Lauren Petrick

Lauren Petrick has always been passionate about gymnastics and sports.  Lauren’s participation in gymnastics as an athlete and coach spans 20+ years, including her work with Special Needs athletics and gymnastics which began almost 10 years ago. Specializing in fundamental athletic development, skill development, and gymnastics programs, Lauren has worked with a wide variety of athletes from preschool to recreational and competitive programs including individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fragile X Syndrome, Down syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Cerebral Palsy and other various developmental and physical delays.

As Lauren’s focus on fundamental athletic development, athlete total development, and Special Needs athletics grew, she returned to Florida International University and graduated in 2012 with a Master’s in Behavior Analysis.  Soon after, she founded LEAP South Florida, an athletic facility dedicated to the total development of athletes with special needs, providing them with the unique opportunity to grow, train and compete in an inclusion setting.  Additionally, Lauren is currently a member of and involved in USA Gymnastics.  She is also greatly engaged in Special Olympics Florida, overseeing the Miami Dade County area gymnastics program, which includes close to 100 Special Olympics athletes.  This past year, Lauren was selected to represent Special Olympics Florida as the gymnastics head coach at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games and four of her gymnasts we also selected to compete.