CrossFit Athletic Group

I have officially decided against calling these posts a "Cupdate" out of fear of 1) descending too far into Dad Joke realm and 2) being mistaken for a middle school football coach throwing a football at the unsuspecting nards of some poor prepubescent Jimmy. So an uninteresting title it is. Anyway...

The most common question I've been getting this fall has been "How's the Money Cup going?" And I am always sure to give the same response.

So how is the money cup going?

Dean??

Yup.

What are you doing here?

The real question is what are you doing here? This is a website for which things need to be written, and you, sir, haven't been writing things.

This is true.

So I have come to help you write.

Okay.

So how is the money cup going?

It is going great!

How can you say that? If spiritual metaphysical math is the same as earthbound math, you it looks like you are not on pace to hit your goal.

Ah, but my goal is not $70,000 - that's just a made-up number based on what the Champions Club has brought in in the past. My goal is to take the money-acquiring process out of my hands and make it a community-building thing. And I am closer to that in October 2023 than I was in October 2022.

Are you just trying to make it sound like it's going better than it is?

No. You know me, of all people, would not put up for that crap.

Then explain.

Put it like this, if I needed someone to pose for a picture that was sure to be perfect deadlift form, the last thing I'd put on the bar is max weight. But for growth, max weight needs to be introduced - slowly and progressively - so struggle happens and adaptations result.

In the same lane, if I wanted to make absolutely sure that the gym brought in $70,000 and everyone who was eligible to pay did so on time, the very last thing I would do is a community money cup.

I think it's worth a reminder that there have been many bonds that have formed in here due to the personalized way we've handled money. Telling someone who's money is tight, "pay whatever you think it's worth" and have them come back with the full amount, or cancelling payments during lockdown only to have people pay anyway, or parents paying for their kids' inconsistent attendance, knowing it will straighten out eventually is something that I will never forget, and neither will they. In the intimate community that we have, money can - and eventually will - be just another thing that strengthens our bonds.

Fair enough, so what have you learned so far?

That I needed to treat this like a deadlift back in February and not put it on all at once. Since it's an individual standard, I needed to go person-by-person to see how they preferred to support the gym; some would rather just be on autopay every month and not think about it. Nothing wrong there.

I've also learned we aren't as far off from being self-sufficient (on the money-side of things) as I initially thought. In general, people that miss one month's payment have made it up and more the next month. And some don't even play it by the month and give a chunk that would have been more that what their standard monthly rate would have been. So yeah... we're really not that far off at all.

Is there anything you would like to see going forward for the rest of this year?

Actually, yes. Please, please don't panic and start firing the money cannon in December if you see the cup won't be filled all the way. Just give whatever you normally would, whatever would be sustainable for you. If we end up short of the $70,000 then we'll just tighten up a little next year.

Also, if you used the "Donate" button hoping it would be an automatic payment every month, check your PayPal account and make sure it is set up to do so. Maybe you didn't click the little box under the dollar amount.

Is that it?

Yup. Conclusion.

by, Katie Shakes, of course

..........

Hello everyone! Just a little update from me to make sure that you know I’m still alive at the gym. My presence at the gym may not be noticed in a session, but I am here almost everyday on my own. It’s not as fun or competitive but I have to make it work with my schedule now. I have a new job from 7:45am-3:45pm and then I took over the head coach position for girls swim from 4-6pm. Where can I join a session with you amazing beasts in that timeframe?! So I have been coming around 6:30/7pm and this will also continue until March when boys swim season is over.   

My new job is at Michigan Math and Science Academy in Warren. This semester I am teaching PE to 8th and 9th graders. The staff is amazing, but the kids… well there will always be bad apples in a bunch where ever you go. I have 45 minutes with each class and all they want to do is play basketball. This is definitely a new experience. I wasn’t given a curriculum to go off of because they haven’t had a solid PE teacher there in years, so they think they can have free time with me. I do have a plan for the semester, but when I do plan to do a unit, that’s to be determined. The kids wear their uniform to PE so I have to keep in mind the workload that gets put on them and make sure whatever they do doesn’t rip their pants. I wish the majority of the students were like the Champions Club kids. Most of the students are only in the class for their credit to graduate so the effort isn’t always there. But, this is experience I’m going to need and will learn to appreciate it. 

Onto swimming. I was not going to do girls swim this year but here we are as a head coach. The next few years are going to be a build up years; filter out the bad and keep the good, like Chris does at the gym. I’ve been doing that with the boys team and I have such a great group of them right now, so if I can get the girls to be like that too, it will be a strong swim program at Mott. We do have our last home meet this Thursday if anyone wants to come by and watch and say hi! 

Now onto the part that was tearing me apart this summer… softball at BFC. I will not be doing softball at Foley this year. I had many reasons, but the main one was stress and my new schedule. I’m already finding it a tad difficult with swim, but swimming is inside and I can move practices to a later time, also the meets are late, too. I am not cutting softball out of my life, I want to pick up more individual lessons with pitching. That is what I enjoy the most because it’s very rewarding to watch someone progress on the skills you poured your heart into growing up. So Mallory and Sissy, be ready to become beasts of pitchers! 

I miss working out with everyone and having the community support during the tough WODs. Side note: My knee is doing great! I’m almost back to my 5k pr and working up on pistols on the box. Thanks for being part of this wonderful community and making sure we keep each other accountable! The Champions Club will always have the best people!

I always debate with myself on whether or not to post videos like this - I've had this drafted for a few days - but any time Coach talks I think it's worth listening. In this case, maybe instead of listening for specifics, look to take away general things you can apply to yourself every day, like critical thinking, taking ownership of the things you can control, and self-experimentation.

