[Rainn] Yeah. -…or are you going to PT?
[Rainn] They gave me exercises and I'm going to PT,
and I feel like I'm gonna be so out of shape when I start running again.
Forever out of shape.
No, not forever 'cause you're so young.
-But first we got to get you well again. -Yeah.
You're going to miss out cross-country season, but…
But that's… That's my…
[Coach Jean] I know, your best season,
but I'd rather you miss out one cross-country season
and run through your 20s
-than try to keep running on it. -Yeah.
When you come back, you're going to be ready.
Not going to put you out there until you're ready. Don't worry.
-Okay. -Okay?
Give me a hug.
-I missed you. -[Rainn] Missed you, too.
-Okay. -Gonna go back out.
Stay over here and help us with some of the kids.
Show them how to do the exercises correctly.
[Coach Karel] Yeah, this is good.
-[Coach Jean] Keep your head down. -[Coach Karel] Run all the way through.
[Coach Jean] Thank you. Keep coming.
-[Coach Karel] 6:18. 6:19. 6:20. -[Coach Jean] Good job.
-[Coach Karel] 6:21. -You know how to do it?
The other one.
This one goes up while that one goes up.
Ready?
Okay, like this.
Other one.
Now put it down.
Now lift the other one up.
And now jump.
Yeah, like that.
[Coach Karel] 6:21.
[Rainn sighing] There's a good side and a bad side to it.
I could focus on my schoolwork. Like, only my schoolwork.
I'll be going to high school,
and I'll have to do a lot more work than I did in middle school,
and it's going to be hard, I know that.
But I know if I don't work hard
then I'll be regretting every one of my decisions.
[woman narrating] …like an amoeba, relies on its cell membrane…
Joshua, I heard what Kaden asked you.
You hear me?
[in high-pitched helium voice] Hi, guys. [laughing]
Excuse me. I cannot hear Taylor.
There's other people that was talking, too.
Don't worry about the others. Worry about yourself.
-Okay. -Worry about yourself.
-[Tai] First of all-- -[friend] And say what?
[Tai] We were talking about high school. I said I was gonna miss him.
So I hugged Lavon and Nikit.
And 'cause I said, "I'm gonna miss you guys,"
then he got mad. He was like, "Oh, wow." And then--
[friend] You could've said you'd miss him, too.
I did! And he was like, fake hug.
[Tai] I need to talk to you.
[boy] Why?
-[Tai] Because it's important. -[boy] What?
[Tai] Is he mad at me?
-[boy] Who? -[Tai] Joshua.
-Why isn't he talking to me? -[boy] He don't want to.
[Tai] What do you mean? What do you mean he doesn't want to?
-I don't know why he don't. -You…
[friend 1] You're so obsessed.
I'm not obsessed.
[friend 2] Yeah.
[friend 2] I'm gonna have to make sure she stays far away.
[friend 1] Give him space.
[friend 2] Give him some space, bro.
He needs space from you, literally.
[friend 1] He's going to think of you as clingy and so annoying.
He's gonna have…
[girls] Rock, paper, scissors, set, shoot.
Rock, paper, scissors, set, shoot.
[Coach Jean] Tai, we need to speak to you over here.
Do you know what we want to speak to you about?
Yeah.
-[Coach Jean] Huh? -Yes.
[Coach Jean] About what?
About my behavior.
[Coach Jean] Specifically what?
Me throwing a crayon at my teacher.
[Coach Jean] What happened?
[Tai] She went around the class, embarrassing me,
saying that my question was wrong, and then--
[Coach Karel] So how would that embarrass you
that you got a question wrong?
Because she went around the class making…
She went around the class and told people that I got it wrong,
and then of course Aliana said I was stupid.
-[Coach Karel] Okay-- -And the whole class laughed at me.
-I know it's not comfortable. -Then what happened?
Then I threw a crayon at her.
-[Coach Karel] Okay, if I'm your teacher-- -I didn't mean--
Don't tell me what you didn't mean.
If I'm a teacher and I'm standing here, how far were you from her?
-A little behind the window. -[Coach Karel] And it hit her?
Mmm-hmm.
-[Coach Karel] Where? -On the knee.
Okay. If you had thrown that crayon,
and it hit her in the eye,
you wouldn't be here,
'cause there's a place for kids who do that.
You have a right to get angry.
Everybody does.
It's how you deal with it.
And I know that you don't always deal with your anger in the correct way,
because at no point in your life
should you ever
attempt to assault a teacher
or anybody else.
They have a school full of students
who have assaulted an adult,
and they got labelled, and they got put there.
[Coach Jean] And now you're one of them.
Is that what you want for yourself?
We're so disappointed in you.
We're so disappointed,
and we talked it over and we decided
that we're going to give you consequences here,
even if you don't have consequences at school.
