Well, this took an entire Summer to develop, but starting about 2 weeks ago we finally had a consistent 10 am crew.
Avery Maslowski
As many of you know, Avery joined us in the winter. She had decent attendance, but nothing like she has displayed so far this fall. She will sometimes jump around to the 11 am or evening session if she can't make 10 am, but that doesn't stop her from leading the way for the rookie group - both in good form and workout intensity. We might have a good one on our hands here folks! Avery seems to be cut from the Katie Bromm mold - long legs, coordination pending, talking rarely.
Emily Gurney
Emily (pictured on the right) was part of the initial kids crew in the winter of 2016 - along with Josh Ellsworth. She came here through her mom - a P.E. teacher in Warren Consolidated who attended one of Murley's clinics. Emily stopped coming in for a little over a year, but has picked things back up this Summer. Still, her attendance might be the most inconsistent out of the crew so hopefully we can see that increase like it has the past two weeks. This incoming 10th grader has some upside as a runner for sure. Emily seems to be a soccer-first version of Maria, matching sass-for-sass the coaching efforts of myself or Murley.
Mrs. Dawkins
Mrs. Dawkins has been a very important addition to the Champions Club rookie session this Summer, and one of my favorite people to coach at the moment. She is completely open and honest with her limitations of fitness, and that, I think, has been the main part in her crazy improvement over the past two months. Her running and conditioning have seen the most improvement in my opinion, as welll as her midline control. Plus, as you are about to read below, she also works out in the same session as two of her kids. Yet, I never catch a hint of the over-protective helicopter parent we have all seen in one way or another. This is Mrs. Anderson minus the squat mobility.
Isaac Dawkins
Isaac is good friends with Nolan (more on that below) and is an incoming 7th grader, who's primary sport is football. Isaac is probably the most-improved mover out of the group; we have seen him show much more control in his squat, hollow hold, and jump in recent weeks. He even is progressing on handstands quite will; push-ups may be a longer story. For that reason, Isaac reminds me most of Ricky Carey.
Sophia Dawkins
Sophia (pictured above with Emily Gurney) is Isaac's twin sister, and obviously also going into 7th grade. Her main sport is volleyball, and she also had a good gymnastics background growing up. This Summer she has been working around a lingering Achilles thing she tweaked back in the spring. Slowly but surely it seems to be getting better with the constant attention to mobility and position. Think of Anita Partyka, but a little more polite.
Nolan Wesner
If the last name sounds familiar, then you are on track. Nolan is Maddy's younger brother, and also happens to be in the same grade as Isaac and Sophia. Originally, Mrs. Wesner recommended Mrs. Dawkins and her kids to join the gym at the 10 am session, but did not include Nolan out of fear that he would overcome his sister in athleticism... or possibly because he didn't have a ride. However, once Mrs. Dawkins volunteered to drive the youngest Wesner, we added another member to the 10 am session. Nolan, another football/basketball player, is pretty tall for his grade, so the coordination is coming along similar to Isaac's. But still, he reminds me a little of Frankie Lama.
Andre Saffar
On a random day in late-July, Crawford pulls into the parking lot the usual hour and change early to his 11 am session. Only this time he was accompanied by one of his Cross Country teammates also fresh out of practice. Andre tried out a workout, liked it, and signed up the next day. By pure percentage, Andre probably has the best attendance. If that keeps up, look for good things coming from this incoming sophomore. He's a pretty close representation of Kenny Jensen, but a little bit faster.
Josh Howey
Josh is the older brother of Samantha, one of the standouts in the Babies session. He is going into 8th grade and he cannot decide between wraastling and football as his favorite sports. Josh has the best mobility out of anyone in the group and is now working on the movement control to go with it. And man, he is picking up fast. Cleans, push-ups, handstands, and hollow holds look pretty good considering his 2+ weeks with us; the main thing he has to correct is the knees-forward fault. Definitely reminds me of a shorter version of Conor.
Mrs. Howey
On Josh's first day with our 10 am session, his mother was the one to drop him off. Only, she didn't necessarily drop him off so much as venture in through the garage doors with him. She wasn't a stranger, though, seeing as she often brought Samantha to the Babies. Anyway, I noticed she was dressed in attire that could be reasonably passed for workout clothes, so I invited her in. One hour later, we had our second mommy for the rookie session. So far, the coordination part of the movements is the most challenging for her, but the mobility is ready once the motor control catches up. If anyone remembers Angie Kadawaki from the early days of this gym, this might be her in disguise.
Mrs. Bass
And last but not least, back for the second Summer in a row is Champions Club fan-favorite Mrs. Bass; badass P.E. teacher at Warren Mott. Unfortunately she could not convince her boys to return for another Summer, but we are still glad to have this one on board. Honestly, Mrs. Bass is one of the most inspirational people I coach. It is not often that P.E. teachers and coaches practice what they preech; Mrs. Bass is a glaring exception. If we could get her here even more consistently, it would make me a much happier Chris. Definitely some Mrs. Kroll in this one for sure.