Notes

• 1:25 - of the 165 most prominent cancer research papers, 11% of them could be replicated
• 2:00 - three most affected fields: psycholocy, sociology, medicine
• 4:00 - scientific method was replaced with consensus, credential, and peer review
• 7:00 - experiments need to be able to be tested by the individual
• 9:00 - scientific misconduct, 3/4 of redacted papers are due to fraud
• 13:00 - CrossFit and Coca-Cola in the exercise and health industry
• 17:00 - n=1, imperical objectivity, experimentation, measurement, theory, modify

Early on when a new website called crossfit.com went live on the internet, it consisted of a sole workout and nothing else. The routine of 3-on-1-off had not been set, the term "fitness" had not been defined, the idea of an affiliate was a foreign concept, and a workout post was as likely to be two full paragraphs as two lines. As 2003 and 2004 rolled around the workouts began to take shape into the elegant couplets and triplets we see today:

For time:
Run 800 meters
7 rounds of the couplet:
135 pound Hang squat clean, 7 reps, and
15 Ring dips
Run 800 meters

One perscription for all athletes. However, a few people began to take exception to the fact that there was no alternates listed; what if you can't hang clean 135 lbs? What is the seniors' distance? Dips are a short-man's exercise, what about us tall people? And it's 2004: where the hell am I supposed to get a set of rings?

Now imagine, for a second, that you are the one in charge of posting the workouts. It's you, one person, and an infinite amount of different circumstances and abilities to account for. Do you make your workout post 5 pages long with flow charts, conversion metrics, and graphs? Or do you just say eff it and give people a north star?

This was especially prominent for workouts with bars, dumbbells, or kettlebells; why isn't there a separate girls weight? Yet the workouts kept ignoring the sex line and as the years went on something interesting happened: girls started lifting more than guys.

"Fuck yo girls weight Charlie Murphy!"

That is a classic video of Nicole Carroll from a Level-1 Seminar, but there are tons of other examples from the likes of Eva T, Annie Sakamoto, and Kelly Moore - all of whom have workouts named after them as a result. Fast forward 20 years and now we have Katie Shakes.

Along the way, however, it was realized that these workouts were being treated more like sport and, after all, basketball, tennis, and track have separate guys and girls leagues. So where was the solution? How could the benefits of a sports environment be preserved while also keeping the focus on what the core of CrossFit was really about? The answer came almost exactly twenty years ago to this date: A Compare-to link.

Compare to what, exactly?

Compare to you.

Compare your efforts today to the last time you did this workout. What were your weights? Where did you do it? How did you sub handstand push-ups? As the first Diane suggested, these workouts were "our" workouts; it's a moving target that can only be kept track of by plotting data points. The occasions Coach advertised someone else's time to the masses were done more to show what was possible than to rank athletes, knowing that the best individual performances happen within the context of a group competing. The fact that the CrossFit Games and other competitions have branched off need not distract us from where the roots are planted.

And there, in less than 600 words, is the single factor that makes CrossFit the most enduring fitness program seen in our lifetime: it's takes the best things from team sports and the best things from individual sports and applies it to something that you'll need until the day you die.

...........

/deep exhale

That was my reaction - along with a few of my favorite swear words - when I clicked the little box that says Published by the  Dream Team + AOTS post. I had done it to myself again: For the second year in a row, the Athlete of the Summer would be the most difficult to defend.

Part of my wishes I didn't feel the need to defend Mrs. Van, Bubs, Dillon, or Jennifer getting a banner, while the other part of me knows it comes from a love of the rest of you guys I would not trade for anything. Again, of the 27ish people on the Dream Team radar this Summer, probably 15 of them had a legit case for having a banner; I love Chase, I love Mrs. Carey, I love Cecilia, I love Mr. Kuiper, and oh how much easier it would be if I could say that they missed the banner because the first place person had 117% attendance, 30 rounds of Cindy in 10 minutes, and deflated all the soccer balls in the gym with their bare hands. But that is not the case, and especially not this Summer.

So all of this begs the question: how does one actually win Athlete of the Summer?

As the sole individual who presents that award, I am telling you I honestly do not have the answer. It is the truest thing to a moving target as there is in the gym. But that's the point: don't chase the target, let the target land on you, and understand that a limited criteria would lead to limited athlete pool - which would be the furthest thing from what is actually going on in our gym right now. I have never experienced a Champions Club Summer where the lines between groups have been this blurred. There was no high school group, parents group, or Farm System, it was just the group. The CrossFit Athletic Group. On the occasions I put my "grunch" aside, it was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever experienced at this gym.

The blurring of these lines was (and is) a work of nature; an environment was provided and evolution happened. 

When artificial things - AOTS award, attendance, monthly payments, etc. - are included in a natural environment, it creates a lot of conflict in my head. Do we need awards? Is logging attendance a good use of time? What constitutes a rep and what constitutes a "no rep." How do we keep track of money? Those are all questions I've asked myself at least once a week since 2010, and I still don't know that I have the best answers. What I do know, however, is of all the Champions Club peeps who could call Summer 2023 their best (and there are a lot of you) so far, there is one who deserves a special recognition.

Who me?

When the second Monday in June rolled around this year, Mrs. Van was coming off an inconsistent spring filled with baseball games and graduation stuff, and it took her a minute to get rolling again. A small tweak in her diet (bumped up protein a bit) mixed with consistent attendance found her right back to her normal speed after a week or two. Soon she was Athlete of the Week.

This is the point in the Summer when I realized I was going to have some major conflicts in late August: every single person in our core group of attendees was doing so damn good. And if you can believe this from anyone, you know I spend waaaayyyyy too much time trying to find chinks in the armor. Individually, without exception, there always are, but as a group there was nothing: Attendance was rock steady, benchmarks set gym records, lifts set personal records, and the community feel was better than ever. Yet among the crowded top of the totem was Mrs. Van, who continued to perform at a consistency and intensity we had not seen up to that point. By the time the Monopoly workout rolled around and she made the most ridiculous H-O-R-S-E shot of all time, it was clear that all the stars had aligned for this to be her best Summer of her 4-year CrossFit career; the question was, would it be enough? I don't know how the answer "yes" came to me, but as someone who places a lot of significance on vibe, feel, and intangibles, all signs kept pointing towards her.

Mrs. Van is not the first person to get a banner who did not win most workouts. She is not the first person to win a banner with 100% attendance. In a technical sense, she might not even be the first parent to win a banner (Lord only knows how many little GingerSaps are crawling around Washtenaw county.) In reality, Mrs. Van did not do "better" than any of you during Summer 2023; that also was not her main focus. She wanted to have the best Summer she possibly could, and keeping her mind on that in the heat of all the competition is a grossly underated skill. She earned every square inch of the banner that's going up there.

...........

