Bio
Growing up a homeschooled hooligan meant I was free to push my physical limits in the outdoors from a young age. I always loved a physical challenge and was afforded plenty of time and space to expand myself in that arena. At my eleventh birthday I started CrossFitting at a box run out of someone’s garage, but I mostly did gymnastics until fifteen when I made CrossFit my main sport. A few months after starting a competitive training group after hours at my gym, I qualified elite in the teen division at the Granite Games. I also coached gymnastics throughout high school and after, and developed a love for working with kids from that and while working with the Boys and Girls Club. Getting to coach the CrossFit Kids pairs my passion for fitness and for serving youth. I learned a lot of life lessons from growing up in the sport myself, and it’s my honor to be able to pass that along to another generation.
Turning Point
As an athlete, I only understood performance. I had been taught that mind should always dominate matter, and no matter how you felt you should always perform at the same caliber; an extremely important practice for an athlete and for anyone, of course, but as someone raised in the sport, I took it to extremes and ended up often overtraining and harming my body and my mind or feeling guilty for taking breaks and resting. “Go hard or go home” and “no pain, no gain” were respectively my life mantras, and ended up being detrimental to my overall growth as an athlete and as a person overall. I learned in the last few years being back in CrossFit that you can go more gently and still improve, sometimes less really is more, and that your body is very capable of letting you know how to train, and everyone can benefit from listening to it. CrossFit is an amazing tool when used properly, and finding a gym like CrossFit Vint Hill that prioritizes the overall health of the athlete instead of their performance is incredibly rare and one of the reasons I value the community they’ve created here so much.
Motivation & Passion
My motivation is to help people know how to challenge themselves safely and find a healthy work/rest balance so that they can avoid unnecessary stress and injury. Also, I learned a lot about discipline and grit from being involved in CrossFit, and fell in love with the fierce, fun, competitive aspect of it, and feel privileged to help others be able to maybe experience the same.
