Being competitive is in my nature, always has been. I started t-ball at 4 years old and played just about
every sport there was until I finished playing college baseball at 24. After that I labored in the globo
gyms, until I started running. I ran everything from 5k’s to ultramarathons until that got boring. My wife
(Coach Emily) had been a member at CFB for quite some time but I never thought I would join. It always
looked fun, but I had a pretty good injury history (I’ve had 10 surgeries in my 39 years) and I was scared.
One day though I went to Saturday free class, Erica was my coach, Zach Hawthorn was my partner, and
Lee Briggs and his partner crushed us. I was hooked. That competitive spirit was back.
Then December of 2018 I herniated my L5-S1 disk for the third time (it’s not a good story, I was making
our dogs food at 6:00 AM before work at bam there it went). That required me to have a spinal fusion (4
screws, 2 rods joining the disks). After 3 months of wearing a back brace, not being able to put my socks
on or tie my shoes, I was released to start doing moderate exercises. I’ve been in the gym 5 days a week
ever since. I scale every workout in some way, but I’m in the best shape of my life.
If there is one thing I’ve learned from this setback its this. Crossfit is for everyone, no matter age, sex, or
injury history. Every workout is scalable, every workout can leave you laying on the floor and wondering
why you will be back the next day no matter what your limits may be. All it requires is a positive
attitude, patience, and the willingness to work hard.
Thank you, Neal and Erica, for the ability to coach at CFB and grow as a person. Thank you to all the
members for the encouraging words. Remember you can do anything you put your mind to, you just
have to believe it, keep a positive attitude, and put in the hard work.
