About Me

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My name is Lukas Villa, I am a member of USA Gymnastics and the head coach for Special Olympics boys/men’s gymnastics in the state of Florida. I have been blessed to have been able to train as a gymnast for over a decade with my coach four-time coach of the year in the state of Florida Jorge Valdes. As a gymnast and as a human being I owe a great deal of gratitude to this sport and my coach. 

Gymnastics has taught me many lessons, every day doesn’t go as planned, you will fall you will suffer setbacks, and you will be pushed physically and mentally beyond what you thought was possible. It’s taught me that there will be many sacrifices, birthday parties, get-togethers, vacations, and family functions that will be missed, in order to reach your goals. 

Throughout all my years of training I’ve seen many faces enter the gym and then leave never to come back. But, what this sport has also taught me is that with every fall and setback, you always need to get up. You can learn from the mistakes you made and get better. Those athletes that did stick around suddenly become friends that turn into family, guys, and girls that you look at as brothers and sisters, and you begin to push each other to be better.

From my coach Jorge, I learned to be patient, I learned to stay ready, to be prepared to take every possible opportunity. That every situation no matter, good or bad is a chance to learn and grow. I have learned self-respect, to be honest with myself and each other. I have learned so much from him that I will carry throughout my life and for that I will always be truly grateful.

The reason I started this site it’s because my family has been involved with Special Olympics for quite some time. It first started with my father taking Polaroids of the athletes crossing the finish line and later on became a family event. From my mother keeping score to my little brother cheering on the athletes, everyone of us got involved.

Luck should so have it that at one of these events one of my first coaches Lauren Petrick before I became a completive gymnast, (we are talking so far back as Mommy and me classes, where my mom would hold my hand to go around a gymnastics optical course) Lauren was hosting the Special Olympics gymnastics event. You see Lauren had left the gym I was training at to start her own gymnastics organization called LEAP South Florida . LEAP caters to AWD in a smaller and more intimate setting, providing more of a one-on-one smaller class size to help the athletes feel comfortable and safe.

After the event, we had a chance to catch up and she was telling me how she could always use some extra help teaching the boys. So I thought why not, I can work on getting some community service hours and it's only one day a week. Well over time we have increased the hours and the days, we now offer rhythmic gymnastics and cheerleading as well. Because of Special Olympics, I’ve gotten to travel in and out of state with these Athletes, I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way.

I can clearly remember when I first told my parents about this opportunity. My father Jeffrey said, "Don’t do it for the Community hours, do it because this is the type of person you are." Do it because you want to make a difference in someone else’s life." My mother Rosaelena said, "Do it because you will grow so much more as a person, more than you can ever imagine."

You don’t know how right she was, working with these athletes. I’ve learned so much from them, even more than I think I could ever teach in return. 

 I’ve learned that they’re hard-working, dedicated, loving, caring, and sometimes misunderstood. You see, they are no different than anyone else. They smile when they’re happy, they cry when they’re sad, they rejoice in their accomplishments just like any other athlete, and all they want is to be treated as equals.

If you ever thought about volunteering, but aren’t sure where or how you can help just show up to an event. I promise you, you’ll make a difference in someone’s day and they will in yours.