March Athlete of the Month: Lila Winking
Hi everyone, Coach Katie here with our March Athlete of the Month spotlight. Each month we highlight a Gem City athlete whose dedication, mindset, and work ethic stand out on and off the floor. This month, we’re recognizing someone who has grown up right here in this gym and has given back to it in just about every way possible. Our Athlete of the Month is Lila Winking.
Meet Lila
If you’ve spent any time at Gem City over the last sixteen-plus years, you already know Lila. She has been here since she was eighteen months old, taking Tiny Gems classes with her mom. What started as a toddler gym class turned into a gymnastics career, a coaching role, and a senior spot on our all-star cheer squad. Lila turns eighteen in May and will be heading to Illinois State University in the fall. We are so proud of her and, honestly, not quite ready to say goodbye.
From Tiny Gems to Team
Lila’s path through this gym is one of the more complete ones we’ve seen. She moved from recreational classes into Fast Tracks, then straight to the competitive gymnastics team, bypassing pre-team entirely. She competed on the gymnastics team for nine years, and when I asked about her favorite competition memory, she answered immediately, with a big smile: a 9.775 on uneven bars as a Level 3. The fact that she remembered that exact score after nearly a decade tells you everything about what that moment meant to her. She retired from gymnastics as a Level 7 competitor.
After gymnastics, Lila transitioned to the all-star cheer program. This is her third year on the senior squad. She is also co-captain of the Varsity Cheer Squad at Quincy Senior High School, where she is a senior.
A Coach, Too
Four years ago, Lila added coaching to her role at the gym. She teaches recreational preschool, gymnastics, and tumbling classes and stepped into gymnastics pre-team and team coaching this past year as well. She can do the skills she teaches, she’s outgoing, she shows up when she says she will, and she handles responsibility well. She has become a genuinely valued part of our staff.
The Winking Family
Lila is one of three sisters who have been part of Gem City essentially their entire lives. All three girls grew up in this gym, attending classes and practices upwards of five or six days a week for most of the years Gem City has been open. Ava, the oldest, graduated from our gymnastics team program as a Level 9. Sylvia, the youngest, is currently a Level 9 gymnast and member of the same all-star squad as Lila. When we tried to count how many competitions Lila has been to over the years, we quickly realized the number is somewhere around 80. How crazy is that?
When I asked Lila if there was anything she wanted to say to her parents, knowing they’d be reading this, she started crying. She didn’t expect it. A wave of emotion hit her and she needed a moment before she could answer. That reaction was more than enough.
The Winkings aren’t just a gym family. They are the example we think of when we use that phrase. Three daughters, all basically starting classes once they could walk, all dedicating years of weekends to competition, all committed to not missing unless sick. Their parents coordinated different practice times, different competition sessions, and different level requirements for three girls simultaneously, often for years at a stretch. And they did it consistently, without complaint, from the outside at least. Lila is very aware of what that took, and it shows in who she is.
Outside the Gym
Lila’s favorite subject is math, which tracks since her dad is a math teacher at the high school. She mentioned that he kept her sharp over summers by making her work on math during break, and she said it was just always normal to her since she didn’t know most kids didn’t do that.
She loves tacos and says her favorite junk food is any kind of cookie, though her mom doesn’t really buy junk food, so cookies are more of a special occasion thing. She also, famously, loves to sleep. She was straightforward about this and said it’s something to take note of. For an elite athlete and strong student, it actually makes a lot of sense.
Lila plans to study either medicine or athletic training at ISU. She says she’s most looking forward to living on her own and having new experiences. Her older sister Ava has been away at college for a few years, so she has a good example ahead of her. She’s also going to miss her younger sister when she leaves Quincy.
One More Thing
Anyone who has been in the office in the past two years has probably noticed Bowen, Coach Jake & Coach Hope’s son, who is essentially a fixture. Lila is one of Bowen’s favorite people in the building. Her name was one of the first he could say. A few times a week, when Lila comes to clock out, she doesn’t head straight to her car. She gets on the floor with Bowen and his toys, takes him into the gym to jump on the trampoline, plays Paw Patrol and dump trucks, flips into the pit with him, or steers the spaceship in the back office. She also always asks Becky if there’s anything that needs doing before she leaves. Most teenagers wouldn’t do this. Lila does.
Coach Hope’s Take
Lila was nominated by Coach Hope, who coaches the senior all-star squad. Hope said: “Watching Lila grow over the years as an athlete has been such a gift. Her determination, discipline, and heart truly set her apart. She doesn’t just show up, she gives her all and genuinely cares about her team and her growth. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with her.”
Lila, we are so grateful for everything you’ve put into this place. You’ve been part of Gem City since before you could remember it, and that means we’ve had the privilege of watching you grow up. We can’t wait to see what you do next.
Congratulations to our Athlete of the Month, Lila Winking.
Click to read an extended version
This month I have the pleasure of introducing everyone to Lila Winking, our March Athlete of the Month. Lila could almost be considered a fixture here at Gem City. She turns 18 in May and has been coming to classes since she joined the Tiny Gems class with her mom at just 18 months old. Lila grew out of recreational classes and into the gymnastics team program, transferred her talents to the all-star cheer program, and then she branched out even further and became a coach as well! We’re so thankful for her presence here at Gem City, and we will greatly miss her when she leaves to attend Illinois State University this fall.
Lila is a senior at Quincy Senior High School where she is co-captain of the Varsity Cheer Squad. Aside from her long career at Gem City she does remember trying her hand at soccer and softball when she was younger; however, she took to gymnastics and kind of made the choice early on that this was what she would focus on.
