From flipping around her house as a toddler to winning international medals on beam, Lia Redick’s gymnastics journey has been defined by resilience, passion, and growth. The Oakville, Ontario, native has trained her entire career at Oakville Gymnastics Club, where she’s gone from looking up to the older athletes in the gym to becoming a role model herself. After overcoming a major elbow injury early in her elite career, Redick has made a powerful comeback, highlighted by her gold medal on beam at the 2024 Pan American Championships. Now, the four-star recruit has committed to LSU, where she’ll join the Tigers’ class of 2027 and bring her steady presence and international experience to Baton Rouge.
Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Club gym: Oakville Gymnastics Club
College team: LSU
Hometown: Oakville, Ontario
How did you first fall in love with gymnastics?
When I was younger, I was a very energetic kid. I would always flip and run around the house, so when I was 3, my parents put me in recreational gymnastics at Oakville Gymnastics Club). When I turned 6, they asked me to join the competitive program there. I would train alongside the older competitive kids in the gym and fell in love with watching them. I always aspired to be as good as them.
Now, I am still training at OGC. This will be my 13th season there, and I am now in the position where the younger kids look up to me. That’s what keeps me going; just knowing there are little girls who are in the same position I was, who look up to me as I did the older girls. It motivates me to be a good role model for them so I can help spark their love for gymnastics the same way the other girls did for me.
What has been the highlight of your gymnastics career so far?
Winning the gold medal on beam at the Pan American Championships was definitely a highlight for me. I had always struggled to stay on the beam when it came to finals in the past because I would let my nerves get the best of me. At Pan Ams, I told myself I just wanted to stay on the beam, and I did! When I hit my routine at Pan Ams and saw my name in first on the leaderboard, it was such a great achievement and memory.
What skill took you the longest to master, and how did it feel when you finally nailed it?
A Tkatchev was by far the hardest skill for me to learn and master. It took almost a year for me to learn it, and around two to finally get it consistent. Every time I would think I got it, but then I would feel different the next day. Then, around three years after first learning it, I finally have it “mastered,” and it feels great. Especially after I think about how hard it was when I first started; I feel amazing knowing I finally got the hang of it.
What was your favourite activity that you did on any of your recruiting visits (official or unofficial)?
My favorite activity by far was the photoshoot. On both of my visits, this was the most fun and exciting for me. I loved when I would strike a pose and the girls on the team would cheer for me, so I knew it was a good picture. It was so full of energy and the environment was so cool. I had never done a photoshoot like that before, and experiencing it twice was just so exhilarating. I enjoyed it so much.
What’s something outside of gymnastics that you’re really passionate about right now?
I really enjoy experiencing the outdoors. Even though the weather here is starting to get cooler, I love going places and enjoying time outside because I am in the gym so much. In the summer, I really like going to the beach, going on walks near the waterfront, and just going out to places in general. I went to a town near my grandparents’ house this summer called Grand Bend, and I was outside a lot. I got to pet goats, go to the beach, and walk around this cute little beach market, and it was great. Now that the fall is starting, I want to stay outside and go apple picking or to a pumpkin patch so I can still enjoy the outdoors while the weather is not too cold yet.
As a Canadian who didn’t come up through the U.S. system like many of your peers, what was your recruiting journey like?
Even though I am from Canada, I believe my recruiting journey was not too different from others. When I started placing in major international competitions, coaches started to get familiar with my name over social media posts and competition results. A few coaches did come to watch me practice and came to some competitions in Canada, like nationals.
Once June 15 hit, many schools contacted me, but it was the day of beam finals at Pan Ams. So I didn’t start talking to coaches as early as some other recruits may have because I waited until I got home from Panama to focus on recruiting. Once I returned home, it was smooth sailing from there. I talked to all of the schools and booked visits as everyone else did, and now I am committed to LSU!
Who has made the biggest impact on your gymnastics career, and how have they inspired or shaped your journey?
The person I really admire and look up to in gymnastics is Sunisa Lee. It was so amazing how she pushed through her years of having kidney disease and was able to come back and make it to the Olympics again. Seeing someone go through something as challenging as that motivates me because it shows that even when things get hard, persevere, and you can have great outcomes. When I think about her story, it makes me feel like I can overcome any challenges that come my way.
You made your senior debut at Elite Canada. What was it like moving up from junior to senior elite, and can you tell us about your experience at the event?