When I go back and read the previous AOTS features, I notice how most of it isn't about that particular person, but rather the gym as a whole. That's because I think it's important to understand that every highlight, headline, Beast Mode, and award happens within the context of everyone else. Mrs. Van knows as well as I do that without the group of moms, dads, and kids around her at every session, she would not have had the Summer she did, and that goes for everyone else as well. It is this dependancy on each other that elevates the entire group. So how, then, do I justify giving out awards when it indirectly advertises a dependance on me?

Because it's a competition, and competition is healthy! 10 years ago Katie Bromm got Athlete of the Summer based primarily on attendance; I wish today's standards were present back then so she would've had the chance to compete with Bubs, AJ, Murley, and Ricky... and I still think she would have got it.

If Mrs. Van proved anything this year, it's that every single person in the Champions Club is on one playing field that is as fair as it's possible for such a diverse thing to be. Parker can be partners with Mr. Carey for the 80's Workout and a computer nerd can be on the same Dream Team as a college All American. The Athlete of the Summer is not a kids award or an attendance award or a performance award, it's a Champions Club award. One award for all the Champions Club. Next year it could be you.

In the best way possible, Summer 2023 was the worst nightmare for attendance keeping. Take a look at this picture:

How the hell am I supposed to count this attendance? Rae is not physically in the gym, does her attendance count? It's around 11 am and Cec and crew are still there, should their attendance count for 3? Ianah and Lola were technically at the 10 am session but they opted to play instead of work out, does that still count? Pitt and Michael are there for an hour session that has not started yet, nor will it be anywhere near an hour long, what is they have to leave, you know, "on time?"

Standards were changed, exceptions were made, options were given, and while it's going to be difficult to compare this Summer to previous ones, I think we still have a pretty accurate record of who was and was not at the Champions Club this Summer. Let's see what we got!

Summer 2010 Final Attendance

Summer 2011 Final Attendance

Summer 2012 Final Attendance

Summer 2013 Final Attendance

Summer 2014 Final Attendance

Summer 2015 Final Attendance

Summer 2016 Final Attendance

Summer 2017 Final Attendance

Summer 2018 Final Attendance

Summer 2019 Final Attendance

Summer 2020 Final Attendance

Summer 2021 Final Attendance

Summer 2022 Final Attendance

Summer 2023 Final Attendance

There are 174 people on this list. Probably around 150ish on the official roster, which is a record. Also a record was 85 people in one day for Randy and 46 people at the Disney Workout.

That is many.

Dean! Have you been eavesdropping this entire post?

I've been eavesdropping all Summer.

Excellent. Well, what do you think.

Like I said, that is many.

And that's not all either. There is another Matt I think, two James, and Mrs. Patricia joined late.

It sounds like these numbers might not be accurate.

Depends on who you're talking about. They are accurate for our regulars... or, at least within the normal margin for error of any other Summer. Where this started to get tricky was with the 10 am session and the Farm System. Technically Rae, Liz, JT, and Parker and crew have their own session on Sundays... but they were here most mornings, sometimes playing and sometimes working out. And I want that. So what sense would it make to do like I did in the past and only count them out of 10 days? I realized this a few weeks into the Summer, and probably didn't count them in as many days as they were actually here. Plus, Coach Conway opened up the pipeline to The Family's own Farm System, so we had more names in there as well.

Finally, there were more people this Summer than ever that I thought were with us - some gave a verbal commit, some paid, some I put the press on - and ended up adrift, so to speak. So instead of having poor Erica fumble around and try to match an Excel sheet to what is going on in my head, I just copied and pasted her master table, hoping we can sort the names out by memory.

Oh, so you're not waiting until the very end to give Erica her props this year?

Uh, yeah I am. Not appreciating Erica as much as she deserves is a Champions Club tradition I'm holding onto dearly. Same with Rachael Kroll.

Are you going to uphold any other unsubstantiated Champions Club traditions?

Absolutely! Here's the year-by-year comparison.

10th place

2022 - 91% (Wesley/Bubs)

2021 - 86% (Anto)

2014 - 85% (Ricky)

2023 - 83% (Mr. Kuiper)

2015 - 82% (Lauren Higgins)

2020 - 81% (Conamora)

2013 - 79% (Meaghan Murley)

2019 -  76% (Bewick/Andre)

2018 - 67% (Jennifer/Mrs. Tara)

20th place

2022 - 83% (Mr. Curtis)

2021 - 77% (Bewick, Kyron)

2023 - 74% (Chase, Mrs. Hana, Mya)

2020 - 70% (Mrs. Tara)

2015 - 67% (Mrs. Carey)

2019 - 64% (Sajib)

2013 - 60% (Faust)

2014 - 58% (Sabal)

2018 - 55% (Mrs. Carey)

30th place

2021 - 70% (Aaron, Dylan, Paris)

2022 - 66% (Bewick)

2023 - 64% (Mr. Mark, Shakes, Kyron, Allie A)

2020 - 63% (Javier, Mr. Van, Mrs. Hana)

2015 - 57% (Hannah - Sabal's wife)

2019 - 51% (Erika/Jacob)

2013 - 51% (Alex Andreoli - my cousin)

2018 - 47% (Dylan Colussi/Emily Walker)

2014 - 42% (JZ)

40th place

2021 - 60% (Dillon, Conamora, and crew)

2020 - 56% (Coach Casey and crew)

2022 - 56% (Owen - tiebreaker goes to year with more people at that percent)

2023 - 51% (Lulu, Pitt, Gianna)

2013 - 46% (Mama V and a bunch of others)

2015 - 47% (Mrs. Pip)

2019 - 47% (Joe/Makenna)

2018 - 40% (Murley/Conor)

2014 - 32% (Mr. Wonsil/Crystal)

50th place

2021 - 54% (Mrs. Nevarez/Josh Backos)

2023 - 49% (JT and a 8 others)

2022 - 47% (William)

2020 - 46% (Abbi)

2019 - 41% (Mr. Carey)

2015 - 38% (Nick from DLS Soccer)

2013 - 37% (Jesse)

2018 - 29% (Maddy Wesner)

2014 - 21% (Tara Taylor)

and we're going to keep going because it's great!

