James Hobart from CrossFit New England and Patrick Cummings from Again Faster came down this past friday to visit Steve's Club. James spent a good 20 minutes getting to know the kids at first....talking to them on a very personal level...asking them a bunch of questions about their interests and how CrossFit has helped them with life and school. It was obvious the kids were very receptive and curious to hear what James had to say. He offered a lot of good advice, including some recovery tips (sleep A LOT!) and emphasis the importance of staying in school and find out what you love to do. He asked if any of them had interest in becoming a fitness trainer and few hands went up with excitement.
Then we broke the class down into 2 groups. James coached one group and I coached the other before starting the clock for a team throwdown. The workout was 5 DB Snatches each arm and 25 air squats for 5 rounds. Team with the lowest total time wins.
3,2,1 GO! It was a great workout and the kids had a blast.
More important than being a great CrossFit athlete, James is a great guy. He was very excited to come down and spend time with the kids. On the way to picking up and dropping off the kids, we talked a bit about giving back and sharing our talents with others. It was a very evident from our brief conversation that James deeply cared about others and wasn't just another one of those great athletes that only cared about themselves (and they're are plenty of those type out there...just take a look at professional sports!). Instead of going on and on about his accomplishments, he only talked about ways the kids could all better themselves.
His down to earth and humble personality was super refreshing...
And the leads me to this:
No one really cares how fast you can do Fran or how much you can deadlift.
What matters is how you treat other people and the mark you leave in this world.
Thanks James for leaving a mark at Steve's Club.
The greatest discovery any outsider could make about Camden is it's overriding response to failure: If it didn’t work last year, do it AGAIN this year (and if possible do it MORE).
Every year they pass more laws, hire more police, build more prisons, and sentence more offenders for longer periods-all without moving one inch closer to “ending” crime. If it didn’t work last year or the year before that or the year before that or the year before that, but you can be sure we’ll try it again this year, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that it won’t work this year either.
Every year they spend more money on schools, hoping to “fix” whatever’s wrong with them, and every year the schools remain stubbornly unfixed. Spending money didn’t work last year or the year before that or the year before that, but you can be sure we’ll try it again this year, knowing beyond shadow of a doubt that it won’t work this year either.
Every year they try to make the criminals go away, and every year they remain with us. We couldn’t shoehorn these criminals back into the “the mainstream” last year or the year before that or the year before that or the year before that, but you can be sure we’ll try it again this year, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that it won’t work this year either.
Maybe its time to TRY something DIFFERENT.
Afterall, IF Camden is saved, it will not be saved by old minds with new programs but by new minds with no programs at all.
Much of my inspiration comes from Daniel Quinn in "Ishmael."
James is a class act, great guy, and supportive athlete. I was lucky enough to be coached by him at Crossfit Boston. I think he will forever be in my head saying "just one more..."
I am thankful for that as it has made a difference in my mental game.
Posted by: Rich | November 18, 2010 at 06:25 AM
I have to agree! When I took my Level 1 cert course and was in the midst of 'Fran', the only voice I heard was James saying, "One more! If I could do it for you I would!" That comment alone made him (and one other very caring trainer) stand out amongst the rest! Crossfit HQ is lucky to have him.
Posted by: Lisa | November 18, 2010 at 07:33 AM
James sounds like a great dude. Your comments at the end really are what it is all about Steve. And far too many are the people that don't realize that. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Kade | November 18, 2010 at 11:26 AM