My name is Lily Pederson, I am a 13 year old Junior Elite gymnast. I train at Flips in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. My coaches are Bart and Lori Roskoski. I train approximately 25 hours per week while still attending public school. I started gymnastics when I was 5 years old. I was moved to the level 3 team when I was 6 years old. Once I competed in my first real meet as a level 3 I was hooked! I achieved my goal of becoming an elite gymnast in January of 2020. I hope to make it all the way to the US Championships and place well enough to make the Junior National Team!
I started taking classes at Flips when I was 6 years old. I made it to team level 3 when I was 7 years old. At 8 years old I moved to level 4 and qualified for state. When I was 9 years old I moved up to level 5 and again qualified for state, where I won the floor state championship for my age group. That same year I skipped level 6 and was moved to the level 7 team, which had already started their season. I trained with the level 7 team for about 2 weeks before competing in my first level 7 meet, where I qualified for state again! After level 7 state I moved to level 8. Our level 8 team had an undefeated season, capping it off by winning the state championship, Flips first ever!
I was also named to the Minnesota Super 8 team that year. After level 8 regionals were over I began working on my level 9 skills, with my goal to compete as a level 9 and make it back to regionals and then to Westerns. I ended up scoring out of level 9 at my first meet of the season and moving directly to level 10. I was 11 years old, Flips youngest ever level 10 gymnast! While competing as a first year level 10 I was also training for my first year in HOPES. I managed to not only qualify to regionals as the youngest level 10 in the state of Minnesota but I also made it to nationals!! I placed 5th in the all around at my very first ever nationals!! I also qualified to the HOPES Classic, where I placed 2nd and advanced to the HOPES Championship.
At the HOPES Championship I placed 4th and was named to the HOPES National Team!! That summer I was invited to the USAG developmental training camp in Tennessee. I have been attending camp ever since. My goals for 2019 are to make it back to nationals again and this time finish even higher. I have already qualified to the HOPES Classic for the second year. My goal for HOPES is to win the HOPES Classic and the HOPES Championship. My goals for 2020 are to qualify as a Junior Elite and make it to the USAG Championships and to be invited to national training camp. My long-term goals are to receive a scholarship to a D1 school and to compete for the USA at the Olympics in 2024 or 2028!!!