Lila took her talent and strengths and went straight from recreational classes to Fast Tracks and then to the competitive gymnastics team, bypassing pre team altogether! She competed on the competitive gymnastics team for nine years. She still remembers her highest score she ever received at competition with a 9.775 as a Level 3 team member on the uneven bars! It surprised me and made me laugh when I asked her this question and she quickly answered with a big smile on her face! To be able to remember this exact score about a decade later proves how much that moment meant to her.
This is her third year on the senior all-star squad, and she has worked for four years as a coach. Lila teaches recreational preschool, gymnastics, and tumbling classes. She also took on the role of gymnastics pre team AND team coach this past year as well! Considering she can DO all the skills she’s teaching and the fact that she’s super outgoing and dependable, she has become a great asset all-around.
A fun thing that you may not know about Lila is that she LOVES to sleep. She says it’s something to take note of that she likes to get an ample amount of sleep. How could we not find this amusing and kind of great! She is an elite athlete and great student, so getting good sleep kind of checks out! Her favorite subject at school is math. We think she may get this honest as her dad is a math teacher at the high school. Lila said she remembers that over summer breaks her dad would always make her stay up on her math so that she’d stay sharp. She said it was just always the norm so she didn’t know that most kids didn’t have to do math work during the summer. Lila also loves tacos, and her favorite junk food is any kind of cookie! However, she says her mom doesn’t buy junk food, so she doesn’t really get to eat cookies very often. She says her snacks at home have always been healthy.
Lila plans to attend ISU next year and hoping to either go into medicine or athletic training. She says she’s most looking forward to living on her own and having some new experiences. Lila has an older sister, Ava, that has been away at college a few years already, so she has an example ahead of her. She also has a younger sister that she will be missing when she leaves Quincy. Amazingly enough, her younger sister is also on our gymnastics team and all-star squad, so we’ll still have a Winking in the building. The thing about the Winking sisters that most don’t know – we’ve grown up with them all. All three girls have spent their whole childhoods attending classes, practicing on teams, traveling to meets, and generally being present at the gym upwards of 5-6 days a week for almost the whole time Gem City has been a gym! The Winking Family is the example of a “gym family” that we think about when we mention the phrase. Ava graduated from our gymnastics team program ending as a Level 9 gymnast, Sylvia is currently a Level 9 gymnast and member of the same cheer squad that Lila is currently on, and Lila retired as a gymnast after competing for three seasons as a Level 7 herself.
We tried to tabulate how many competitions Lila competed in as a Gem City athlete and we very easily realized it is around 80 competitions over the years. How crazy is this!?!? Knowing the time commitment involved in such a number, I asked Lila if there was anything she’d like to say to her parents since they’ll be reading this. It surprised us both when she started crying. She didn’t expect to feel so much, but a wave of emotion hit her and she had to take a minute before actually answering. That right there was more than I needed to know that she truly understood the sacrifice and commitment of her own parents.
You see, the Winkings aren’t just a gym family, they’re the epitome of a Gem City team family; three daughters basically starting classes after beginning to walk, graduating high school from our program, dedicating to team practices (and not missing unless sick), committing to giving up their weekends for months at a time for competition, and driving to the gym about six times a week. And the financial commitment too! Let’s not forget about the money involved! Lila and I continued to chat about what her parents sacrificed and how much it means to her. At one point her parents had three girls on gymnastics team and all three were in different levels. For those not aware of how this works, it means they all three had different practice times, all three had to attend different sessions at each meet, and each level has different requirements and different coaches. This made it so that her parents almost never had all three girls in the house at the same time (minus Sundays that weren’t meet weekends), and some of her parents only free time was spent driving to and from meets, taking not just one day but sometimes two and three day weekends before having to turn around and go back to work to do it all over again the following weekend. What a sacrifice! And Lila is very much aware and grateful. And honestly, we see it. Lila is well-spoken, caring, dependable, reliable, helpful, funny, generous, and honest. Lila said the thing she remembers most is that they were never allowed to skip a practice – if they are on a team then they have to attend, no excuses. From a coach’s point of view, this is one of the reasons we love this family…..their commitment! Lila also says her parents always give really good advice. She says both parents are very real and help her whenever she asks for help or advice.
I know over the years there have been many small gymnasts that have looked up to Lila. Watching the older gymnasts practice is always fun for the younger girls that are attending classes. That’s the benefit our gym – the team athletes practice alongside the beginners. To be able to see where your hard work can take you is so inspiring! Lila said she would like to tell those little girls, “Always believe in yourself.”
One more takeaway from Lila’s time in the gym that has nothing to do with gymnastics is her time spent with Bowen, her coach’s two-year-old son. Bowen is in the gym almost daily and has become best friends with many coaches and athletes over the past two years. Lila is one of Bowen’s best friends and her name was one of the first names he could recall and actually say! I get to see Lila light up when Bowen is in the office. A few times a week Lila comes into the office to clock out and instead of heading home she gets down and plays with Bowen or takes him into the gym to play in the pit. Bowen has come to love his Lila time. Most teenagers wouldn’t do this! Lila plays Paw Patrol, dump truck, riding the ship in the pit, flipping into the pit, and steering the spaceship in the back office. Not only does she play with Bo, Becky said Lila always asks if she needs anything done before she leaves. That is a very appreciated act in our busy gym office!
Lila was nominated by Coach Hope for being such a great teammate on the senior all-star squad. This is what Hope wanted everyone to know about Lila, “Watching Lila grow over the years as an athlete has been such a gift. Her determination, discipline, and heart truly set her apart. She doesn’t just show up, she gives her all and genuinely cares about her team and her growth. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with her.”
