Three time ring champion. Three time member of the regional gymnastics team. Two time hardest worker award.

Josh Williams, an accomplished gymnast at Cypress Academy, roams the hallways of Cypress Creek with a list of achievements and accolades under his belt.

Williams fell in love with the sport at age three and hopes to pursue the sport for years to come. Williams said he does not have critics because they all think his talent is pretty awesome.

“Gymnastics gives me direction,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t be doing anything if I wasn’t in gymnastics.”

His love for gymnastics did not come out of nowhere, as both of his parents competed as gymnasts when they were kids. In fact, Josh’s father trained for the senior national team for the Olympics, and ranked 18th in the United States overall.

“I guess you could say he was pretty good,” Williams said.

Williams trains everyday, except Saturday, at Cypress Academy going over strength, conditioning, and other skill routines. However, these practices contain many challenges for Williams.

“There’s only so many times you want to fall on your face in a day,” he said. “Once you get to like 15 or 20 times you’re like ‘I just want to go home.’”

Not only does Williams practice and train with his team, but he also puts in extra time and effort to ensure he meets the highest level of performance that he can. He wishes to outwork his competitors, and his training shows it.

“I run a 5k three times a week, just to help with endurance because gymnasts don’t run much,” he said.

He often stays after for extra strength and to polish routines. Constantly striving for greatness, Williams does what he can to win.

“I’m not a super talented gymnast compared to a lot of people, so I feel I have to put in a little more work to get there,” Williams said.

Williams has received a scholarship to the Naval Academy and will continue pursuing gymnastics there. During his time in college, he intends to lead a group of NCAA gymnasts to the championship and bring home the gold.

“It takes a while to get there, like to that level, but once you get there it’s worth it.”