Authenticity and CrossFit…
Thanks to the vision of Coach Glassman, we each have the
opportunities to pursue CrossFit as we see fit.
By now, many of us have seen, read or at least heard about the essay
written about how having your CrossFit Level 1 Certificate doesn’t necessarily
mean you are a “coach”.
In all honesty, I can tell you that I shared that exact
thought to the RedShed coaches one week before that essay started traveling
through the World Wide Web… here’s my take on it…
The title of “Coach” is earned, not purchased. As I entered into my CrossFit career in
2007-2008, I was very uneasy about my athletes referring to me as “coach”. As cool as it sounds to be called “coach”, it
just made me feel uncomfortable. At that
time, I had been a high school football coach, a speed & quickness coach,
and a personal trainer for more than a decade… but a CrossFit Coach… no! It wasn’t until 2009, 2010, and hundreds of
thousands of mistakes until I felt like I was actually earning that valuable
title.
A weekend of CrossFit training & development doesn’t
create coaches… it just opens the door to learning how to be a coach… just like
going to Church every Sunday doesn’t punch your ticket into heaven, but if you
pay attention… it gives you the opportunity to interpret the message and figure
out how to live it.
In our CrossFit community of coaches, we have to walk
through a narrow hallway and navigate through a labyrinth of information, skill
sets and personalities in order to develop our individual virtuosity and lay
our foundation, where knowledge is the brick, and confidence and experience are
the mortar. The prize at the end of the
maze is earning that title of “coach”.
There is a level of awesomeness in earning that title… it makes us (coaches) authentic.
I believe that authenticity is slipping in CrossFit, and among its coaches, because
of the speed of its growth. It’s
nobody’s fault, and I for one, cannot fault any individual for wanting to be a
CrossFit coach or open their own box.
Who wouldn’t? It’s awesome, and
truly the most gratifying job I have ever had in my professional career. But with that being said, new boxes are
bursting on the scene every week all around the world with coaches and owners
who are stuck inside the labyrinth, still mixing the mortar, with their bricks
still sitting on the pallet. It’s just a
result of the popularity of our sport, and the free enterprise business model…
again, it’s nobody’s fault, but I think it is unfair to those who are new to
the sport, and think they are getting professional, experienced CrossFit
instruction.
Understand this:
Crushing a couple WODs, being good at CrossFit, watching a
few videos, having a lot of money and passing the CFL1 Cert doesn’t punch your
ticket as a coach… it only opens the door to the hallway of the labyrinth.
So I end my story with advice to anyone who takes the time
to read my thoughts… be authentic! You
were born that way, until the world filled your head with a bunch of crap that
makes you want to be like everyone else!
CrossFit is not trendy… it’s not a fad… it’s not a quick fix to lose a few pounds… and it’s certainly not a “get rich quick” scheme.
CrossFit is a way of life, and for some of us, our lifestyle IS our livelihood. Respect it, Respect CrossFit and those who paved the way for us to teach it, coach it and participate in it!