So you're going to be suspended from the team for a while.
You'll be able to come back outdoor season,
but your indoor season is done.
You understand?
Huh?
-Yes. -[Coach Jean] Okay.
Put your stuff on.
[crying]
[Tai] I'm sitting here with nothing to do.
But you know what I do when I'm by myself?
I love looking at nature, and I like how the sun hits the snow.
It glimmers sometimes. It looks really pretty.
Most of the time I'm just here.
Being annoyed by my sisters and Mom sometimes.
Just never get to do anything.
My life's simple.
Go to school, some track, go home, get ready for the next day.
And now that I have nothing to do… I don't have a phone or anything.
What am I gonna do?
My life sucks right now.
Life sucks.
[Ms. Diann] How you feeling, Tonia?
[Tonia] Oh, so good.
Ah!
Just knowing what's about to happen, I'm feeling good.
[both laughing]
Three times I've been in a relationship and lost myself in it.
The reason I will not do it with these girls
is because I know I will lose myself in it.
I know I will.
[Ms. Diann] Yes, you may attract some of the same things,
but your tolerance level change.
-Not mine. -It does.
Yes, it would, Tonia.
I'm not going there because I know that that's my weakness.
That's why I'm single. I'm scared to tread those waters.
When I raise these girls and they're well on their way,
-I'll get in a relationship. -That's something different.
[Tonia] I just don't want them to see me all blushy-eyed and, like, all in love.
I just can't.
I've been the strong woman forever in their life.
And I think that when I do fall in love,
it takes me over, you know?
That's why I was never probably good at it.
It just takes over.
You know, I see it in them, too.
They got all my qualities when it comes to love.
Oh, it's disgusting.
So I'll wait until they're out the house, you know,
so I can have my moment.
A big part of me is closed.
I fight against that daily, you know.
I fight it, um…
Yeah.
I think that, um…
[clicks tongue]
[sighs softly]
I don't want to be like this.
Life has made me like that.
The worst has happened.
You know?
I lost a child.
The worst has happened.
I think their road is paved in blessings,
so I trust that.
They are my fresh start.
I needed my second chance to be successful
'cause I felt I was blessed to be given a second chance.
[Brooke] Mom said that when he died, his soul went into me,
because she said I walk like him, I talk like him, I act like him.
I always have to accept the fact that he's in a better place now,
and I have to continue with my life.
I can't always be sad.
I have to be happy and… think of him.
[Tonia] The decision to raise these three on my own
came straight from my experience with an abusive relationship.
I got through a lot of things in my life some people just don't survive.
So I'm just fighting my way out, you know?
[Brooke] My mom, she's gone through a lot.
And she can share challenges with me
and make me realize what type of world I live in and how to deal with it.
[Coach Karel] When does their apartment payment stop?
[Coach Jean] Um,
it should be in April.
Maybe he forgot and just keeps paying it.
-[both laughing] -That'd be good for her.
-I'm sure-- -She has to learn to manage her own money.
-[Coach Karel] That's why you need to-- -[Coach Jean] I have to speak to her.
Yeah. Don't want her to end up back in the shelter.
Because that happens so fast for people.
Yeah.
Especially when you have three kids.
-Three growing kids. -Yeah.
They need everything.
[laughing]
Didn't I say no roughhousing on the ice?
You, get off.
[shrieks and laughs]
[Coach Jean] Did you fill out the thing for public high schools?
I plan to go to a specialized high school, but I have to wait for the results.
-When do the results come in? -Like, March.
March? I didn't know it was that long.
Yeah. The test even said--
You took the test already?
-How do you think you did? -I think I did good.
I answered all the questions.
-You did well? -Yeah.
Good.
Well, we'll see. I mean, if you get into a specialized high school,
I would want you to go there.
Yeah.
If not, I would want you to go to St. Joseph's.
-St. Joseph's? -It's a good school.
Okay, guys, this is how you do it. You take…
-Let me just put this upright. -[Rainn] What the hell, Tai?
Take two hands.
Put them near the pimple, not on it, but near it.
And you're going to squeeze! [laughs hysterically]
[Rainn laughing hysterically] Tai, you're so gross.
I'm gonna sing a song. What song should I sing?
♪ You can never give up ♪
♪ You can reach your goals ♪
♪ Just talk to your soul and say ♪
♪ I will, I will ♪
♪ I know my dreams are real ♪
It's hard to run because you have to meet people's expectations.
Even if you're injured, you have to run really fast
because if you don't
then everyone looks like they're not proud of you or something.
Sometimes any sport is too much pressure for people,
so they just don't do sports.
I like the adrenaline, but not the pressure.
[Dr. Goldstein] All righty.
How much pain you got today?
None.
-You have none? -Hmm?
-No pain? -No.
-Knees good? -Yeah.
