It’s Sunday! That means it’s Senior Sunday and our continued recognition of our Region 5 Class of 2020 Graduating Athletes! It is important to recognize these amazing student athletes as they close one chapter and begin another. Graduations around the Region have taken place in many different formats from Virtual to Socially Distancing in person ceremonies.
Our next Region 5 Graduate is Madeline Shone of United Gymnastics Academy in Illinois. Madeline graduated from Lake Central High School and will be attending Indiana University in the Fall where she will be studying Nursing. Let’s get to know Madeline a little better as she prepares to say goodbye to Illinois and head to Indiana to start the next chapter of f her journey.
How did you get into gymnastics? How old 
were you? I started gymnastics at 2 years old. My grammy babysat me and she wanted to give us something to do together so she put me in classes.
What is your favorite event? Why? My favorite event is bars because I love the feeling of swinging and flying, and there are so many fun skills to train.
Favorite Skill to train/compete? Why?My favorite skill is a double layout full out because I feel like I am flying when I do them.
Dream Skill? My dream skill is a double layout on floor.
What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is all the relationships that I have built with teammates and coaches throughout the years and all of the life lessons the sport has taught me.
What college do you plan on attending? Why? I plan on attending Indiana University in the fall to study nursing because it has a beautiful campus and so many clubs and activities to get involved in.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? Why? My favorite meet to compete at is the UGA Classic because all of my family and friends get to come watch me, and all of the little girls come and cheer us on.
Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics was getting 2nd place on bars at regionals in 2018.
What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 Insider Series are the All Access Workouts because it is interesting to see how different gyms train.
3 Things you could not live without? I could not live without my phone, my family, and chocolate!
If you could have 1 superpower what would it be? If I could have one superpower it would be teleportation.
Discuss not being able to finish your senior season like you had hoped. Not being able to finish my senior season was pretty devastating. I have been injured for the majority of the past two seasons, so I was really looking forward to coming back for regionals and competing one last time.
What are you doing to keep up your training during Corona Quarantine? During quarantine, I have been doing Zoom calls with my team to condition together and talk about goals for when we come back into the gym.
What do you miss most about gymnastics during this time? I miss all my teammates during quarantine, especially the little girls because they always put a smile on my face.
What is the first thing you want to do once you can get back to gym & training? Once quarantine is over, I will not be continuing training myself, but I am super excited to help coach the younger ones at my gym until I leave for school in the fall!
What will you miss most about being part of Region 5? I will miss being able to make those instant bonds with girls I have met at Region 5 camps and seeing familiar faces at all the meets.
Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? I am the cover photo for the Region 5 “Best OMG Moments of 2015” video… I do look pretty funny though!
Do you have a nickname? If so, what Is the story behind it? Most people just call me Shone or Shoner!
Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect Shawn Johnson the most because she has been a role model of mine for as long as I can remember.
Something you learned from Gymnastics that you will take with you? Some things that I learned from gymnastics that I will take with me forever are determination, hard work, commitment, and perseverance.
Most Memorable Gymnastics or Nationals 
Moment? My most memorable gymnastics moment is all the travel meets my gym took to Florida or Arizona and all the memories that my teammates and I made while we were there.
What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? The most valuable piece of advice from my coach is that I should never be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s gymnastics related or life in general.
How do you want to be remembered, but us here in Region 5 as well as your home club & teammates? I would like to be remembered as someone who never gave up and persevered when things got tough.
What is something special your friends, family, school, coaches or teammates, have done for you during this quarantine to make missing out on those special senior moments a little easier to handle. My school is holding a virtual graduation in June and they are trying to have an actual ceremony for us in late July or August. They also have created a facebook page for us where we can say goodbye and thank you to all of our teachers.
Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself….I love pickles and pickle juice!
