Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia, grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town in southeastern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband\'s death, victimized by an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain.\n', '

\n', 'When he was in second grade, the young Leonard gained a surrogate family. Brian Siler, an insurance agent in Robinson who had a son of the same age, was aware of Leonard\'s family situation, and eventually became a father figure. Leonard regularly attended the Silers\' church and went on family vacations. According to ESPN.com writer Dana O\'Neil,

Leonard entered high school as a guard, but was converted to center after a six-inch (15 cm) growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. O\'Neil called him "something of a basketball anomaly", adding that Leonard "gained all that height without losing his coordination or his fast-twitch muscles."\n', '

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