Stories From the Pews of Faith
Members of Faith share personal experiences that highlight God's love, mercy and guidance.
Diab Family
Perhaps most of us have heard and maybe adhered to the familiar quote: “The family that plays together, stays together.” Well, the Diab family has put a real twist on that thought. For them, it’s more like “The family that excels at gymnastics together, stays together.”
The Diabs––parents Mark and Jennifer, and their five children––have carved out their own degree of distinction in gymnastics and are unparalleled as a family that includes national champions, regional champions and state champions. And more impressively, there’s a U.S. Olympian among this amazing group.
Such a collection of talent began with the older Diabs, who fittingly met at a gymnastics competition (the Prairie State Games) at the University of Illinois in 1988. Mark, owner of Premier Gymnastics Academy in Downers Grove, competed collegiately in the mid-’80s and was a two-time NCAA champion, a two-time All-American and was inducted into the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Jennifer, a high school record-setter in the vault, later competed and distinguished herself in the vault and floor events at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Not surprisingly, the children followed in their parents’ footsteps and put together a more than impressive list of accomplishments of their own:
• Alex, 25, who graduated from the University of Illinois in 2020, is a member of Team USA’s men’s gymnastics team and is currently at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic Team and traveled with the team to Tokyo. Additionally, he was a member of the 2021 World Championship Team; placed sixth at the 2022 World Cup in Cairo; and placed fifth at the 2022 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. He is a two-time NCAA champion on the rings, a four-time Big Ten champion on the rings, a five-time All-American and he holds the school record for career titles (31) in still rings.
• Max, 23, competed at the University of Illinois and won several vault titles. He also competed in floor events and rings. The former Glenbard West High School athlete was a national champion on rings in high school. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 2021 and is working as a gymnastics coach alongside his father at Premier Gymnastics Academy.
• Maddie, 21, was a three-time IHSA all-around champion and won 10 state titles while at Glenbard West High School. She is currently a student at Iowa State University and is a member of the gymnastics team. This year she was the Big 12 floor champion and received a perfect 10 score for her floor performances, becoming only the second gymnast in school history to earn a perfect score on floor.
• Anna, 19, is a student at the University of Illinois, where she is studying agri-finance. She no longer competes in gymnastics and is focused on a career in real estate. She was a leader on her Glenbard West High School gymnastics team and was second in the all-around and floor events at the high school state meet in 2020.
• Louie, 13, is a level nine gymnast at Premier Gymnastics Academy. Already, he has risen to the level as a national qualifier. The teenager trains about 15 hours a week and has his eyes set on competing in college.
Some observers would say that’s an overflow of talent being exhibited by one family. But Mark and Jennifer, who joined Faith in 1996, say it all happened organically. “It just kind of worked out that way. Our oldest kid started off by going to preschool gymnastics classes, and he really liked it and was pretty driven and focused at a young age,” says Mark, who was named Iowa State University’s “Male Athlete of the Year” in 1986. “Then we started going to competitions and dragging the younger siblings along, and they thought, ‘Wow, this looks like fun!’ So they grew up aspiring to be gymnasts themselves.”
Mark, thanks to his experience and access to a facility to accommodate the training, took the lead in his children’s development. His approach, however, was one that didn’t focus on accomplishments but rather on making sure that he didn’t push his children out of the sport by being so overbearing and demanding. He didn’t want to be included among what he calls “crazy war stories about crazy dads” who pressure their kids about winning. For him, there were other, more important intangibles that participants can gain through sports such as dedication, determination, self-confidence and the development of a passion for something that brings out the best in oneself.
Jennifer, vice president at Premier Gymnastics Academy and the ever-supportive mom, wholehearted supported her husband’s approach and continues to do so as Louie takes steps toward the possibility of becoming the family’s second Olympian. “The best part of this whole thing has been watching the kids grow and develop while doing something they love,” says Jennifer, who handles a variety of business-related activities at the Academy. “It’s gratifying to see the joy they get out of it.”
That joy has been an almost constant in a family that has known success after success after success. But along the way they have taken nothing for granted, knowing that it’s hard work and perseverance that produce excellence. Some onlookers, though, might point out that this quintet of young gymnasts has benefited just a bit from one other likely element––good genes. Mark, who relishes the fact that the children followed in their parents’ footsteps, doesn’t deny it. “All I can tell you,” he says with a laugh, “is that if Jenny and I had been musicians, our kids would be pretty good musicians. Gymnastics is what we had to offer, and they loved it!”
Indeed.
Perhaps most of us have heard and maybe adhered to the familiar quote: “The family that plays together, stays together.” Well, the Diab family has put a real twist on that thought. For them, it’s more like “The family that excels at gymnastics together, stays together.”
