TLC Blog - TLC Camper Wins Gold at the Olympics!

When Emily, Grace, and Anna Zumwinkle first appeared at TLC as kids, there was something special about them. They were fierce competitors. That’s not unusual in high level athletes. But they were unfailingly kind. To each other. And to everyone around them. And they smiled a lot.  Through ups and downs on court. I would watch them play and think, they are “TLC” instinctively.  

But instinctively doesn’t come from nowhere. As they grew in their games, they stayed grounded. And kind. And unusual, in that they continued to play other sports even when they were encouraged by some coaches to specialize.  Grace was already at a young age on a trajectory to be a hockey star.

But she loved tennis, too.

I know parents who would push their kids that direction because “what if they could become a pro someday.”  

From what I witnessed, the Zumwinkle girls had parents - Lori and Mike - whose egos did not reside in their children’s outward success, but their inward happiness. And when Grace decided to keep playing tennis despite being told it might hurt her chances of bigger and better things in hockey, she essentially said, “But I love tennis, too.” And her parents encouraged her.

I remember watching Grace and Anna in the state tennis finals and talking to Lori and Mike, saying how proud TLC was of them and how glad we were they stuck with tennis, too, since they obviously loved it. They said, “We are proud of them, too, and it was their decision. We just encourage our kids to follow what they love, and we get out of the way.” 

As it turned out, all three Zumwinkle daughters became college hockey stars. Grace became a star at the University of Minnesota, as one of the top players in the country. Then, finally, women’s hockey started a successful pro league where women have the same opportunity as men to continue the sport they love, and she became a star with the Minnesota Frost. And then, an integral piece of the USA Women’s Olympic Hockey gold medal team. That smile never left her, that kindness never left her, and that love of competition never left her.

When she stood on the podium to receive her gold medal after defeating Canada in overtime, I thought, all these years later, “Good for you, Grace! You set your own path.”  

On this last day of Women’s History Month, we recognize how many women and girls came before to make these opportunities possible. Those who blazed the trail and sacrificed to work for women’s right to vote, those who were denied their own sports’ careers but worked so Title IX could become a reality for the girls and women who came after them. We have come a long way. And we have a long way to go.

At TLC, we see this, too. There are times when female staff are questioned more quickly by campers, discounted for their expertise, or the target of jokes made that don’t reflect the dignity we strive for in our community. 

We are not perfect. But we believe awareness leads to growth. And when something falls short of our values, we name it, learn from it, and move forward better. 

That’s why the Three Crowns matter. Positive Attitude. Full Effort. Good Sportsmanship. Not just in competition, but in how we treat one another every day. 

Grace has embodied this from the very beginning. The joy, humility, and competitive spirit we saw on the courts at TLC are the same qualities that carried her to the Olympic stage. 

So, as we celebrate Grace’s gold medal, we also celebrate the way she got there, and the kind of teammate and person she continues to be. 

We’re reminded that teams like the U.S. Women's Gold Medal Team make history not only for what they achieve, but for how they carry themselves along the way.

With resilience. With courage. And with a commitment to something bigger than themselves.

Thank you, Grace, and to the women and girls who came before you blazing the trail, for showing us what

it looks like to compete with excellence and lead with courage. And, of course, grace.