When I competed at Elite Canada, I was VERY nervous to start off my senior career. However, I felt comfort in knowing that most of the other girls there were also nervous. Once I finished day one of training, I eased into it because I felt like it was just like a competition against my friends. When you know and are good friends with most of the girls there, it takes off most of the pressure and helps you just have fun.
I also felt good knowing I was moving up to senior with my junior teammates, so I wasn’t alone. Elite Canada was also in Ontario, so I stayed at home; that made me feel more comfortable as well. I ended up with a silver medal on beam, which made me very happy, and the competition was a great start to my senior career.
Gymnastics is full of highs and lows. What’s one of the toughest challenges you’ve faced in your journey, and what was the impact of pushing through it?
Something I struggle with is always wanting to do better and being disappointed when I underperform because I KNOW I can do better. This is a very tough challenge to face not just in gymnastics but in genera. But I have learned to manage my emotions to the best of my ability and to be OK with not doing my best because there is always another day.
One thing I try to tell myself in practice is that there is always tomorrow, meaning one bad day isn’t the end of the world. One thing I try to tell myself in competition is to try my best. I always put my 100% effort into competition, so even if it doesn’t go the way I planned, I can still say I tried my best. Over the years, I have learned that it’s OK to underperform because you’re not always going to be perfect. In the end, it’s just gymnastics, and you’re supposed to have fun!
What was it about LSU that made you so sure you wanted to commit there? Had it been a dream school of yours before the recruiting process began?
Before I started the recruiting process, I had always dreamed of being an NCAA gymnast. Once the recruiting process began, everyone I talked to told me that when I step on campus, I will know if it’s right for me. They explained it as a “feeling” I would get, reassuring me that’s where I was supposed to be. When I stepped on the LSU campus, I just knew. I had gotten that feeling of “OMG. This is where I want to spend the rest of my gymnastics career.” Everything about it was just so amazing; the coaches, the girls, and the gym were everything I had ever wanted. When I committed, it felt like the best moment of my life—like a weight had been lifted off my chest. At that moment, I knew I had made the right decision, and I am so happy I did.
You and your fellow LSU class of 2027 members committed in a rather unique way altogether. Could you take us behind that decision, the planning that went into it, and how you told the coaches?
When I arrived at LSU, I never thought I would have committed while on my visit; I didn’t even know if people had done that before. But when I got there, it just felt so right that I didn’t want to wait. The other girls and I all committed separately, and we all did it at different times during the visit. At first, I was a little hesitant about committing so soon, but just being there and experiencing everything I did over the weekend gave me a lot of closure in being certain I wanted to go to LSU. Before everyone committed (Zoé [Cadrin], Reese [Esponda], Sage [Bradford], and I), we all told each other we were thinking about committing, and in the end, we all ended up saying our own little commitment speeches to the team and the coaches and left as Tigers!
Is there a personal achievement in gymnastics that you’re really proud of?
A big achievement for me is recovering from my elbow injury. Most people don’t know this because I sustained this injury around two and a half years ago, but I dislocated my elbow back in 2023, and it put me out for a year. This was a really hard time for me not just physically but also mentally. It was at the start of my elite career, around six months after winning gold on bars at my first nationals, so I missed a whole year of competition. I ended up tearing two ligaments, but I did not need surgery. That meant I could not put any pressure on my arm for six months, plus another six months to get back to training again.
It was really hard for me to go to the gym and just condition all day while watching all my friends train and compete. But once I started my recovery process, I had a HUGE comeback. The next year, I placed third at Elite Canada, which led me to compete in Germany and Colombia. Then this past year, I had one of the best years yet, not to mention my first year as a senior. I was the all-around champion in the Czech Republic at the Hopes Cup and returned to Germany again. Then I went to my second Pan American Championships and won gold on beam. Now I always think back to when I hurt my elbow and how hard it was for me, but I am thankful that I got through it and am better than ever now.
Rapid Fire Questions
Vault, bars, beam, or floor? Beam!
Ice bath or hot tub? Hot tub
Which four gymnasts would be on your college gymnastics Mount Rushmore? Kailin Chio, Kaitlyn Ohashi, Audrey Davis, and Haleigh Bryant
What’s your most-used emoji? 
What’s one of your pre-meet rituals or superstitions? Always eating the same thing throughout the trip (peanut butter and bananas)
What do you want to be when you grow up? Nurse
What’s your favorite leotard your college team has worn? This one!
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