33 Kody’s dream might be possible. After all, he has Olympic blood. His maternal grandfather, Wong Kwok Yeung, played basketball for Taiwan in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was called “the Larry Bird of Taiwan,” said Lydia Lawton of her father. Lydia, is also a gifted athlete, running track and playing basketball as a kid. In fact, before she moved to the United States from Hong Kong in the 1980s, she had been asked to be on Hong Kong’s 1980 Junior Olympic team for swimming. Also, training with the high-caliber EVO Athletics coaches can’t hurt Kody’s chances. Aimee Boorman, the longtime coach of Simone Biles, the 2016 Olympic All-Around gold medalist, became the executive director of women’s gymnastics and elite coordinator at EVO right after the Rio Games. There’s no doubt Kody is a talented athlete, but he’s also an all-around great kid. Friends describe him as friendly, thoughtful and generous. One mentioned that every time his school offers gifts for sale, Kody always buys a bunch for his teachers and friends. “He loves to buy others presents,” said Kristen Dillon, whose daughter Noelle is one of Kody’s best friends. “He always sends holiday-grams to his whole class for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. He is a very giving kid for sure.” Kody’s dad happened to use the exact same word when describing his son. “He’s extremely giving, and concerned with others’ well-being,” Lawton said. “He’s kind-hearted.” As far as his future in gymnastics, Kyle Lawton said that in the past year particularly, Kody has begun taking his sport extremely seriously. “He wants to do really well with this,” Lawton said. “He’s very aware of what he’s capable of. He’s hard on himself when he doesn’t perform the way he knows he can.” Kody’s coach, Jason Collins, agrees. “Kody is an amazingly talented athlete with great potential,” said Collins, EVO’s Chief Athletics Of��cer and Vice President. “The great thing about coaching male gymnastics is watching the growth as they be-come young men. There’s no doubt that with his talent, the time management skills he learns from gymnastics and the brains that Kody has, he’s going to develop into a ��ne gymnast, and more important-ly, an even greater young man.” *EVO Athletics, at 7188 East 15th Street, Sarasota (in Manatee County, just south ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ and 301 Boulevard E.), is more than just a gymnastics club. The state-of-the-art facility also offers cheerleading, ninja warrior courses and volleyball, and it �������� ���������� ���������������� ������������������ ������������ �������������� programs. For more information, check out evoathletics.com.
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