The Diabs––parents Mark and Jennifer, and their five children––have carved out their own degree of distinction in gymnastics and are unparalleled as a family that includes national champions, regional champions and state champions. And more impressively, there’s a U.S. Olympian among this amazing group.
Such a collection of talent began with the older Diabs, who fittingly met at a gymnastics competition (the Prairie State Games) at the University of Illinois in 1988. Mark, owner of Premier Gymnastics Academy in Downers Grove, competed collegiately in the mid-’80s and was a two-time NCAA champion, a two-time All-American and was inducted into the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. Jennifer, a high school record-setter in the vault, later competed and distinguished herself in the vault and floor events at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Not surprisingly, the children followed in their parents’ footsteps and put together a more than impressive list of accomplishments of their own:
• Alex, 25, who graduated from the University of Illinois in 2020, is a member of Team USA’s men’s gymnastics team and is currently at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs preparing for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He was an alternate for the 2020 Olympic Team and traveled with the team to Tokyo. Additionally, he was a member of the 2021 World Championship Team; placed sixth at the 2022 World Cup in Cairo; and placed fifth at the 2022 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. He is a two-time NCAA champion on the rings, a four-time Big Ten champion on the rings, a five-time All-American and he holds the school record for career titles (31) in still rings.
• Max, 23, competed at the University of Illinois and won several vault titles. He also competed in floor events and rings. The former Glenbard West High School athlete was a national champion on rings in high school. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 2021 and is working as a gymnastics coach alongside his father at Premier Gymnastics Academy.
• Maddie, 21, was a three-time IHSA all-around champion and won 10 state titles while at Glenbard West High School. She is currently a student at Iowa State University and is a member of the gymnastics team. This year she was the Big 12 floor champion and received a perfect 10 score for her floor performances, becoming only the second gymnast in school history to earn a perfect score on floor.
• Anna, 19, is a student at the University of Illinois, where she is studying agri-finance. She no longer competes in gymnastics and is focused on a career in real estate. She was a leader on her Glenbard West High School gymnastics team and was second in the all-around and floor events at the high school state meet in 2020.
• Louie, 13, is a level nine gymnast at Premier Gymnastics Academy. Already, he has risen to the level as a national qualifier. The teenager trains about 15 hours a week and has his eyes set on competing in college.
Some observers would say that’s an overflow of talent being exhibited by one family. But Mark and Jennifer, who joined Faith in 1996, say it all happened organically. “It just kind of worked out that way. Our oldest kid started off by going to preschool gymnastics classes, and he really liked it and was pretty driven and focused at a young age,” says Mark, who was named Iowa State University’s “Male Athlete of the Year” in 1986. “Then we started going to competitions and dragging the younger siblings along, and they thought, ‘Wow, this looks like fun!’ So they grew up aspiring to be gymnasts themselves.”
Mark, thanks to his experience and access to a facility to accommodate the training, took the lead in his children’s development. His approach, however, was one that didn’t focus on accomplishments but rather on making sure that he didn’t push his children out of the sport by being so overbearing and demanding. He didn’t want to be included among what he calls “crazy war stories about crazy dads” who pressure their kids about winning. For him, there were other, more important intangibles that participants can gain through sports such as dedication, determination, self-confidence and the development of a passion for something that brings out the best in oneself.
Jennifer, vice president at Premier Gymnastics Academy and the ever-supportive mom, wholehearted supported her husband’s approach and continues to do so as Louie takes steps toward the possibility of becoming the family’s second Olympian. “The best part of this whole thing has been watching the kids grow and develop while doing something they love,” says Jennifer, who handles a variety of business-related activities at the Academy. “It’s gratifying to see the joy they get out of it.”
That joy has been an almost constant in a family that has known success after success after success. But along the way they have taken nothing for granted, knowing that it’s hard work and perseverance that produce excellence. Some onlookers, though, might point out that this quintet of young gymnasts has benefited just a bit from one other likely element––good genes. Mark, who relishes the fact that the children followed in their parents’ footsteps, doesn’t deny it. “All I can tell you,” he says with a laugh, “is that if Jenny and I had been musicians, our kids would be pretty good musicians. Gymnastics is what we had to offer, and they loved it!”
Indeed.
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Karen Finerty
Cole Swanstrom
Melanie Rohla
Kathy Dibadj
Bob and Sylvia Wulffen
Jason Loebach
Bob Hawkinson
Molly Hall Barrett
Grant and Mary Kelley
Retta Hennessy
Alan Foster
Pilvi Innola
Amy Kerman-Gutzmer and Patrick Gutzmer
Andrew Sells
Beth Nyland
Tom Wendorf
Cindy and Jeff Crosby
David Hooker
Leroy Boeckelman
Zach Pehta
Emil and Mary Petereit
Chris Bettin
Lee Boyden