60th place

2021 - 49% (Caleb Backos, Woorden, and crew)

2023 - 43% (Dita, crew)

2022 - 37% (Arthur, Chase, Conamora, Lily)

70th place

2021 - 43% (Chase)

2023 - 37% (Mr. Marsh, Kadence, Samantha)

2022 - 33% (Paris, Maggie, Bethany)

Wait, why aren't 2016 and 2017 on there?

10 place in 2016 was 63%. 10th place in 2017 was 56%

I see.

Yes, dark times in the attendance books.

Who is this Mr. Ron guy?

Think about someone who is always there; someone who seems to defy the rules of biology and oxygen by communicating in an endless loop of a single topic until infinity; someone who, by all accounts, should be a grown ass adult by now with other things to do, but somehow clings tight to the young kid he always was.

So he's me?

...

... I mean.... I'm sorry excuse me a minute.

...

Well I'm asking because I heard he was upset he had to share the spotlight with someone else who also got 100% attendance. And I also heard confusion about how it was decided to track 70 days instead of the entire Summer. Care to explain?

Oh, right! Well, for the first time ever we have two people with 100% attendance: Mr. Ron - who is definitely not Dean - and Mrs. Van. Mrs. Van missed the Saturday 4 Corners adventure (in retrospect, maybe Carvin and Pitt were out looking for her), which was like 6 days after we stopped counting attendance.

Remember, the Champions Club started as a high school program. A Catholic high school program. Catholic schools like to drag their kids back in the middle of August to sweat until their ass cheeks show through their schoolbell khakis, which is somehow not against dress code. And at Foley, most kids we had played 3 sports, so the fall football/volleyball/cross country seasons got under way even before that. We thought it was fair to taper down as August rolled around, and that turned out to be right around the 70 day mark.

As the years went on and we branched into different communities, teams, and counties, Summer attendance was adjusted to not count until each individual got out of school and ended when their fall sports started. However, I also began to notice how much the sports seasons were getting blurred (like the age lines in our gym); football workouts start in January, cross country "practice" starts in June, white boy suburban basketball has adopted the PSL formula of year-round practice, and soccer is just dumb. And when I look at our Summer attendance numbers, that's second thing that popped out to me: we have Mya, who we caught in a transition between lower-level travel soccer and higher-level travel soccer; Faith, who was not even technically cleared to do our stuff, let alone sports, with her knee injury; and Chase, who is Chase. Every other high school kid was subject to the intrusion of their sport(s) seasons. The first thing that popped out is our core group of parents, college kids, and middle schoolers killed it with their attendance (and performance).

So here was the "identify the choice" thing I saw: adjust the attendance days counted to cater towards our regulars, or respect the fall and spring sports even if they're indruding. And I'm chosing the latter. When volleyball starts I want Faith to come in because she wants to, not because she feels obligated to Mr. Malak's attendance team.

Speaking of attendance team, how did those turn out this Summer?

Glad you asked! But there is one change this year: Mr. Van paid a hefty sum to Mr. Mel Kuiper so his draft analysis could be included with each team.

4th Place: I'm In Rochester Now (42.4%)

Mr. Van's analysis: 21.7% less than Bruce Almighty

3rd Place: In the Bathroom for the Warmup Run (47.4%)

Mr. Van's analysis: 16.7% less than Bruce Almighty

2nd Place: Green Beans and Grass for Lunch (51.4%)

Mr. Van's analysis: 12.7% less than Bruce Almighty

1st place:  My Achilles, Chief (52.7%)

Mr. Van's analysis: suck it Malak

Who is this Mr. Van guy?

Him and Mr. Ron are best buds. They hold hands on warm-up runs.

Well then... anyway, how did you overthink the attendance draft? Did you pay your respects to the moms for going through child birth? Did you give extra attendance points to people who carpool from 3 cities away so we can save the environment?

Well, I was going to take out the bottom 4 from everyone's team instead of bottom 2, but Erica said it wouldn't have changed the order.

I had too many names on the board for the Draft. I jumped the gun on a few people signing up, as I mentioned above. That's on me.

Did you predict this order of finish?

I did not.

Wasn't there something or other where you made predictions?

Yup.. And asked questions. Deep, thought-provoking, generation-defining questions.

Shall we revisit?

I suppose. From the Summer Invite:

Questions.

Aaron Sexton. Third in 2019... second in 2022... will this be his year?

Not quite, but man did he come on at the end. I approve of his Summer.

How do I coach the Money Exhibit? Their resume' tells me they need to train like kids expecting to play high-level college sports; my gut tells me they need fun to be the priority at this time.

Still don't know for sure, but I think Lily Cleans Her Room is the way to go.

What do we do with the Rookies? This will be the first time we've graduated a group from Double-A into the Rookies; a format that has been in the fridge for the last 6 Summers. I'm super excited to see how this turns out!

Use the 10 am session as the gateway between the Farm System and The Group. Make it difficult to tell who is in the session. Buy more soft foam things in case Rae or Liz fall from somewhere they aren't supposed to be.

What will become of the Double-A session after losing their most consistent people? I might be bringing in the Family's 7th grade team; I also know, from past experiences, bringing in a full team with their own culture and expecting them to mesh with our group will take more work than it seems on paper. It can be done for sure, though.

The Family is the only thing keeping that session going; the rest of the kids are integrated into the fringes of The Group. Their culture is fine because Coach Conway is a great coach. But the Babies are probably better suited for the Double-A session if they get to play at the regular sessions during the week.

Can we bring back the Lego Theme Workout if there's 40 people in attendance? It worked really well in Summer 2017 for 11... did I remember this right... /checks records... nope, 9(!!!!!) people. I'd like to see if it can be modified for our current climate.

Brought back Monopoly instead. Lose the betting, focus on the picking your own movement.

What's going to be the mobility schedule? I know I'll get burned out by doing all 6 mobility sessions; I also want to give people as good of a chance as possible to show up for their attendance team.

Open mobility sessions for an hour and a half. Didn't like it at first, loved it by the end. Probably staying.

Have I been trying to build "a gym for athletes" the wrong way? When all the things clamboring for Priti and Dylan's attention are focussed around short-term, urgent, superficial benchmarks, maybe I need to make sure the Champions Club's approach is a long-term relationship that will be here when they are ready.

I think I lost my focus on this midway through the Summer, and I found understanding and clarity when I came back to this in August.

