12 minute AMRAP
8 DB Push Presses (#45)
10 Burpees
12 Goblet Squats (#45)
Today was our first day of class at Urban Promise. This is the start of a new collaboration with the local non-profit high school located on Federal Street in Camden, NJ. This is the second Steve's Club location serving the young teens of Camden.
With the help of our major funder, Steve's Original, and other generous Steve's Club supporters, we purchased matting and equipment to outfit the basement of Urban Promise.
Steve's Club senior athletes Kevin and Jose will assist me with running the new club until they get CrossFit certified in September at which time they will teach the classes at Urban Promise on their own. Until then, I will continue to mentor and spend extra time on helping them to become trainers to the degree they can successfully run classes without me there.
The big goal is to build a handful of Steve's Club around the city of Camden and have older Steve's Club athletes teach the classes and run it as if it was their own business.
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."
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