The year began with some renovations, much needed color on those white walls and more pull-up bars. It was quite the transformation.
We started the 5K racing season in March and promoted at least 1 race monthly through the majority of the year, finishing up with the Thanksgiving Day 5K at Lake Mohawk.
The mud/obstacle racing series kicked off with The Tough Mudder in May and continued with the Ego Challenge, Warrior Dash and the 8 mile Hot Chili trail run. After completing those events, it made your regular old 5K running race seem like it was missing something…mud…but more importantly teamwork! Pop-Pop came through on adding some poster size, in-action photos of these events to the Shed walls.
2010 was also the year of competitions, starting with the North East Sectionals at Guerilla Fitness-CrossFit Montclair, CrossFit Morristown’s Fight Gone Bad, Fall Brawl at RAW Training, Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge at CrossFit BWI, the Open Competition at CrossFit OTG, CrossFit Hoboken’s Winter Challenge and wrapping up with a pierogi eating contest on Christmas Eve.
We also provided opportunities to make you a more well-rounded athlete, with some specialty workshops…rowing, Olympic lifting and flexibility.
In May, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary being in Netcong with tabata, tire flipping and a regatta relay.
During the summer Pat had the opportunity to work with the younger RedShed athletes doing speed and quickness camps, reaching out to hundreds of athletes in the Morris/Sussex area. Some of the camps included:
Newton High School Football/Basketball
Pompton Lakes Football
Sparta Summer Football Camp
Kittatinny Midget Football / Youth Sports
Individual RedShed Athletes that are continuing their athletic success in high school or college:
Jorge Lopez (Delbarton Wrestling), Brian Winfield (Newton Football & Basketball), Connor and Kyle McGrath (Susquehanna Football, Pope John Football), Brandon Coveny (Jefferson Twp. Football & Wrestling), Adam Riley (Jefferson Twp. Lacrosse), Gavin McCarney (Jefferson Twp. Football (Colgate Football)), Sean Yardley (Mount Olive Hockey), Zachary DeVenio (Lenape Valley Football), Bryan Vander Ploeg (Jefferson Twp. Football, Track (DelVal Football))
October brought us together for Amazing Grace to support breast cancer awareness, as well as our own beloved Janice, who continues to persevere in the midst of adversity. Amazing Grace was a very successful event. A modest gym, a tremendously generous and thoughtful community, a few barbells and a timer…. we raised $1000 for Friend2Friend, Sussex County Women’s Forum!
December included a road trip to the grand opening of CrossFit West Essex to support Kevin and his partner, Rich. As much as we would have loved for Kevin to have stayed with us at the Shed, we LOVE it even more that he branched out on his own, and started his own CrossFit Affiliate journey.
End of the year activities included the Wall Ball Challenge (which I know Rich and CKL are going to be sad – once it FINALLY concludes) and the 12 Days of CrossFitmas holiday WOD and gathering. Kevin shows up in a banana costume (and posts the fastest time!), the dragon gets dressed up and some familiar faces from the past make an appearance…Beard(less), SvW and Sensei Matt.
Throughout the year, the Shed got some publicity on the CrossFit main site Affiliate Blog with pics of Kat, DP and Pat being posted.
We saw MANY new faces in 2010. We are glad that you found us and have started your journey to forging elite fitness. There have also been MANY transformations in each of you. Some of these became very apparent when I looked back to collect pictures for the slide show.
Each of you have made our community something special – whether you helped us (on countless occasions) with graphic design, donated a piece of equipment or a microwave or supplies (cups, laundry detergent, paper towels or toilet paper), were amazing with a tape measure, helped wipe down the barbells at the end of the night, supplied some of us with jar(s) almond butter, brought in a friend or family member, provided treats or cleaned up after a Shed event, took pictures, cheered your fellow ShedHeads on, helped celebrate a first kipping pull-up, muscle-up or RX WOD, continued training through pregnancy, contributed to chalk abuse, took it upon yourself to attend a Level 1 certification or brought in a Jane’s Addiction LIVE CD….this is what makes the RedShed the awesome community that it is.
