CrossFit Athletic Group

Every CrossFit gym owner I've ever asked said their goal is for their members to be around for two years, maybe two and a half. And then they're off in the world to go do other things with more fitness than they had before. That answer always confused me, seeing as I've always wanted lifers in our gym. But it wasn't until recently - maybe two-ish years ago - that I really came to terms with what that meant.

Mr. Krstich's first Champions Club workout was at Exchange Park doing jumps on bleachers and handstands in the grass; his second workout was climbing a fence at Red Run with Mr. and Mrs Carey. I had been trying to get him to join Koltin in the workouts for the previous 3 months, and March only proved to be the right time for him to finally jump in because of circumstances that were, literally, once in a lifetime. When things began to return to normal Mr. Krstich promptly slipped back in his frantic working-coaching schedule.

Mr. Krstich had 9 days of official attendance in the last 4 Summers. Combined. We'd get him part-time for fall, semi-consistent for the winter, and then baseball would take him from us again for spring and Summer. On paper it would be fair to say that spring 2020 was not the right time for Mr. Krstich to join. But I put about as much value to "on paper" analysis as I do in the Over for an Iowa football game.

Stay connected.

Those are two words I've repeated numerous times to just about everyone in the gym at some point.

If I truly am committed to coaching you guys for a lifetime, I have to understand that your commitment can't and won't always be the same. For example, spring-2020 Mr. Krstich was a great personality/character/athletic fit who two teenage boys immersed in more baseball than they really could handle. Add football (Nick) and soccer (Koltin) to the mix and it must have been difficult for the Krstich family to sit down and have a meal together. But he wasn't going to always have two teenage boys up to their necks in sports. So what was the solution? Yup, just stay connected: at some point the time will be right for Mr. Krstich to focus on Mr. Krstich.

I am here to report that that time is most certainly now. I even took away his preferred 6:30 session and the dude still makes it work. A great winter (his best season of training up to that point) was followed by a just-stay-connected spring where he came in during rain-outs and after-hours, and that has set him up for an even better Summer where he's showcased his endurance, strength, volleyball skills, and a surprising bounce to grab the rim. I should note that Mr. Krstich was accused of letting Koltin score a goal on him in floor hockey earlier this week, but seeing as Koltin's final shooting stats for that game were like 1-17, I tend to give pops the benefit of the doubt.

The reality is Mr. Krstich is serving a life sentence at the Champions Club with no parole. The poor fellow never even got a fair trial; the Honorable Ronald Malak promptly shipped his unsuspecting butt here in the spring of 2020 and he's been with us ever since. But luckily he seems to be accommodating himself well. Mr. Krstich has really found himself getting in a rhythm during most of this particular 9-month stretch - especially in the last few weeks. That will not always be the case: the Champions Club can't possibly be the priority for every single day, week, month, and season over the course of a 30-year career. Just stay connected, stay connected, stay connected: Be ready for whenever the time is right. We need to see 80-year old Mr. Krstich still doing the 10k sub with 80 year-old Mr. Kuiper nipping at his heels, and for the sake of healthy comedy we need to do whatever it takes to make it there.

Great work my man! Love ya!