Straight. Straight. Straight. Up, up, up. Beautiful.
[Rainn] She's, um, a sprinter?
[Dr. Goldstein] Yes. She's got five gold medals.
Diane Dixon. All gold.
-Really? -Yep.
Ooh!
-[Dr. Goldstein] That's right. -[Rainn] Wow.
[Coach Jean] 1975 was the first year for the Colgate Women's Games.
And the reason that the Colgate Games started
is because back in the '70s,
there wasn't a lot of opportunity for female athletes.
The boys had everything.
What's the big thing about Colgate? Why do we push you so hard? Adelia?
[Adelia] Because the winner gets scholarship money.
You get scholarship money for school.
How many of you going to college?
Absolutely.
And even though a full scholarship will go far,
you're still going to need incidentals.
Like, "Oh, wow, they're paying my room and board."
"I might have to buy books."
So that Colgate money could be used toward your books,
and then you have extra money. Okay?
I received Colgate money for ten years.
The ten years I ran the Colgate Games.
All right? So, this weekend,
remember, do the best you can.
-No punks out there. Understand? -[all] Yes.
Have a good night.
[Coach Jean] My coach, Fred Thompson,
he started the Colgate Women's Games.
It was his idea, really, to put women in the forefront
of track and field.
He was a pioneer in that respect.
He wanted women to get the opportunity to go to college
and through track and field he did that.
One, two, three.
[all] Jeuness!
Oh, my God. That never gets old.
For me, he was a mentor.
Before I met him, I didn't know any Black people
who were attorneys who had gone to law school.
So I got that in my head that that's what I wanted to do.
I've been a coach for 33 years.
But as a career, I'm an administrative law judge.
I don't get paid for coaching.
My mother told us that we should get an education.
We should become something.
Not exactly knowing how,
but at that time, the city universities in New York were free.
So I chose to go to law school.
And even my father discouraged me
because those were opportunities that were never open to him,
but I just kept going with what I wanted to do,
and eventually, he was so proud of me.
So that's what I want for the girls also.
Those opportunities.
[announcer] Lane one, Juliette Salazar,
Peekskill Middle School, Peekskill, New York.
Lane two, Rainn Sheppard.
[starting shot fires]
[spectators cheering]
[Coach Jean] Just relax.
Don't rush!
Her head's gone down to remain stable.
Rainn's ready to race.
Yeah, she's ready to race.
She's gonna have to run.
-[woman] Don't wait. -[Coach Jean] Don't wait.
She's got to start running now.
[Coach Karel] Running right now.
You got to take a deep breath and go, Rainn.
[Coach Karel] Go, Rainn. Don't wait.
Don't wait. Don't wait.
[Coach Jean] She's gotta be going from there.
[Coach Karel] Rainn's stride opened.
-[Coach Jean] Yeah. -[Coach Karel] That's the way to go.
[Coach Jean] Dig!
Dig!
Yeah, she's right there. 4:57.
[cheering]
[chuckles]
[spectators cheering]
[Coach Jean] Gonna need that money later.
To support your coach. [chuckles]
[Coach Jean] Good, Tai. Yeah.
Gonna be people out there sprinting on you.
Quicker, quicker, quicker.
Good.
Rainn came back from an injury and she's doing very well.
There's going to be a lot of coaches looking for them to come to their school.
Well, I want them to go to the best school for them academically.
[panting]
[Rainn] I want to be great. I want to be known.
So when I die, I want people to know who Rainn Sheppard was.
We're the first generation. The OGs, man.
The Sheppards are the OGs.
[indistinct chatter]
Have they gotten back to you from the Tyler Perry Foundation?
-About your rent or anything? -Oh. No.
No? They haven't said anything?
Maybe they'll just continue that for the rest of your life. [chuckles]
Yeah. Maybe he'll just forget about it--
Let's hope so
because you think you'll be able to handle the rent?
After?
[Coach Jean] After, yeah.
[hesitating]
I can do it. I just got to keep saying no to the girls.
[Coach Jean] Yeah. Or call me and I'll say no.
[both laughing]
That's basically it.
[Coach Jean] Yeah, say, "Okay, wait, you want so-and-so?"
"Wait, just let me ask Jean."
You're not the only one raising these girls. [chuckles]
Every year we go to what's called the AAU Junior Olympic Nationals.
If you're looking on this list and you know your daughter has run this time,
there's a good chance that she's going.
College coaches go to the Nationals
and say this girl came in third or fourth or fifth in the finals at the Nationals.
That's excellent.
They give medals to the top eight in each event.
Now that seems generous,
but when you have 200 people in the nine-year-old 200-meter dash,
to come in the top eight is no easy feat.
That means that you're in the top eight in the country.
Come on, Adelia, stick to the line!
[loudly] Dig! You know what dig means?
Shauna!
