Forever Family To Me

I started crossfit two years ago in February of 2016. I was thirteen at the time and only had tried intramural volleyball realizing team sports weren’t really my thing. I was always told to try out different sports but never listened. I found and started doing crossfit because of my mom. She had started years before, so when she picked me up from school I was forced to sit at the gym and watch. I decided one day, after some tough convincing and sassy responses, I would take the introductory class.

It took some time for me to figure things out and really get into it. I like things to happen overnight but that wasn’t the case. The first couple of classes were tough but I decided I would stick with it. Along with regular WOD’s our gym was offering Olympic lifting classes twice a week. I attended those classes for about 12 weeks and it really gave me a great start on my lifting technique. After a few months I started to learn to love crossfit, the coaches and community. They all taught me how to be more patient with the results. I spent almost two years at my first gym. During that time I competed in my first Crossfit Open. I had fairly limited skills going into that open and placed 208th in the world. After that Open I realized Crossfit really was my “Sport”! I was good at it and it was the one thing I truly needed in my daily routine. I wanted to workout with others my age, so I could be motivated and able to push myself. I decided the best move was to switch gyms. That is how I ended up at Crossfit 970.

I needed additional and individual coaching and wanted to be able to see the full potential in myself. We were familiar Crossfit 970 because my mom went to college with Tracy Welton. Tracy introduced us to Steve Ewing, he explained what he could do for me as a coach and how to push me to my potential. (very intimidating at first). Steve first wanted to see how I moved, the first workout at 970 was nerve racking, it was a test run, with Steve watching in the background.
After that first WOD I knew moving Crossfit 970 would be the best decision I would ever make. Steve saw potential in me and was willing to take on the challenge. He asked me for a list my strengths and weaknesses along with my one rep lifts. Soon after that we sat down and listed my goals, short and long term. Once we set those goals everything took off. It took awhile to get comfortable with everyone at Crossfit 970, but after some time everyone knew just how sassy
and determined I am.

I was able to meet and beat a majority of my short terms goals as they were set to get me up to speed going into my second Crossfit Open. One of my goals was to make the top 100 in the Open. Now after completing my second open, I was able to get a ring muscle up, a PR on my clean and I did handstand pushups and double unders with ease. I missed my goal but still placed 117 in the world. I am four months into being at Crossfit 970, I have completed my second open and qualified for the online qualifier for the first time! The coaching I have received at 970 is something I will forever be thankful for and will never be able to repay. The communities created at both gyms will be a forever family to me.

Crossfit 970 has truly shown me how to become a better athlete and a better person!