Three rounds for time of:
135 pound Hang power cleans, 15 reps
15 Burpees
Today, Coaches Coop and Mike will be at Rosedale, teaching kids how to move better. Ten classes of kids will get to try CrossFit, thanks to "Betty" Steph Mick and their forward-thinking staff. Thanks Steph – the first new 'Sport of Fitness' Tshirt goes to you!
Great quotes from last night: "If it wasn't for CrossFit, I wouldn't still have my job." "If it wasn't for CrossFit, I'd be suffering from depression." Wow.
And now, Odie:
Chris Cooper has kindly asked me to write up a blog on my experiences at Catalyst, I
But
I have decided that I will do more than that. Some people have
mentioned to me that I'm a secret and they don't know much about me…
Well here is the chance and what better time for me to write than on a
greyhound on a 11 hour bus ride back to Toronto.
Just a few things
about me that you may have not known; I was born in Montego Bay,
Jamaica and stayed there for a short time until the age of two which is
when I first moved to Toronto, Ontario. I was not raised by my birth
mother, but have landed into the arms of another that I am happy to
call mommy and still do 20 years later. Growing up in Toronto I was
subjected to live in areas that were high in crime. As a kid the
thought alone was scary. But I had a loving family that cared and
taught me right from wrong which makes me into the person that I am
today. Throughout my childhood I had many positive influences touch me
with their wisdom. The first was my basketball coach Jerome Carter.
Growing up I found it hard to understand him because he would speak
like a philosopher, but for the oddest reason whatever he said seemed
to stick. It takes a man to do the right thing was one of the lines
that really sticked and another was use basketball don't let it use
you. That last line was said to me by many teachers, but he was the
first that made it matter. After being coached for countless hours I
started to get an interest in many other things such as dancing. In my
highschool year I had the pleasure of being involved in a
african-caribbean dance team called S.T.O.P.P. This stands for Students
TRIUMP Over Peer Pressure. What we did was drum and dance our way into
the hearts of little children and adults by showing them a great show
and teaching them that violence is not the way. I was in this group for
4 years and took trips all over canada, this is one of the reasons why
I am such a humble person. After graduating from highschool I received
a full athletic scholarship to play junior college basketball in the
state of Texas in a town called jacksonville. I was the happiest person
in the world at this point and could see my dreams getting closer to be
being attained, Until the season started. I was overwhelmed with
injuries and the fact that the coach didn't like me as a player didn't
help the situation very much. I felt like he had it in for me, which
then made it obvious that I was going to have a bad year. 3 months in
and my prediction of failure was coming true. At this point I had a ton
of emotions running through my head; anger, saddness, embarrassment,
resentment all bottled up due to one school year. I felt like I was
done with playing basketball and after that I swore I would not go back
there and even thought about staying away from the U.S border when
thinking of college basketball. August had theb rolled in and I still
wasn't sure about what was next for me in my life, but then I was
touched by a blessing by god. A friend of mine was thinking about going
to school up in north western Ontario by himself, which is when I
thought I should go with him. I never acted upon it because I wasn't
really sure about it but at the same time had to choose quickly if I
was planning on attending classes during the fall of 09. As the days
passed and the hours wasted away I woke up one morning and found myself
in a town called Sault Ste. Marie also known as the SOO. I then took
the Fitness and Health course with my instructor Tania Hazlett which
then allowed me the honor of doing placement with Chris Cooper at
Catalyst. At first Chris kinda freaked me out because he would love to
yell and chirp at you to go harder and finish the workout, but then it
pretty much grew onto me. I had never been introduced to crossfit and
immediatly I thought it was a unique way to train and I can use pretty
much all the workouts to train and get stronger for next basketball
season at the college. Aside from teaching me the proper techniques
chris had taking the time to answer all my questions and helped me
learn a lot. One of the greatest things he has taught me was that
training is more than just the books and being in shape, its also about
having character, being positive at all times, being great with people
and just have fun with what you are doing. It takes an average person
to say they want to be a trainer, but it takes a special type of person
to make a living off of it. I have met a whole new circle of great
people by just attending friday morning session. I wish I could have
attended 2-3 a week but with my school schedule that was not possible.
I loved every min of the time I spent there and would do anything for
this gym.
Well that was my very first blog about my life and catalyst, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing it.
Odie