In the meantime, the Lawtons started their own gymnastics club, EVO Athletics in Sarasota, which is where their children practice now. Kody has thrived. At a recent state meet, he placed eighth out of 91 other boys in his level, ranging in age from 7 to 18. Kody practices four days a week, for four hours each day. When the school day ends at Kinnan Elementary at 3pm, his teacher, Amanda Schade - who oversees EVO’s after-school program - drives him to the gym and, after a snack, helps him with his homework. Dinner is at home, after practice ends at 8pm. Kody is as excited about gymnastics today as he was when he ��rst discovered it. He loves when his coaches tell him he’s ready to learn a new skill, and loves being part of a team with other boys his age. The high bar and ��oor routines are his favorite events. His least favorite part of practice? The ��ve-minute planks his coach has him and his teammates do for conditioning. Taking a break from high bar practice, Kody lights up when talking about the opportunity he had to meet Maggie Nichols - who was a contender for the U.S. Olympic team before injuring her knee in early 2016 -when she came to EVO for an event last summer. “It was the ��rst time I saw a double-double in person,” he said. When asked about some of his favorite moves - standing tucks, handstands, giants on the high bar - Ko-dy reveals the most back-handsprings he ever did at once: 52. “It was a really long ��eld,” he said. “I stopped before I hit a bench.” Olympic Dreams Kyle described his son as having endless energy and fearlessness, two qualities that have helped him come so far in gymnastics (and in any other sports he has played during his favorite class at school - PE.) “I want to try to get into the Olympics,” Kody said. “I never want to believe that I can’t. We aren’t allowed to say, ‘I can’t’ here, or we have to do 20 push-ups.”
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