You ever tell somebody to slow down in my practice again, and you won't be back.
Do you understand? Are you crazy?
Ready? Goodbye.
Take your hands out of your pocket.
Good. From the beginning, Shauna. Good.
If you stop, go home, and don't come back.
Thank you.
So did you hear from any schools yet?
The public schools?
Uh, I heard from Bedford Academy. That's it.
-Bedford Academy, that's all? -Yeah.
What specialized high schools did you put down?
Brooklyn Tech, Brooklyn Latin and Stuyvesant.
[Coach Jean] Well, Stuyvesant, the results are out.
That's means I didn't make it.
[Coach Jean] That's what Mitsy said.
She said that only seven Black kids got into Stuyvesant.
What?
Three hundred and ninety-five were accepted, only seven Black kids.
So, cross Stuyvesant off your list.
I didn't want that anyway.
[Coach Jean] Do you think that going to a regular public high school
would be better than going to St. Joseph's,
which is a private school?
-Well, by comparison, no. -[Coach Jean] You don't know?
-No? -Like, but--
There are some good public schools, of course,
but I just think that St. Joseph's is a better bet for you.
So we'll just wait and see.
I know you're going to do well wherever you go.
-[Rainn] Or the Japanese. Or the Koreans. -[Tai] Japanese.
[chattering indistinctly]
[woman] What are you looking for in a high school? What's your number one?
Even if that's the food, the basketball, whatever it is.
What's your number one?
-[girl] The food. -Food. Okay. Sports.
I'm impressed with your grades.
You guys are like 90s or better students, so if you want to come to this school,
just come have a conversation with me or the principal,
and we'll figure something out.
That's how usually our application process works.
So, what do you guys talk about?
Like, the election.
We did a whole worksheet on the election.
I still don't know how it works.
How come you went from the French to the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution is about south and north.
-You get to bring the iPads home? -Yeah.
Okay, so we have to…
We sit next to each other, so all of us are gonna be together.
[Tai] I don't want to go to an all-girls school.
Girls, they're just so dramatic,
but boys, sometimes you can just get along really swell.
But sometimes they're just rude and annoying.
I guess it's just based on the people.
That's why I don't want to go to an all-girls school.
But I don't mind St. Joseph's.
St. Joseph's would be a good all-girls school.
I want school to have a lot of activities,
so I can have options.
I want to be able to find a hobby or, like, find something
that I would love to do when I leave high school to go to college,
so I can already have an idea because I don't want to…
I don't want to go to college and not know what to do,
spend extra years trying to find out
'cause I want to just have my four years in college and then leave,
and then go for my career or be an Olympian.
[humming]
Look at this beautiful face. That's worldwide handsome.
Listen, did your mother tell you that you both got accepted to St. Joseph's?
Yeah.
And you got full scholarships.
-What? -Yes!
-We both got full-- -For the full four years?
Yes, based on your excellent grades.
This is that quote,
"When the door opens and lets your future in."
This is that door opening
because the next three years will determine where you go to college.
They only look at your freshman, sophomore and junior grade.
Because if we do really good freshman, sophomore and junior year,
then we won't have to pay for college either.
No, you won't have to pay for college.
-Full ride, we're looking for. -[Rainn squealing]
-[Tai] I know I want to go-- -To a great school.
-[Tai] I'm scared. -You're scared?
You'll be three years older.
You won't be scared. You'll be ready to go.
You wanna get out of Brooklyn and go someplace beautiful and nice?
-You can live with me five more years. -Definitely not.
We have to have a big house.
[inaudible conversation]
[shushing softly]
I would like to record our sisters.
Why are you here today?
To celebrate Tai's birthday with her.
[Rainn] What is Tai to you?
-My best friend. -[Rainn] Oh.
-Tai your only friend in our family? -No.
[Rainn] Who else are your friends?
[chuckles] Rainn and Brooke.
What do you like about the Sheppard family?
Everything?
[Rainn] Like?
They're nice. Very caring, compassionate.
[Rainn] What high school are you going to?
-St. Joseph. -[Rainn] Good job.
Thank you.
[Sariani] So you got a full scholarship, like, the full four years?
-Yeah. -[Sariani] Hmm, must be nice.
Rainn.
I know she's happy for me, but you could show it a little more.
That's okay. No. You can't change it, Sariani. No.
[Sariani] Okay.
[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday, dear Tai Tai ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
[Coach Jean] Now on page 11, she said,
"At Williamson, I don't have to play it cool."
"I'm cool by default because I'm one of the only Black kids there."
"That means flipping the switch in my brain so I'm Williamson Starr."
"Williamson Starr doesn't use slang."
If a rapper would say it, she doesn't say it,
even if her white friends do.
"Slang makes them cool." But slang makes her what?
-[all] Hood. -[Coach Jean] Hood. Yes.
