CrossFit Athletic Group

Before Summer 2019 Coach Casey told me about a kid on his team named Chase Kuiper who he was trying to recruit for CrossFit. When Chase first walked through the door, all 6', decently coordinated, filled-out, 12 years old of him, I was like, "yeah, we'll take him."

Welp, it turns out Chase Kuiper had a dad named Mr. Kuiper. Chase, being 12 at the time, was not able to get here on his own and relied on Mr. Kuiper for a ride. So the next step was obvious: get the bald man working out in here too.

Mr. Kuiper was here because Chase was here.

Who's that sneaking in the picture?

Then when September rolled around Mr. Kuiper committed for the entire 9 months while Chase morphed himself into Turd Sandwich; we'd see Chase here and there on school break, or for a random team workout, and nothing more. This is something we would not have allowed for, say, Jack Decker.

Chase was here because Mr. Kuiper was here.

I have to do this shit to come to the Christmas Workout while Chase can sit on the couch and come to the Christmas Workout?!?!I knew Mr. Kuiper was keeping his thing going at home - both on the workout and nutrition fronts - during coronavirus. But did anyone else notice Chase's name by his pops on every workout comment? I, of course, didn't believe it. Once the Kuipers were off house arrest in early May they got the invite. Then got the invite many days after. And guess what:

I was wrong. Chase is here because Chase is here.

...........

The Champions Club Family Tree is very complex and interwoven. Mr. Kuiper came from Chase who came from Coach Casey who came from Dylan who came from this kid named Bryce (a baller, for real, by the way last I checked) in CoachUp, which was a service Coach West told me about but Shakes also talked to Bryce's mom every time she was here, and Shakes came from Alyssa Jabara who came from Elizabeth Banet who came from David Banet who came from Amy Potter who came from Emma Wonsil who came from Abby Lama who came from Ben Lama who came from my sister's grade at St. Dennis. I can't believe I just typed that up off the top of my head.

The threads connecting everyone is what makes this thing truly a family. And in families, everyone usually gets invited. So that means no matter how many times Mary bites me on the arm, I'm still her godfather and she will be sitting next to me at the table. She's in a package deal with Joe, Alex, Emma, and the rest of them, and my mom accepted the offer in exchange for some skinless, mid-July-dry turkey breast and butterless mashed potatoes. Not sure which side got the better deal.

"Hi! I'm never coming back again," they all said when they walked in last September to see everyone dressed in Harry Potter attire.

The best relationships I've been a part of are the ones where both sides seem to be on a "what have you done for me lately" basis. While that phrase gets misused at times, I think it's a very healthy mindset to have in most settings because it brings our attention to giving a great effort on that day, and not using what we did in the past to justify going through the motions. Save those Get Out Of Jail Free cards you earned for when you really need them.

I really value our community at the Champions Club and I constantly check the pulse to make sure it feels like a family. Ultimately, good families give us a feeling of comfort. Comfort is good when it is good for us, and bad when it is bad for us. The moment you walk in here and don't feel an immediate comfort from seeing the place and everyone else in it, I am doing something seriously wrong. The moment you feel so comfortable in this place that you can count showing up as doing your part for the day regardless of the effort, you are doing something seriously wrong. We have to be honest with ourselves when we are taking that comfort for granted and letting it stall the progress we need to make. 

So here's something to ask yourself: "If I wasn't with _____ would I be invited to the gym right now?"

For Mr. Kuiper and Chase, the answer for both of them right now is yes. That could change in a month, though, if Ol' Duug goes back to the Waffle House Response Team.