Chris Sinagoga | Tuesday, July 19, 2016 at 4:39PM "Without a standard, teaching cannot exist."
- Dr. Romanov
...........
I constantly compare people. That's the environment I grew up in, was a part of, and still contribute to. Most of it comes down to this universal fact: there is always a winner and there is always a loser. Whether we are talking about a game, or a test, or a job, this is always the case. The Champions Club is no different. I compare my coaching efforts to Brian, Jarrod, Coach T, Carl Paoli, Kelly Starrett, and the sports coaches like Coach West, Coach Speedy, and Coach Long. I compare you as well. But it's a much tougher comparison.
You are compared to... yourself.
Next time Fight Gone Bad comes up, guess what Shannon's standard is gonna be. Guess what Mr. Carey's standard is going to be. It's that number next to their name; not anyone else's. When you do something good, I immediately make that your new standard. Whether you want to admit it or not, this is why you guys are who you are. Not because I coach it, but because you accept it.
As most of you are aware, this is a difficult thing to accept. Have you ever heard me read off a compare-to time and think, "Man, I wish I wouldn't have done as well last time."? If you are competing against someone who has more physical gifts or better resources, it's easy to use that as a reason you lost. "We lost because they were truly a better team" takes a lot off your shoulders. But to look at yourself and say, "I did worse than before," or "I got fatter," or "I haven't progressed," there's only one person who's responsible. And that can be a tough hole to dig yourself out of.
But to me, this is the most comforting thing about CrossFit and individual sports like track; you are in complete control. If you had the power to make it worse, you also have the power to make it better. It should also be a given that everyone - from myself, to Matt Fecht, to Mrs. Carey - is going to have days, months, and years were they just don't have it. For whatever reason, they did not meet their best standard. It could be College Kids having big-kid responsibilities/new priorities, or our new generation having a 7-mile run at Cross Country before CrosFit, or Mrs. Pip becoming a grandmommy out of the blue. But if we still commit to staying as close to our best standard as possible, then we will prevent a complete drop-off and the negative things that come with it.
A lot of The Freaks were brought to attention on the attendance update because of this. They set a very high standard for themselves with the Summers of 2013, 2014, and 2015. This is where I hold them at. A small deviation (10-25%) I can live with as long as they still move well. 40-50% is pretty radical. Meeting somewhere in the middle is what I would prefer. And few athletes have done that as well as Mariah Fielder.
Bubs was incredibly inconsistent in the Old Weight room. She would come in, do a 3-second l-sit on the dip bars, then leave for a few weeks. Suddenly, she got Athlete of the Summer in 2012. That was her standard, and she stuck to it. She finished:
This year is looking to be similar for her as well. She's definitely not in Athlete of the Summer form, but considering the differences between now and then (job, college life, solo Campus Improv, no sports) she's not too faw away. The same can be said about her workouts - which almost always reflect attendance. Whenever the time comes that she can commit more time to her fitness, she will be at a great starting point because she continually held herself to her highest standard.
...........
Every successful coach from any area universally agrees that not only does there need to be a standard, but there needs to be consequences for violating that standard. I have been listening to a lot of College strength coaches and they are very big on this. But I think the coach from the Home Plate article said it best:
“If I am lucky,” Coach Scolinos concluded, “you will remember one thing from this old coach today. It is this: if we fail to hold ourselves to a higher standard, a standard of what we know to be right; if we fail to hold our spouses and our children to the same standards, if we are unwilling or unable to provide a consequence when they do not meet the standard; and if our schools and churches and our government fail to hold themselves accountable to those they serve, there is but one thing to look forward to … dark days ahead.”
Jarrod also talked about the importance of competing with yourself when he did his guest-coaching appearance in 2014.
"Sometimes I think about the person that just finished the last round is the person I'm competing with... both people being myself. So I'm gonna compete against who I was last round. I'm gonna look at that person's moves and capitalize on them; I'm gonna look at that person's mistakes and capitalize on them."
As an athlete, I often got caught up in comparing myself to the players I saw in the National rankings or local magazines. And as a coach I have to catch myself sometimes when I do this as well. It's important to remember that other athletes can be used as a great motivational tool, but in the end it always comes back to you being better than your previous self. Bottom line: If you aren't comparing yourself to something, then you are content, and that is a scary place that is even more difficult to dig yourself out of than self-blame.
Accepting high standards for yourself can be one of the most satisfying felings when it goes well, and one of the most depressing feelings when it doesn't. But it's well known that if you embrace the standard you set for yourself and appreciate people who hold you to that, you will get more than you expected out of life. That's the reward for holding the standard.
Carter's squats (in order) - October 2013, June 2014, May 2015, June 2016. Last one courtesy of "Natecrawler" Photography