Basically, William Starr doesn't give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.
"I can't stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway."
Why you think she does it anyway?
If I put you in an all-white school right now…
[all chuckling]
If you said, "Brooke, you dragging it, Brooke."
You think your white friends would understand that? [chuckles]
"I'm weak."
[all chuckle]
[Coach Jean] Do you think they would know what you were talking about?
-No. -[Coach Jean chuckles] No.
Rainn, what about you?
If you were in an all-white school, would you act the same way?
-Would you talk the same way? -Yes.
I would still act myself and not, like…
Oh… [muttering]
[Coach Jean chuckles]
Okay. What happens at the end of this chapter? Maya?
Khalil gets shot by the cops.
[Coach Jean] And how does that happen?
-The cops pull him over. -[Coach Jean] Pulled him over.
And what does Khalil do?
-[Brooke] He moves and they shot him. -Yeah.
[Maya] And why'd they shoot him three times?
[Coach Jean] 'Cause they think Black males are, um…
What do you think, Missy?
[Tai] A danger.
[Coach Jean] Yeah, like a lot of people tell me,
because you know I have two sons,
and they say, "Oh, you don't have to worry because they're smart."
"They went to college." Is that true?
-[all] No. -No.
Because do they stop and ask, "Do you have a college degree?"
No, they're like, "Black kids are so this and so that,"
but if you put them in a certain place, and you treat them a certain way,
that's all they know, this thug life.
You got to live it to survive where you live.
Or you can run track. One or the other.
[indistinct chatter]
So now it is confirmed St. Joe's is closing.
I don't think that Bedford is even an option at this point
because the public schools have already accepted their offers.
So,
I told Mom whatever help you need in finding a new school, let's do it,
but I don't want you to get your hopes up about Bedford Academy.
Okay.
[Miss Orapullo] You look sad.
Mmm-hmm.
[Miss Orapullo] I think you should go and check out Bishop Loughlin.
It's a really great school.
Okay.
[Coach Jean] I wish you wouldn't worry about school. It's nothing to worry about.
All right? I got you, all right?
-Hmm? -[Tai] Mmm-hmm.
[Coach Karel] You take on too much for a little girl, so stop.
Come on. Get up and do what you got to do.
-Can you get me up? -[Coach Jean] Help her up.
[Coah Karel grunts] You think I'm playing? [chuckles]
Yeah, go do your drills.
[Coach Jean] She worries a lot, but that's just her personality.
Things always work out for the best.
We're just waiting to hear from Loughlin
to see if they can squeeze them into the freshman class. [chuckling]
All the way through. Good.
I mean, Loughlin is a good school and it's an excellent track school,
and they'll have a lot of opportunities there to run good times.
So they'll survive and they'll be okay.
Darn it, if I have to get a second job to pay that tuition,
that's what I'll do.
It's not completely out of the question.
[shakily] We'll see.
I pray a lot.
[interviewer] It's not free?
Not free. No…
It's a private school. A Catholic school.
It's not free.
If you want to go to the Nationals, you got to believe in it today.
That means you have to run your best times
and jump your best jumps
and do whatever you got to do to get in.
I don't care if you're in the 100 or the 3,000 on the last straightaway.
How's your face gonna look?
God, give my girls strength and speed and let them run what they can really run.
-One, two, three. -[all] Jeuness!
[Coach Jean] Yeah, well… [chuckles]
[announcer] On your mark.
[starting shot fires]
[spectators shouting and cheering]
Brookie!
[Rainn] Come on, Brooke!
[Coach Jean] That's it, Brookie!
Come on, Brookie!
Brooke has run much better.
[interviewer] Are you nervous now?
Do you want to go to the Nationals?
I guess.
[Coach Jean] You know, she's got the teenage blues.
[announcer] On your mark.
Set…
[starting shot fires]
[spectators shouting and cheering]
[Coach Jean] Run a good stretch!
She can run.
She's not going to let it go just like that.
[loudly] Come on!
Come on!
Come on, you can't wait till the last lap!
-You can't wait! -[Coach Jean] Come on, girl.
You can do it. Good!
[Coach Karel] Get 'em, Tai!
[Coach Jean] Come on!
[Coach Karel] Go get 'em, Tai!
Do you know who's gonna come off that relay?
[Coach Jean] Tai's gonna come off.
She can't run like that at the Nationals. Get eaten up.
[Coach Karel] Mmm-mmm.
[Coach Jean] Come on!
She's probably going to get booted from that relay,
and Rainn will take her place at the Nationals.
That was bad.
You're down as an alternate now
because you know that won't fly at the Nationals.
So we still got time. You're still in the running.
Running is what saves them.
Running is what keeps them focused,
and keeps them listening, and keeps them with a goal, you know?
Everybody needs a goal, especially teenage girls. [chuckles]
[Tai] I'm not a regular kid.