And the original predictions:

Predictions. Now allow me seven attempts to look stupid in September:

1. Lower attendance than last two Summers but we'll have more people than Summer 2019
2. Mrs. Tara's team wins the draft
3. The dads will be irate at who the board places in the top athleticism amongst them
4. Coach Casey, Mr. Carey, Bethany, and Shakes get their nutrition on the right track
5. The Farm System will need a reboot/retooling/redesign after this Summer
6. Mr. Mark and Mr. Ron do a muscle-up with Josh Bennis or Anto teaching them
7. We have a parent in the banners for the first time, beating out Aaron, Zander, and Jessica

Here's how it looked:

1. Yup.
2. Nope, but close.
3. Eh, kinda. Mr. Kuiper ignored it the entire Summer.
4. Shakes... not as much as I thought. The other three... absolutely!
5. Yup.
6. Not quite, but I think Aaron taught JB and Josh Backos to do one.
7. Yes ma'am!

You forgot your last prediction.

Huh?

Erica...

Oh yeah, big ups to Erica for taking the time to do the attendance. This was the most people we've ever had on a spreadsheet, and she was kept up with everything and managed to not get fired from her job. Thank you again kiddo!

Is there anything else?

I don't think so.

May I go now?

Yes, you may. Conclusion.

I'm a little behind on the Summer wrap-up posts so hopefully I'll get those out soon. This post is a 3,000+ wordsalad that is meant to give you guys a view from where I watched all Summer. If that doesn't sound like your thing, here's the latest episode of SEC Shorts to hold you over until the attendance post comes out. I should note that most of this was written in August.

The Forest

There is a pretty significant divide in the Champions Club right now, and that divide happens to lie, with only a few exceptions, distinctly on the high school line.

Now, it's important to understand that this divide is not toxic by any means or clique-y; Mr. Ron and Lily can be great workout partners, as can Koltin and Cecilia. No, this divide derives from consistency - consistency in work ethic, consistency in "want," and consistency in attendance. It is a divide that only exists on the count of 3...2...1...Go! The thing is, I don't think this meant Schulz or Lulu or Conamora or Dylan got worse, because I don't think they necessarily did, it's just that our regulars absolutely knocked it out of the park.

The belief that keeps running through my head is that I'm just not getting enough time with the high school kids, and as a result I don't feel connected with them. Again, it's not necessarily an attendance thing; for example, Dillon didn't have anywhere near the attendance I think she needs this Summer, but her and I are completely aligned in trust, vision, and, ultimately, health and fitness. Same can be said for Carvin, who's lanky ass pulled into the parking lot on the last full week of Summer, got lost in the wilderness of the Madison Heights/Royal Oak city limits with Pitt, and is still comehow completely on the same page as I am. But I don't feel that way about Ashlyn. I don't feel that way with Jaylee. I don't have that with Schulz. Or Jaxson. Or anyone minus Chase for sure and probably Dylan. And the thing is, I've been connected with all those kids very well in the past, at least from my perspective. I often wonder how much of it is just a natural progression of kids going through teenage years and how much of it has to do with this being the most populated the gym has ever been.

I've mentioned it before on here, but 150 is supposed to be a magic number of sorts that one person can have as far as relationships go before things begin to dilute. Whatever truth there is to that, we had over 150 people in the Champions Club for Summer 2023. This made me think very critically about things like the Farm System, Summer Rookies, and New Kids on the Block. For example, how sustainable is bringing in a Rookie class every Summer? If I'm not connecting well with Jaylee, and I know she will hopefully be a lifer, then why would I want to bring someone in who might take time away from her? There's some things that slipped through the cracks this Summer that I don't think usually get by me from pretty significant things like Jelena and Sophie's injuries to the arbitrary like the Chutes and Ladders workout. I have to believe the number of people had a lot to do with it.

When faced with a decision to make, I tend to stay in my comfort zone, and that comfort zone is control. The Lockdown? Cut everyone out and invite who I want. New Theme Workout for Summer 2023? Chutes and Ladders where everyone moves on my call. This is probably not a good habit to continue, mainly because keeping things in my control is saying I don't believe in the ability of Coach Casey, Aaron, Crystal, Shakes... shit, and even Bewick to do their thing without me holding their hand. That notion is ridiculuos. What the Champions Club needs, at least at this time, is to be treated like they are really as good as their coach says they are. I'd like to spend a lot of my time learning how to coach to the want/desire, talking to that one person that really needs it while the other 12 do their thing, and not obsessing about the website. Well... I wouldn't really "like" doing any of that stuff, but I have a feeling it's needed.

The notion that a business owner is supposed to work more "on the business" than "in the business" is something I've always been confused with because I love the Champions Club. I love it (you guys) so much. And every single day is better than the one before because we built on what we did the previous day, and the day before that, and last month, and last year, and last decade. I imagine it's what the sky must feel like when it watches a tree grow; at some point that big cottonwood was barely poking out of the dirt and now it's just going in every direction possible, and there is no other tree that looks exactly like this one.

Speaking of trees...

The Trees

9 am was my favorite group to work with this Summer, which is nuts considering they lost Aaron and Owen to the afternoon for the most part. Oddly enough, despite the fact that we didn't usually get going until around 9:30, the 9 am session actually started before I got there on most days.

Chase Muthafuckin Kuiper beat me to the gym more times than I can remember; I could hear the baskeball bouncing and shoes squeaking at the Bar Sign, and the proceeding view of two open garage doors and Chase's car always brought a smile to my face.

Once we did get rolling the workouts morphed into whatever the mood was: sometimes it was 50 minutes of soccer, sometimes it was a spontaneous trip to the Hill, sometimes it was For Quality, and sometimes is was death. But Cecilia, Chase, Jessica, Allie T, Koje, David Sap, Zander, Anto and Moustaache, Mr. Mark, Madison, and Dillon all meshed so well together that sometimes I wish I didn't have a 10 am session.

10 am at the Champions Club began the point where it was impossible to tell who was actually supposed to be working out, or even which session we were in. JB, Michael, and Natalie were the foundation of that group, and it started off with some of the high school boys too, but the vibe of the Farm System took over and it proved to be one of the most challenging coaching routines I've went through.

Who's my target audience? Is it the trio? Should I put them in a different session and get Jonah, Charles, Giannna, and the Gogas more basic stuff? What do I do with El and Parker? And how the hell did Rae get on top of the garage door pull-up bars?

