CrossFit Athletic Group

There is a certain element of randomness that seems to occur in the state of Michigan. I’m not sure whether to call it comical or depressing. Or maybe even confusing. The weather and the economy are prime examples of this random nature. But since both topics bore me more than The Great Gatsby, I think the most illustrious example comes courtesy of the state’s leading religion: football at the University of Michigan.

I’ve been a rabid fan my entire life, starting with the 1997 National Championship team (random). In the following years, I learned to endure the reality of Michigan football, and it goes like this: punt on 4th-&-inches, let the other team nickel-and-dime their way down to the red zone, instruct Larry Foote to assassinate the ballcarrier, and sludge out a 17-14 victory with a 6’6 goon at quarterback who could chuck a rock from here to Germany but couldn’t outrun a statue.  This is Michigan Fergodsakes.

And then randomly, The Big House was graced by an angel with dreadlocks whose introduction to the Michigan faithful came in the form of a 43-yard touchdown run that nobody would believe if not for YouTube. Denard Robinson gave Michigan fans hope during his four years in the Maize and Blue. But since his departure, Michigan has reverted back to their ways of MANBALL that is used to help put senior citizens to sleep in retirement homes. I still don’t know how Denard ended up in Ann Arbor, or what we did to deserve the wonder and glory he bestowed upon us. But I will remain forever thankful we were lucky enough to watch the best college athlete of the decade.

This, of course, brings me to Katie Bromm.

Katie Bromm. Fall 2012

If Katie Bromm looked up random in the dictionary, she would probably open right to that page.

Through the recommendation of her friend that we trained for a grand total of two weeks, freshman Katie Bromm came to us in the second week of the Summer 2012 as a timid baby foal who could not deadlift her pencil off the ground if it fell. She was placed into the 1:30 pm session - which, now, would be perfect, but at the time consisted of Jacob, Jay, Morrow, Alan Wisnewski, and Jesse. She miraculously endured that for a month and then was transferred to the 9 am session to work out alongside the original 9amers. If she had not already paid for the Summer, she probably would have quit right then.

Sometime in July 2012, Katie asked me if she could attend the 10 am session for a day. For whatever reason, having her go with the rest of the rookies never crossed my mind. But I remember telling her that it would probably be good to stay in that one. It turned out she already knew Jason and Ricky and it was only a matter of time before she blended in with Connor, Lil Kim, Aaron, and the rest of the 10 am crew. But in true Katie Bromm fashion, her first 10 am workout was in a monsoon. She was miserable.

Going into the Summer 2013, we had similar expectations as the previous Summer. In April we had a solid group of parents, an emerging high school crowd, and enough College Kids to say that we had College Kids. If everything stayed consistent, Summer 2013 would prove to be very steady - a warm welcome compared to the surprise inspection-ridden Summer 2012.

If only that were the case.

In fact, the months of April and May were anything but steady. I suppose "hectic" would be the correct term. Because what happened was an onslaught of new people - and not just any new people, but people who would come to define the modern era of the Champions Club. Here's a short list of our New Kids on the Block from March 27 - June 8:

• Dejour Donaldson (Fundamentals, March 27)
• Shannon Marchant (Fundamentals, April 12)
• Barb (Fundamentals, April 19)
• Dave Banet (Fundamentals, May 1)
• Jas (how could I not include JasDEEP?)
• Josh Sinagoga (Fundamentals, May 13)
• Cam Jackson (Fundamentals, May 15)
• Ryan "Buzz" Spicuzzi (Fundamentals, May 19)
• Katie Kav (Fundamentals, May 20)
• Alex Faust (Fundamentals, May 21)
• Jacqueline Banet (Fundamentals, May 25)
• AJ Morey (Fundamentals, June 4)
• Lauren Higgins (Fundamentals, June 8)
• Aaron Sexton (10 am session)
• Collin Skorupski (10 am session)
• Elizabeth Banet (10 am session)
• Erika Banet (10 am session)
• Elle Laurencelle (11 am session)

I don't want to sound like a pessimist, but I doubt we will ever experience a two-month stretch of game-changing new people like this. I mean, when a D-1 athlete, four D-2 athletes, a black guy, and a current CrossFit affiliate owner all get overshadowed by the Banet Invasion and one Lauren Higgins, you know something is special. And after the first day of Summer - which ended with 50 people in attendance - I told the coaches this and they agreed completely. By sheer luck of the draw the Champions Club was about to experience the best three months it has ever seen.

But amidst this superstar cast we noticed something very peculiar. Sometime during July of that Summer, we did our first attendance update which included making a spreadsheet and double-checking all of the days. We saw that every single person had missed at least one day of attendance up to that point. That is... every single person except one: Katie Bromm - a baby foal turned ginger gazelle.

Who would have guessed the star of this picture was the little red-headed girl in the front row?

Somehow Katie Bromm slipped right under our nose and was on pace to have the best attendance out of anyone. I even remember asking her if she missed a day, or planned on missing a day, just to make sure our numbers were correct. After awhile, it became apparent that Katie Bromm would not be skipping any days at the Champions Club that Summer, even for Girl Scout Camp, and her workout performances started to reflect that. She routinely finished workouts with top times and posted significant pr's on max effort days, and in doing so became recognized as one of the best female athletes in our gym

By the time August rolled around, the Athlete of the Summer award became a simple formality. Everyone in the gym knew who was getting it, and they also know who deserved it. Katie Bromm finished the Summer 2013 with perfect attendance - the first and only time that has happened in our history. But more than the attendance or the workouts, she solidified herself as the leader of the new school of athletes we would eventually refer to as The Freaks.

...........

The Summer 2013 version of Katie Bromm embodied everything the Champions Club stands for today; freakish obsession, welcoming nature, legitimate work capacity, great form, and, most importantly, a goofball side - as seen below with her Athlete of the Summer predecessor.

Not all of these things were in place before the Summer 2013. I thought we had great form; we didn't. I thought our community was playful; it wasn't. I thought our athletes were obsessive; they weren't. I thought we moved fast and lifted heavy weights; we didn't. Summer 2013 showed us what all of those things looked like, and what we were actually capable of. It was the Summer of the New Standard, and that new standard was improvement.

When you see yourself as the best, you no longer compare yourself to other people or other programs. You compare yourself to perfection. So when we say "improvement" is our new standard, it is in relation to how close we are to being perfect.

Katie Bromm had a perfect Summer once upon a time. And in unison, the Champions Club as a whole reached as close as it knew of perfection at that time. It involved a lot of luck, sure, but in order to take advantage of lucky situations, there has to be an unyielding amount of dedication to prepare for it.

Summer 2013 showed us how well the formula can work and is a constant compare-to point. It is a standard that Katie Bromm helped set by her actions and is not going to change any time soon.