I actually have big opportunities that I could take.
[sighs] And I don't really want to take them.
I like track. I really do.
But I didn't want to run track with this lots of pressure.
But I have a chance to get a full ride for college if I continue track.
[Coach Jean] Tai and I have a good relationship.
She's been begging me for several months
to allow her to stay at the house and train…
and it gives their parents a break.
Everybody needs a break from a teenage girl.
Yes, Tai, especially.
That's not standing. That's laying.
Stand up. Come on. Let me see.
She's got a lot of personality.
It can't be contained in a small apartment.
[Tai] I really love Coach Jean.
She raised me in a different way than my mom could.
How can I explain it? She just…
She makes me feel special.
She taught me…
even the little obstacles can affect your future.
I want this experience to mean something,
so I can prove that all this was not for nothing.
I'm capable of running really, really fast times.
[Coach Jean] When I was growing up, my grandmother took in foster children.
There were always children in her home that she raised,
and that's what we were used to, you take care of children.
That was ingrained in us.
So, in some small way, I try to do that through the track team.
Take care of kids who have parents,
but they need some extra person in their lives.
I've lost some really talented girls to the street,
and it's always sad for me,
but I finally had to say to myself,
any one girl that I am able to help is a victory.
Stay here and do your drills.
Stay loose, but you know where it's all at, right?
-In here? -Right there. Yeah.
Still nervous.
Don't even focus on the first quarter,
'cause you know how you go out all hard?
You gotta go fast, but relax.
Focus on the backstretch.
Did you ever see the Nike commercial where she says, "I can do this"?
Yeah.
That's what you got to be singing to yourself.
Just say, "I can do this," and I'll be there screaming. Okay?
Just keep thinking. What you gonna think?
-I can do this. -"I can do this," 'cause you can. You can.
-You believe it? You gotta believe it. -Mmm-hmm.
Don't matter if I believe it 'cause I'm not gonna be out there catching wig.
Do all the drills you can.
-Okay? -Thanks, Jeannie.
You're welcome.
[woman] Thirteen, fourteen, 800. Good luck to all of you.
Walk down in a straight line. Follow number two.
[indistinct screaming and chatter]
[announcer] On your marks.
[starting shot fires]
[Coach Jean] This is good! You can do it!
[Coach Karel] Let's go, girl!
Run the backstretch!
Hard!
Okay.
Yeah, she's won her third and final race.
[chuckles]
[Ms. Diann] I wish I could see you tomorrow.
[Tai] I'll take lots of pictures.
[Ms. Diann] You need stuff?
[Tai] Like earrings?
[Ms. Diann] Yeah, jewelry.
We don't really have earrings because we always lose them.
[Ms. Diann] It's prom. You gotta get dressed a little bit.
This is a special moment.
Not everyone gets to go because not everybody's graduating.
I didn't have a prom.
-Really? -[Ms. Diann] In eighth grade?
-They didn't do that stuff. -High school prom?
[Ms. Diann] No, prom, I didn't go to.
[Tai] I would go with you, Ms. Diann, but I have a date.
[Ms. Diann] Who's your date?
Joshua.
Who's Joshua?
Uh…
♪ I've always wondered why people rode rollercoasters ♪
♪ Why the feeling of throwing up brought about some type of excitement ♪
♪ That they didn't receive on a regular day? ♪
♪ When did feeling sick become equivalent to thrill? ♪
♪ When did nausea become the new X pill? ♪
♪ I've always wondered why people rode rollercoasters ♪
♪ And I remember ♪
♪ I remember when I did ♪
♪ It's the butterflies ♪
♪ And the fireflies ♪
♪ Fighting in my stomach ♪
♪ The light between their wings ♪
♪ Scared to fly ♪
♪ I might come down ♪
♪ Think I'm ready now ♪
♪ Getting back in line ♪
♪ It's the feeling of your nerves sitting on the front edge of their seats ♪
♪ Front row, eyes open ♪
♪ Tears coming from thrill of sight ♪
♪ Moving as fast as light ♪
♪ Laughing for no reason ♪
♪ Screaming for everything You shouldn't have said in that fight ♪
♪ Rollercoasters ♪
♪ It's like meeting God With a kite in your left hand ♪
♪ String still twisted around your forefinger ♪
♪ Right hand Still gripping the safety rail ♪
♪ There is this moment ♪
♪ Where you feel like you're in an ocean of your butterflies ♪
♪ This is the moment when you get free And you let your arms fly ♪
♪ It's the fireflies ♪
♪ And the butterflies ♪
♪ Fighting in my stomach ♪
♪ The light between their wings ♪
♪ Scared to fly ♪
♪ I might come down ♪
[announcer] Rainn Sheppard.
[spectators cheering]
[announcer] Tai Sheppard.