I'm still not sure if I did a good enough job at that session, but if blurring the lines between levels is something I'm hoping to accomplish, I better be ready for what that entails.

11 am... I think most of it was referenced above. But the thing I'd like to touch on is the concept of want/desire. Early on in the Summer I'd ask Reese, Lily, Lulu, Conamora, Jaylee, and whatever other Monkeys were in whether they wanted to work out or just hang out. If I recall correctly, they said hang out more often than not in the first few two weeks. I was completely fine with that - and I still am - but the thing that caught me off guard is that none of them finished with over 50% attendance (and that counts those days where they just hung out). So I became torn: professionally I'm supposed to help them build habits of bodyweight on the balls of feet, knees out, midline stability, etc., but personally I think they're overcoached in general and need to be given a chance to develop a self-drive.

I feel where Lily is coming from and I think she's right. So the question is, how much time am I willing to give them?

3:30 pm was, as Mr. Ron calls it, the Misfits Session. I can see why: Aaron, Mr. Ron, Mrs. Hill and Avery, Crystal, a random Paris or Tea sighting, Mr. Curtis, Owen, Zander if he slept in, Mrs. Carey if she was missing Crystal, JB and the Stan Clan and the Nevarez crew coming back for more turf time. But, by definition, a misfit is something that doesn't fit. So who exactly was it that felt out of place?

No, I think the 3:30 session was a great illustration of how well we actually fit. If a parent can't work out with Madelyn running around them, or if a high schooler can't work out with Aaron Sexton, then I'm not sure this is the right place for them.

4:30 pm session should probably come with a parental advisory sticker and be held at room 207 down at the Rodeway Inn. We have Bethany changing out in the open, Mr. Robinson dancing like a showgirl, Mr. Malak setting off the carbon dioxide alarms, Bubs hugging anything that walks, Mr. Van providing a vocabulary of swear words, and poor Mrs. Van and Mrs. Robinson trying their best to boost the session GPA.

I have to be careful with this group because I personally find their humor hilarious; they really do need a warmup though, and sometimes their workout suffers for it. Is that worth the tradeoff? Can they have both?

5:30 pm is a really enjoyable group, and one I usually associate with a High CrossFit IQ for whatever that's worth. I feel like I go over concepts more here than anywhere else except maybe 9 am. Mrs. Tara, Coach Casey, Mr. Kuiper, Mrs. Hana, and Mr. Bennis all really "get it" when it comes to the workouts, and CT is way ahead of the game as well for being as new as he is. I hope I didn't give off a vibe of being tired from the other sessions because I didn't feel it.

Babies and Double-A. Ugh, I'm lost here. Utterly lost. The 10 am session made me completely rethink how I'm doing the Farm System, and whether or not I need a separate session for them on Sundays. Check back later.

Mobility. We did 9-11 am in the morning, and 4:30-6 in the afternoon, open mobility style. Other than being hard to keep track of attendance, I like this. I'll probably keep it for the school year too.

Weekends and Themes. Turnout was great! It seems like we spent a lot of non-Theme weekend workouts taking field trips to parks, and I want to continue that, just maybe incorporate more of a sturctured partner workout there. As for the Themes:

Disney Doozy (46 people)

Chutes and Ladders (41 people)

Shark Week (38 people)

80's Theme Workout (39 people)

Monopoly Theme Workout (26 people)

Harry Potter (37 people)

