Avery Lucas

Avery started this year with a broken wrist. She'd fallen so many times before taekwondo — that's just what life looked like with cerebral palsy, right side hemiplegia, diagnosed after a stroke in utero at age 2. Barely any use of her right hand. Dragging her right foot. Falls, constantly.

And then she found taekwondo. And everything changed.

This year — broken wrist and all — Avery earned her 1st Degree Black Belt on November 22, 2025, won her 6th district title this season, drove to Phoenix, and came home a 4× ATA World Champion. 4 gold medals. 2 silver. 6 events competed. The same kid who couldn't stop falling walked onto the world stage and won. She's 8-time district champion for life — 6 of those coming this season alone. Undefeated. #1 in California across every single event.

Some days she trained six hours straight. She just doesn't quit.

So much of this goes back to her coaches at Giordano's Martial Arts. Master Jared Giordano built something special there — a place where a kid like Avery doesn't just learn to kick and punch, she learns who she is.

Lana and Lilly — sisters, and honestly two of the most important people in Avery's journey outside of this family — are her main instructors. They didn't just teach her taekwondo. They showed up for her. Session after session, hour after hour, they believed in her before she believed in herself. We don't have enough words for what they mean to us. Spencer Peoples and Brandon Davis have been right there too, pouring into her every step of the way. We are so grateful for all of them.

We also have to give a huge thank you to CAPA — a non-profit that has been incredible for Avery, helping cover costs for some of her tournaments so she can keep competing and doing what she loves. That kind of support means the world to a family like ours. What CAPA does is special.

And to Avery's classmates, training partners, and every competitor she's ever shared a mat with — you push her to be better every single time. That means more than you know.

We also know none of this is by accident. God has been the quiet strength behind every step of this journey — every fall she got back up from, every barrier she pushed through, every single medal. He has been so good to us.

Avery inspires our whole family every day. We are so proud of her.

"Be kind and do your best." — Avery