[spectators cheering]
Coach Jean! I graduated.
[excited chatter]
[squeals]
[chuckles]
Brookie, did you see how you were ranked for the 3,000?
-Tenth. -Yeah, tenth is a good spot.
You just have to move up two spots, see? But that's not what we're trying to do.
We're trying to go out there to win.
How do I want to see your face at the end?
Exactly. I want to see you digging at the end.
[Brooke] When I first ran,
it made me feel happy and it made me feel like something.
Now I feel as if I have something to do with my life.
I have something to work on.
I have a goal.
[announcer] On your marks.
[starting shot fires]
[spectators shouting and cheering]
[Coach Jean] Come on, Brookie.
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Wind sprints, Brookie! Wind sprints!
Come on, Brooke. Come on. Hold on.
Come on!
Race, Brookie!
[announcer] Brooke Sheppard in third.
[Coach Jean] Whoo! [chuckles]
11:12.
I can't believe she got third! Oh, my God!
[presenter] In third place from Brooklyn, New York, Brooke Sheppard.
[all cheering]
[presenter] Thank you, ladies.
[squeals] Yay, my baby! You did so good.
[Coach Karel] Rainn has a tough task ahead of her today in the 1,500.
I'm hopeful, and I'm nervous.
[announcer] Now going into seven…
[Coach Karel] Rainn comes to a track meet to race.
That's the difference. Not just to run, she's here to race.
[Rainn] Every day has something to do with the next day.
You can't slack off one day and expect everything you dream for.
Gotta work for your dreams.
They just don't come because you say, "Oh, please come."
[announcer] On your marks.
[starting shot fires]
[spectators shouting and cheering]
[Coach Karel] Rainn, let's go! Move up, Rainn! Move up!
Come on, Rainny, come on!
Come on, baby!
Rainny, you're right there!
Come on, Rainny! Come on, Rainn!
Three hundred meters!
Come on now!
Come on, Rainny!
Rainn, go!
Come on, Rainny! Come on, Rainn! Come on!
[announcer] Rainn Sheppard in third.
[Coach Karel] Great race. I can't be mad at her.
[woman] You did amazing.
-Thank you so much. -[woman] Good job.
[Coach Jean] She did everything she could. She did everything she could.
[presenter] In third place, from Naperville, Illinois--
No, no, no.
-[presenter] From Brooklyn, New York… -Yes.
-[presenter] …with a time of 4:49:32… -Yes, baby!
[presenter] Rainn Sheppard.
[all cheering and applauding]
I'm proud of you, though.
I'm proud of myself, too.
-You got one more, okay? -Oh, yeah.
I know everyone else talks about how their track team is a family,
but my track team is like an actual family,
and family is everything because it pushes me to be a better person.
[Tai] When I'm about to start my race, I'm still very, very nervous.
I'll, like, look to the coaches, maybe,
because I know that if I see somebody that I know supports me, I'll be okay.
[announcer] On your marks.
[starting shot fires]
[spectators shouting and cheering]
[Coach Jean] Up the time!
Up the time! Come on, Tai!
Go with her.
Swing!
Swing! She's right there!
Swing, Tai! Swing!
Hard, Tai! Hard!
She was tired.
She was never relaxed.
I kind of just want to go home right now, because this year is not a good year,
like my other years,
but tomorrow, I just hope I do good.
I'm going to stick to the strategy that I have with the 800,
but this time do better, because this is for the team.
I'm gonna do good.
[Coach Jean] Listen to me carefully,
we came here to win.
Even if you're in second, don't panic,
just go smooth until you catch up, but catch up. [chuckles]
Because there's always somebody coming behind you.
[announcer] So Swift Athletics coming up on the exchange.
Oh, I'm nervous. It's a relay. They have some good competition in this.
[Coach Jean] Track and field is not a team sport.
Even though you're on a team, when you get on the track,
you get on by yourself and you have to do the work.
You have to get beyond the hurdles that are put before you.
So it makes you strong in spirit
and that will get them far in life.
[announcer] On your marks.
-[starting shot fires] -[Coach Jean] Get out, Chioma!
Come on, Chioma!
That's good!
Go hard! Head down!
Keep your head down!
That's good!
Come on, Maya!
Go, Maya! Hard!
-That's good. -Good. That's good. Good, Tai, good!
[inaudible]
Come on, Tai!
[Coach Karel] That's good!
Come on, Rainny!
Let's get 'em! Let's get 'em!
Yeah, she's running.
Come on, Rainn!
Let's get 'em!
[presenter] And our gold medal winners with a time of 9:39.06,
Jeuness Track Club.
-Yay! -[all cheering]
[Coach Jean] They've accomplished so much.
They're such tremendous athletes, and they don't even realize it yet.
It's going to be a long time before they even process everything that's happened.