The Leaves

1. Aaron - I got my swagger back / they say I killed that man / I got my dagger back
2. Addison - soccer/cross country got in the way of full-time, can we get you in winter?
3. Allie A - Dillon Sharp likes you
4. Allie T - if August AWOL is not a sign of things to come, she's gonna bea special one
5. Andrew - said you're not Rochester, now prove it! Fitness is more limiting than basketball
6. Anto - what would it take to have a full Summer of August Anto?
7. Arthur - not giving up on you kiddo
8. Ashlyn - boosted athleticism on graph, deflated attendance on board, let's get back this fall
9. Avery - jump ropes and jumping to grab the bar; now let's get those handstands
10. Bethany - big step in fitness and nutrition
11. Bewick - didn't annoy me, personality got a boost for a soccer joke, cleans/snatches better
12. Bread - more push-ups and pull-ups and squats until Parker stops beating you up
13. Bubs - Helen girls record and 25 butterflies; no AOTS slump here
14. Calan - missed your smile little bro!
15. Caleb - sooner you listen to Aaron the better
16. Carvin - do you want to go all in on running a full college track season or do you not?
17. Cecilia - never be the same, never be another
18. Charles - it looks like you want it for yourself
19. Charlie - CMB Charlie! I'll be ready when you are
20. Chase - Chris but better
21. Coach Casey - big change of momentum this Summer, now keep it going
22. Conamora - added football to grocery list of extracuricculars; when can we get your full attention?
23. Crystal - a role model for the moms and kids, not just in my words either
24. CT - we're putting the franchise tag on you
25. David Sap - better attendance than AOTS year, community staple, get that competition back
26. Derek - your little sister can't physically make you go to her games; now if she can...
27. Dillon - who's got your attention?
28. Dita - we're ready for consistent work when you are
29. Dylan - subtracted things that have his attention, seems locked in
30. Ella - started like Summer 2020 ended, but showing signs you might make it
31. El"le" - stud!
32. Erica - please see that you're doing very well for 2x per week (or less)
33. Evan - great workouts when you're in, just stay connected
34. Faith - do we have a hard worker from Lamphere? Need a bigger sample size, but promising
35. Gavin - not a spoliled Seaholm kid
36. Gianna - working out of straight-A habits, most promising non-Farm System rookie
37. Grace - swimming cut off a promising start of Summer
38. Ianah - consistent start, have to remind myself that you're 10
39. Jack - do me a favor and see what getting 1 push-up will do for your basketball game
40. Jaxson - do you want me to hold you acountable to your abilities?
41. Jay - kinda tried hard this Summer, gaining deeper understanding of workouts; I was a fan
42. Jaylee - step into my office Jaylee, got you on the cuffs
43. Jazz - baby Shakes
44. JB - yo!
45. JBack - am I expecting too much to think you're a Chase-caliber hooper and CrossFitter?
46. Jelena - my bad on the lunges/wallballs kiddo
47. Jenna - huh? Still the hardest working Monkey but... where'd ya go?
48. Jessica - welcoming and embracing failure will free up your workouts even more
49. Jonah - solid first Summer impression, let's don't wait until next June
50. Josh Van - 50% less attendance but 50% better workouts; Ricky Carey reincarnate
51. JT - baby Aaron
52. Kadence - starting to show a little something, need to find a "want"
53. Kate - I get more credit for your succes than I deserve; give me a chance to earn some of it
54. Koje - aaaaaalllllmost a great Summer, don't look for a reason to backtrack to comfort
55. Koltin - B-level worker? Let's see it in the winter
56. Kyron - is the new Kyron a thing or is it going to revert to same ol' Kyron once school starts?
57. Lang - bad boy
58. Langston - were you in or were you out? How would you answer that question?
59. Laura - MIA
60. Lily - dad sets bar high; you're probably fitter than him at his age, just don't wonder too far
61. Liz - G.O.O.F.
62. Lo - loved the energy and sass, are you gonna be back?
63. Lola - lots of progress for a 6th grader; you gonna convince your pops to jump on board?
64. Loop - let's try again this school year
65. Lulu - I think you're forgetting how much being in CrossFit shape helps your soccer game
66. Mackenzie - let's try again (hopefully school year, reasistically next Summer)
67. Madelyn - pocket
68. Madison - thank you! Best Summer so far
69. Makenna - I didn't cuff you and you hid in shadows; who's responsible depends on perspective
70. Matt - baby steps in the gym, introduced us to not-so-baby steps at Bloomer Park
71. Mallory - come around more!
72. Michael - wow!
73. Mici - Mrs. Carey as a 14 year-old
74. Moustaache - talking to yourself demonstrated that good things happen out of your comfort zone
75. Mr. Andrew - keep your mind on Mr. Andrew, the kids will follow
76. Mr. Bennis - fitness is waiting on nutrition to catch up
77. Mr. Bitu - try again in the fall? We all think you fit in, Mr. Van's face is permanently scratched
78. Mr. Carey - best Summer out of 12
79. Mr. Curtis - helped prove nutrition + sleep > workouts if I had to pick one. Lost 100 pounds!
80. Mr. Gjon - use your noise-cancelling headphones on every fitness attention-seeker except me
81. Mr. Krstich - get the routine going again this fall big guy!
82. Mr. Kuiper - numbers not flashy, but best Summer by a dad in my opinion
83. Mr. Malak - Way to run Chief!
84. Mr. Mark - great follow-up to spring; who are you comparing yourself to?
85. Mr. Marsh - don't lose the connect, this place is for you
86. Mr. Robinson - why do I gotta ask for 27 pull-ups in a row?
87. Mr. Ron - so much progress... arms and abs popping... keep doing your thing
88. Mr. Van - most under-the-radar Summer out of anyone
89. Mrs. Burton - borrow Mr. Gjon's headphones once he's done with them
90. Mrs. Carey - how can I say no to you after the Summer you had?
91. Mrs. Gloria - God's birthday gift to the Champions Club
92. Mrs. Goga - Are you gonna be here 5 years from now?
93. Mrs. Hana - momentum still rolling; just ask yourself how much do you want?
94. Mrs. Hill - Mrs. Carey is a fan
95. Mrs. Jayme - you don't get a say in this: we're gonna bring you back if we have to kidnap you
96. Mrs. Kiffany - my bad on pushing intensity too early; can I try again?
97. Mrs. Lanette - for the first time in your 3 years, I can see some significant progress in intensity
98. Mrs. Nevarez -  prime of your physical ability; at your best when you "got it" mentally
99. Mrs. Patricia - good vibes so far, let's keep you around!
100. Mrs. Robinson - ready for Me Time to come back?
101. Mrs. Tara - healthiest expression of CrossFit I've ever seen from you
102. Mrs. Van - brought it every single day
103. Murley - once in the Champions Club, always in the Champions Club
104. Mya - no way... two hard working kids from Lamphere? Can't be true.
105. Natalie - yessir!
106. Owen - fitter than Saporito?
107. Paris - you still a college athlete or you ready to get your grown-up on?
108. Parker - forcing me to find room on the Dream Team for you
109. Perk - let's try again soon
110. Pitt - I think you can sign the floor now
111. Priti - daddy-daughter CrossFit time this fall?
112. Rae - baby JB (in the fitness sense and the walking fire hazard sense)
113. Reese - starting to grow into your body, let's make time for a consistent season. Winter?
114. Sam - not sure if you need more or if you're right on track
115. Samantha - listens more than it appears, gets themes of workouts; I got my eye on you
116. Sarah - didn't feel your mind was here, was I off?
117. Schulz - 220-lb. hang clean, failed 30 empty bar back squats... something's not adding up
118. Shakes - 10th Summer with us, we're closer in minds than ever, good work kiddo!
119. Shannon - you on our radar?
120. Sophie - my bad on the foot; can I try again?
121. Téa - AOTW post jumped the gun, still not giving up though
122. Zander - big improvements in strength; still own your wheelhouse workouts. Proud of you!
123. Zeena - muscles like your sister, will you be able to give us one consistent season?

I'd like to start by saying this: there were people in legitimate Athlete of the Summer consideration that didn't make the Dream Team.

Scroll up and read that again.

Trying to pick any awards for this Summer was like walking into one of those make-your-own-ice-cream-cup places with nothing but a $5 cupon. It was overwhelming in the best possible way. And really, this is a great example of how every "yes" you give comes with like 16 "no's" behind it.

