Stephen Nedoroscik may not have been here today if it wasn’t for this one force in his life— his family. Of course, he’s fully aware of the huge impact they’ve had on his journey. Thus, when he was recently asked to open up about this lesser-known side of his story, one emotion stood out above all: gratitude.

On the Shawn & Andrew Podcasts, Stephen Nedoroscik was requested to open up about his family life growing up, say the activities they did or the rhythm they had as a clan. To which, he replied, “As a family, they never really pushed me to do anything. They kind of just wanted me to do what I wanted to do and you know, they loved that I was pursuing gymnastics and they loved that I was good at it.”

Stephen Nedoroscik’s parents never even had any unrealistic demands or visions for him. He confessed that they were perfectly happy as long as he was doing what he loved, “And they never told me like any expectations in the sport. They always said like, you know, we’re proud of you no matter what. We just want you to enjoy what you’re doing and see where it goes.” Well, they were not wrong, as he’s Team USA’s Pommel Horse guy today, who helped his team win laurels at the Olympic stage and contributed a great deal to the sport’s visibility.

Even in terms of education, Stephen Nedoroscik was never pressured by his parents to attain a certain rank. Although they drew a line that the kids couldn’t cross. ‘No C’s in the household’ was the rule. But on the contrary,  straight A’s came with rewards. The 2x Olympic medalist recalls, “So like if I got straight A’s for like the full year of school, which is unreal, you know, I did it like one time they gave me a hundred bucks and that was like so much money to me.”

Naturally, this creative freedom that Nedoroscik’s parents gave him, helped him explore his talents and shine in gymnastics. In fact, he even remembers how growing up, they ensured he had a great childhood, memories of which humble him to date.

Stephen Nedoroscik’s untold childhood stories

On the Shawn and Adams podcasts, Stephen Nedoroscik also opened up on how he was raised. His father worked in the police department while his mother spent most of his childhood working at his grandfather’s auction hall. Naturally, this meant he got to spend a lot of time helping his mother at work, which he thought “is like super fun to like walk around and give people water or something.” 

Nedoroscik has very little to faint memory of what he exactly did at the auction hall, but he clearly remembers that growing up, he had an amazing family. He revealed, “I have two sisters, one that’s older and I have a twin sister, you know, my mom and dad born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, on a lake.”

Thus, some of his fondest childhood memories involve being on the lake fishing with his father at 5:00 a.m., going on a boat ride, and all the related activities. In general, he loved the serene, calm surroundings that he grew up in and spent such precious little moments with his family. And today, the humility and skill he possesses have a lot to do with these experiences.