Zaila Avant-garde Named SportsKid of the Year for 2021

How do you spell success? Zaila Avant-garde can tell you. She can also tell you how to spell solidungulate and a whole bunch of other long, complicated words, which she proved in July when she won the Scripps National Spelling Bee—just two years after she started spelling competitively. And that’s not even her primary focus: “Spelling it just a thing I do,” Zaila says. “My primary focus is basketball.” On the court, the 14-year-old is an elite point guard who has set four world records for dribbling multiple balls at the same time.

For her ability on the court and her intellectual curiosity and dedication off of it, Zaila has been named the 2021 SportsKid of the Year by the staff of Sports Illustrated Kids. “Words are fun,” Zaila says. “There are stories behind these words that make them super fun. It takes a lot of work [to be successful], but it’s really fun work.” You can read about all of the work Zaila has put in (we haven’t even touched on her juggling and unicyle riding) at SIKids.com.