Matter of fact, try it out for yourself. Pick 10 of the following people for the Dream Team:

1. Mr. Ron - 100% - 18:44 Loredo, more ripped than any of the college kids
2. Mrs. Van - 100% - 20:33 Angie, 75-lb. snatch unknowingly
3. Anto - 94% - 45:50 Bert, 26 rounds of Cindy
4. Mr. Van - 89% - 6:29 Randy, 9:41 Helen
5. Mrs. Carey - 89% - 5:25 Randy, body overhaul
6. Moustaache - 87% - learned to talk to himself
7. Mr. Malak - 84% - 375 deadlift, 9:00 mile
8. Bubs - 84% - girls gym record on Helen, 19:18 Angie
9. Mrs. Tara - 84% - 10:32 Helen, 115-lb. clean and jerk
10. Mr. Kuiper - 83% - 11:42 Helen, unguardable TE during football game
11. Mr. Carey - 79% - 7:42 Randy, body overhaul
12. Michael - 80% -150-lb. clean, fastest runner at his session
13. David Sap - 77% - 6:14 Elizabeth, gym record on Cindy
14. Cecilia - 76% - All 6's except one 5 on The Chief, 3rd best Cindy and 2nd best Nancy all time
15. Chase - 74% - 18:something Kelly, 7:36 Helen
16. Mrs. Hana - 74% - 9:00 mile
17. Madison - 73% - 275 deadlift, 22:00 Kelly
18. Zander - 71% - 12:something Angie
19. Aaron - 69% - 53.5-in box jump,15:19 Angie
20. JB - 66% - the foundation of the 10 am session, also did 37 (I think) pull-ups
21. Mr. Mark - 64% - 19:14 Angie
22. Shakes - 64% - full recovery from knee injury
23. Owen - 63% - 215 overhead squat, beat Sap on Kelly and Bert, gym record on Nancy
24. Mrs. Nevarez - 61% - won Kelly
25. Crystal - 60% - continues to defy normal logic of older = slower, found extra gear on running
26. Pitt - 51% - most improved
27. Parker - always asked to work out, Mr. Carey's partner for 80's Theme, great yo mama joke

Did you pick Cecilia over Madison? You really going to say no to a senior girl with a 22-minute Kelly and 275 deadlift and 75% attendance? Did you pick Mr. Ron over Mr. Mark? Did you see who had the better push-ups on Loredo? Did you pick David Saporito? Okay, then just look Owen in his face and tell him no, his two head-to-head wins didn't mean that much. Did you pick any moms instead of Crystal? Will they be as fit as Crystal in 20 years? Parker's your boy from the Farm System? Did you see what JB and Michael did? Were you comparing Shakes to the other girls in the gym, forgetting that she uses guys' weights?

I could easily go the other way with it too. You liked Mrs. Tara huh? She broke up squats on Angie. You like Aaron huh? He missed sub-5 on Randy by 1 second and 30 rounds of Cindy by 2 squats. Zander? DNF Helen. Chase finished Bert only in a technical sense. Mrs. Van didn't win a single workout among the moms. Mr. Kuiper didn't win a single workout among the dads.

I asked Bubs to pick her 10 and she was taking so long to choose between the Careys and Hana and Mrs. Van that I cut her short so I could get back to writing. Mr. Mark refused to pick 3 out of 6 from those who were at his session. Shakes demanded 11 names instead of 10 (which, hmmm... considering the law of Isiah Thomas...)

Nobody had an Elizabeth Banet/Ashley Fry Summer where every workout was a hit, so this process ends up becoming a major revealer of value: what do you, as the selector, value about fitness and about the Champions Club. Last year still goes down as the single most difficult decision I've ever made in the history of the Champions Club (more than the turf, moving out of Foley, or lockdown stuff), and I showed that, when everything is as equal as it can possibly be, I value competition.

There are other things I value also: Intensity is up there. Consistency is too. I really think Theme Workouts are a foundational piece of the gym, so I value those. Athleticism in sports is waaaaayyyy up there. And, honestly, just the foundations of the CrossFit methodology.

I took some jumpers while marinating on it. I played catch with my dad to help understand the value of dad calves. I visited my grandma and soaked in her 98 year-old wisdom. I prayed on it. I took a nighttime bike ride to find some clarity. I had Bubs make a Mr. Ron-style spreadsheet of all the benchmarks and Themes... and I managed to take the list from 28 to 27 (I realized I put Michael Banet on there twice).

But unlike the graph of athleticism and personality, this is truly a subjective exercise and I need to remember that my gut feeling is ultimately the deciding factor. So I guess that means now I am going to do it. I am going to do it right now. I am going to pick the Dream Team. Hhhnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg....

Champions Club Summer 2023 Dream Team

• Aaron Sexton
• Anthony Banet
• Cecilia Steinwascher 
• Chase Kuiper
• Madison Bettys
• Mr. Carey
• Mr. Kuiper
• Mrs. Carey
• Mrs. Van
• Parker Stankrauff

Man, instead of writing blurbs about who I picked I feel more compelled to write some obituaries; I don't have a very good defense for any of my decision to leave people off.  Take a look at this here picture:

I want you to look at this man and tell him he doesn't deserve to be on the Dream Team. Ripped as all get-out, 100% attendance for the second Summer in a row (and probably 98% during the school year), gives an incredible effort on his weaknesses just as much as his strengths, crushes running workouts, and sets time aside for Madelyn whenever he gets a chance.

And this...

Am I just getting so used to Bubs and Mrs. Tara crushing workouts that I'm not impressed any more? Can I beat Mrs. Tara's Chief Score? Could I beat Bubs on box jumps(!) and kb swings? If Cecilia, Maddy, Mrs. Van, or Mrs. Carey competed in any string of workouts against these two girls, how would that turn out?

A very good argument could be made that the two fittest males and the two fittest females did not make the Dream team... all of them in the top-15 attendance and three of them in the top 10.

Okay, now how bout this picture:

The pureblood family with lines that are interwoven in the Champions Club's DNA since 2013. Anto had 94% attendance and responds to my foot in his ass like Mr. Malak's responds to a spinach salad; kid beat me in Bert fergodsakes. He made the Dream Team by the hair on his beard over Owen... or maybe Sap, depending on who's in front of me. Michael Banet, on the other hand, has been anointed the Chosen One and somehow managed to outperform expectations; he stares through you, not at you, because you are just another petty obstacle in the way of his destination. And Moustaache... if 12 years of Catholic School has taught me anything it's that I need to repent when I turn away from Jesus. So allow me a few minutes of private confession.

...

...

All right. Well, I suppose the job is still not done yet, seeing as tradition says we need a banner. Believe it or not, I actually have more clarity in the top-3 than the top 10. They can be found in this picture.

And while the distinctions will always be blurry, I feel pretty comfortable with the order also. It looks like the parent in the rafters prediction is gonna come true.