Name: Lauren Wolffis

Grade: Junior

Sport: Gymnastics

“Gymnastics has impacted my life by providing me with an escape from the stress of my school and home life and giving me a fantastic group of friends that I wouldn’t have met otherwise; it’s made me physically and mentally stronger and pushed me to become an even better version of myself.”

“My inspiration is Katelyn Ohashi, a UCLA gymnast who got a 10.0 on the floor a few years ago. Obviously, I’ll never be as good as her. But, her fun-loving personality and outlook on the sport remind me that even though I’m not a great gymnast by any means, I’m out there to have fun, and that’s all that matters.”

“I started gymnastics when I was four because I had boundless energy, and I refused to sit still. So, I fell in love with the sport. It’s such a unique sport because you can do whatever you want and do it basically anywhere. There’s something freeing yet terrifying about being able to chuck your body around for fun without getting hurt.”

“My mom had the most influence on my time as a gymnast because she did it when she was younger, so my goal was always to be better than her. Besides my mom, the most influential person in my gymnastics career would have to be the coach I had when I was about 9 or 10. She was terrifying at first, partially because she had, and still has, a metal bar in her back; the thought of that freaked me out. But, she quickly became my favorite coach and gave me the confidence to continue pushing myself.”

“I plan to improve my skills by practicing hard and remembering that the only person who really cares about how well I perform are my coaches and me.”