I’ve been to six officially sanctioned CrossFit competitions in the last year; from Aromas last July, to the Southeast Regional just this past weekend. In that time I’ve seen well over 500 athletes in the struggle for the title “Fittest Man/Woman in the World”. This is what I do, & what I love. It is the sport I compete in & more importantly, the sport I have chosen to coach. In the last year I’ve coached one athlete to & at the Games, seen eight of my athletes get from the Sectional level to Regionals, had three top fifteen finishes at the Regional level (including Becky Conzulman’s heartbreaking 4th place finish at the North Central Regional), & last weekend watched my best returning athlete – Laura DeMarco – earn a return trip to the Games. It’s been an unbelievably exhausting ride so far, but it’s also been the most fun I’ve ever had coaching.

I’m starting this blog because I feel that the greatest need in the CrossFit community, at least for elite level athletes, is simply good coaching. I have noticed so many athletes going into competitions with no thought, no strategy, & no real focus on what it will take to be successful against some of the fittest humans alive. This sport is just that – a sport. The difference between elite, & champion may be something as little as the shoes you wear for a WOD.

Dave Castro recently wrote a wonderful article in the CrossFit Journal addressing some techniques for performing the barbell Snatch in CrossFit WODs. I wonder how many coaches & athletes have actually thought about the difference between the setup for the Snatch in a multi-rep WOD as opposed to a maximal effort? From what I’ve seen at competitions, no one has thought much about the Snatch in any manner (hey yo?). These are the kind of competition strategies that must be thought of, tested, & drilled in order to give athletes the advantage when we are talking about a matter of mere seconds meaning the difference between a trip to The Home Depot Center or another year of dominating your local affiliate.