Clean and Jerk: 250
Snatch: 200
398 Double unders unbroken
526/600 Army ACFT score
18:26 5k row
CrossFit Level 1
Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
My CrossFit journey began about 4 years ago when my wife (Lauren) talked me into going to the gym for a meet and greet to see what this CrossFit stuff was all about. Prior to that we had just been going to traditional gyms and doing our own thing. We had also tried doing at-home stuff like “Insanity” or “P90X” and we really enjoyed it but wanted something more. Growing up I was never the most athletic but I played baseball and soccer, where I did letter in all 4 years but I was definitely not, in my eyes, super athletic. I had to work hard every practice, every open gym/open field to earn my spot. This little story is important because when I started Crossfit, I had to work really hard to do things that I thought I couldn’t do. The coaches before me encouraged me to “trust the process” and I embraced that saying. Every day, I came in, trusted my coaches, and worked hard, which in turn has helped me get to where I am today. With that being said, I still love being coached and am always looking to be better as a coach and an athlete.
When I joined the military in 2011, I thought I was in shape. I was 17 years old, “worked out” with my friends at the school gym for sports. When I got to basic training I failed our first physical fitness test, my nickname was “fat boy” and by week 2 I called my family and was ready to come home. I told my parents I was going to tell them I wanted to quit and go home, but during that phone call my parents talked to me and mentioned that “nothing in life that’s worth doing is going to be easy”. This was going to be a challenge for the next 8 weeks but I really didn’t want to quit, I ended up sticking it out and now (11 years later) I am a commissioned officer for a trauma team for the Army and I help people in my unit who struggle with the fitness test. Doing the hard things and sticking it out is something I pride myself on and I always encourage our athletes to do the same!
Coaching is important because everyday we have an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. Maybe that’s to help them get one more rep, run a distance that they have been working towards hot a lift that they have been chasing but it goes beyond that for me. Athletes may need to just have someone to talk to about nutrition, or maybe they had a rough day and just need to “blow off steam”, whatever the case may be, we are given the opportunity to make a positive impact on someone’s day or life each time they walk through the doors and my goal is to ensure that all athletes who come to my classes have the best experience during their hour class each day.
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