Some final thoughts that resonated with me after hearing Coach Glassman speak about how different CrossFit is from other programs: When you walk into a CrossFit box, the footprint is different, the equipment is different, the interaction of people is different and the movements we are doing are different. The psychosocial, the physiological, the intensity, the camaraderie – these are all components that are way different from other programs.
Thanks to all of you for being a part of the Shed. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2011!
And remember…“It’s way cooler to be a badass than to whine about all the things holding you back”
Yours in Fitness,
J9
Happy 10th year Anniversary RedShed!
A Shed-Journey to Adulthood
Shortly before I left the state of Indiana in 2010, I was gifted a week-long membership pass to the RedShed. At that point in my life, I had just graduated from grad school, moved to a new state, and started my first “adult” job. My life and career journeys were well underway (in full swing some may say)—as for my fitness journey, well that was more along the lines of a slow meandering stroll. Though I anticipated that my visit to the Shed would not result to more than a week of I pretending to know what I was doing, it went on to be six years of incredible experiences with, what I endearingly refer to as, my Shed family.
For the sake of somewhat brevity, I highlight some of my fondest Shed memories. To start, it was within the first few months of joining the Shed that I truly learned, from Pat and Janine, what CrossFit was meant to do, both mentally and physically. I quickly learned that positive physical results occurred through a positive mental mindset. In 2010, the space was fairly modest, allowing for perhaps 6-7 individuals to work out at one time. Early afternoon classes meant we needed to be patient as we chatted and got to know one another while waiting our turn to take on the day’s WOD—it also meant staring in amazement at the guy (Alex) who always crushed the workout without ever wearing shoes. It was at Shed 2.0 that I learned how to persevere, even though things were uncomfortable and sometimes outright painful.
It was the persistent encouragement from the Shed community that inspired my first muscle up and the courage to one day try a “shedkicker” with Kevin and Brendan. Within a year, I had already begun to see a change in my attitude and my fitness capabilities. It was also a year in that the membership and coaching staff began to grow. However, even in its growth, the Shed maintained a spirit of close community and comradery. Perhaps, that sense of community was fostered by such events as the monthly Shed challenges—one of which I still maintain the title of WallBall champion. Or perhaps it was through forming several Redshed teams that participated in Test Your Metal every summer, or gathering for the pig roast on the beach and holiday festivities at Steve and Brielle’s. Maybe it was the way we came together to celebrate each other’s monumental accomplishments and special moments, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings, babies, new jobs or new business ventures. Even in moments of adversity, the Shed community came together for its members. It was Pat and Janine who had to drive me home to Pennsylvania from the hospital when I dislocated my shoulder and could not drive myself. Yet, it was Keith and Adriana who picked me up from the airport and showed me around Romania, demonstrating that even on the other side of the world, the Shed has an impact.
Undoubtedly, Shed version 3.0 provided its own set of great memories: Friday Night Lights, the infamous Rigatoni, more goat yells from a person who shall remain unnamed, new coaches, more awesome new members, road trip to Boston, new babies, Wednesday morning dance parties, yoga with J9, Janice and Gail, sled pushes, stones, Rich’s balls, fitness goals, fitness setbacks, weddings, Colin disappears from parties, OPEX, Friday morning coffee, more babies, 30-minute commute, graduations, holiday parties, Marc Man-Dozer and the drone, Chadly, Doug gets a job, Kat and I smell something foul, just to name a few.
It is also at Shed 3.0 that my weekly heart-to-hearts with Pat and Steve regarding my future career goals would eventually lead to my saying farewell to the Shed family. After six years, I was moving back to the Midwest to start another chapter in my career. Though filled with mixed emotions, the Shed sendoff reminded me that in my time there I had become part of a community—a family that would always be there to welcome me back home. Happy 10 years Redshed—may this fitness community continue to inspire and flourish, while providing a home away from home.