You just have to hold your breath and pray that they stay on the right track.
[Tai] Today is September 3rd, 2019.
Today is an important day.
Because it's the day before school.
And today is when you get to get your hair done,
and most importantly get mentally prepared to say goodbye to having fun.
I'm just nervous.
I hope that the kids are nice at school, 'cause I'm going to a private school.
I don't know. I'm not really rich either.
Maybe I don't look cool enough.
Today I'm very… nervous.
I don't really want to go to high school.
I mean, I'd like to go back to middle school.
Not only 'cause, like…
Mostly because…
I don't like change all that much.
Change is different,
and I don't know how I'll react to change.
So, Rainn, it's the day before school.
[Rainn] Oh, no duh.
-How are you feeling? -Great.
Just like any other day.
-Not nervous? -Nope.
What are you looking forward to for the school year?
Um, I'm looking forward to… peace and love.
Okay, will that be all?
[Coach Jean] Tell your mother to take a picture of you and Rainn in your uniform.
I need a picture in the morning.
Okay.
[Coach Jean] Yeah. So I can see you.
Yeah, let's keep up the good work, 'cause…
I just want you to remember, when you're in school,
before you say something, do something, just think to yourself,
"Would I do this if Jean was standing next to me?"
[Tai groans]
[Coach Jean] "Would I say this if Jean was standing next to me?"
[Tai chuckles] No.
[Coach Jean] Just say that to yourself, and then you'll be fine.
I will.
TT.
Tai? Tai?
What time you leaving?
Okay, 7:15 is good.
Rainny, what time are you leaving?
[Tonia] Going through what they went through,
like losing their home, their bedroom,
having to live in a shelter,
then all of a sudden becoming these, like, track stars…
I think this whole thing just made them more aware of life.
They're wonderful, and they're still lovable and loving.
They're, like, just beautiful young ladies.
Little women.
I would describe Tai, Rainn and Brooke as little women.
[Coach Jean] They always had that talent deep inside of them,
but they needed someone to show them how to use that talent.
And that's what I'm there for.
Bye!
Bye.
As long as they find something that they love, and they work hard at,
that's all I can ask.
And now this is the age of the women,
so they're really powerful women…
-[whistling] -…and that will take them far.
[Tai] In your time of need,
just know you're not alone…
because there's always someone there to help you.
Family, friends, people you don't know.
They'll help you along the way.
Then you also have to remember you have to work hard yourself…
because this is going to be your future,
and you should make it your own.
So then… I think you have a pretty good life.
♪ They got it, they got it ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ I got to breathe, dream, work, hurt Inhale, see, and grab the purpose ♪
♪ Breathe, dream, work, hurt Inhale, see, and grab the purpose ♪
♪ Breathe, stretch, trek, get to the goal Breathe, stretch, trek, get to the goal ♪
♪ All grit, all self-control All grit, all self-control ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ I'm highly qualified Often put aside ♪
♪ But god knows my purpose ♪
♪ I'm highly qualified Often put aside ♪
♪ But god knows my purpose ♪
♪ Nah, nah, skip to my lou Run to the goal and the Crew E2 ♪
♪ Brown girls win Positive attitude ♪
♪ I come here to win, I ain't come here to lose ♪
♪ I got to breathe, dream, work, hurt Inhale, see, and grab the purpose ♪
♪ Stress, leap, do it all again ♪
♪ 'Cause the dream don't stop Even in the a.m. ♪
♪ Look, I ain't ever been perfect ♪
♪ But I'm worth it ♪
♪ I'm highly qualified Often put aside ♪
♪ But god knows my purpose ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Nah, nah, skip to my lou Run to the goal and the Crew E2 ♪
♪ Brown girls win Positive attitude ♪
♪ I come here to win, I ain't come here to lose ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
[instrumental music playing]
♪ I am divinely purposed ♪
♪ My body, a machine An alien exterior ♪
♪ Of what lies beneath my surface ♪
♪ Most only think they know me A ghetto superstar ♪
♪ A new power A shiny medal with cradle arms ♪
♪ But truth be told My soul, centuries old ♪
♪ I done did this before ♪
♪ That's why I sprint through life lines And hurdle through life times ♪
♪ I leave all doubt in dust A journey forward is a must ♪
♪ That's my mission and that's my vision ♪
♪ I am my only competition ♪
♪ They got it, they got it They got it ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ I'm a queen now All hail to the track queens ♪
♪ All hail to the track queens Gotta go, got mad green ♪
♪ Hey, wait a minute! Did anybody see the dream? ♪
♪ Did anybody see the dream? Going hard like a green machine ♪
♪ Work it ♪
♪ Hey ♪
♪ I'm a queen now All hail to the track queens ♪
♪ All hail to the track queens Gotta go, got mad green ♪
[instrumental music playing]
[vocalizing]