Deadlift: 435
Diane: 4:48
Pushups: 96
Snatch: 220
2-Mile: 11:53
CrossFit Level 1 Certification
I've played sports for as long as I can remember. My parents were resistant to giving my siblings and my video games of any sort. Though I hated it at the time, it helped me stay active. I was never the best or most athletic on a team but I loved the competition and raw energy. I played basketball from preschool until after high school, soccer for a few years, and dabbled in various other sports. Some of my proudest sports moments include beating my high school's rival 4 out of 4 times in basketball my senior year; being a captain of my high school soccer team despite lacking significant skill due to my endurance, energy, and determination; and smashing a 100kg (220lbs) snatch. Over the years, I've realized that the most important aspects of sports to me are fitness, longevity, and community. Socrates said it best: "No man [or woman] has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
The turning point in my life occurred over the 2016-2017 school year. I graduated from high school in 2016 and had been accepted into a scholarship program to live in Germany for a year with a host family. This year abroad challenged me in ways I could not have anticipated. My discipline and work ethic from high school and sports carried me through every obstacle. Challenges overcome often become assets. This is exactly what happened in my case. The world opened up to me like I could not have imagined; opportunity, perspective, and beauty could be seen around every corner. I identified mediocrity, the status quo, as my antithesis. My parents and extended family had given me so much to be thankful for and still do. It would be easy and understandable to just go through the motions in maintaining these gifts and blessings for the future. However, to consider living my life in that way when countless others would give anything for the opportunities I have terrifies me. I believe more is possible and strive toward that.
I want to coach for two reasons. One, I want to support people in reaching their goals. The world is full of opportunity and richness. If I can help a person move better, be more confident, be more disciplined, find a community, or achieve any type of positive outcome from training, I will be satisfied that another person has come closer to seeing more of the world's breadth and beauty. Two, I do not consider having fully learned something until I can teach it. Whenever coaching basketball, teaching German or English or otherwise instructing, I have learned different aspects of the subject being taught than I would have ever learned otherwise. It would be a waste to not use my knowledge of sport and training to empower others and grow myself.
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