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Entries in mrs. pip (77)
10-year Anniversary: Mom's Club
Chris Sinagoga | Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 11:44AM One of the things I learned from Bishop Foley is the importance of having "legacy" teachers in the building. For example, Mr. Mi, Mrs. Peterson, Mr. Valinski, and Mrs. Leary all taught my dad/uncles and they worked with my grandma. When I got there for my freshman year I felt the history of the school and a sense of familiarity despite being brand new. Overall there were like 12 teachers who taught at the school for over 30 years, all of whom helped build a very tight family environment. Even though the school will naturally go through changes and evolve through the years, there was a point you could always come back and see the same faces (maybe a little more gray and wrinkles) who helped shape the most important years of your teenage life. You knew you were still part of the Foley Family.
Luckily the Champions Club has a few of our own "legacy" members. This fall will feature six of them - four of which just won't leave me alone no matter how hard I try.
...........
The day after Labor Day, 2010, Brian and I were hanging around in the Old Weight Room at 5:30 pm wondering how the hell this thing was really going to work. We had just finished the very first Champions Club Summer and were ready to keep this momentum going through the school year. But there was a curveball thrown in; Emma Wonsil's mom kept pestering us about doing a Mom's Session. I kept saying no and she kept asking. One of us (probably Brian) ended up saying yes, but only on the premise that we would use it as a fundraiser for the track program. So instead of $75 for one year like the rest of the Champions Club kids (yeah, you are reading that right) we decided on the hefty price of $50 for 6 weeks - which was a number we thought would drive people away - and we met Monday through Thursday at 6 pm. We were about to find out we were very, very wrong.
Mama V was the first one in the doors on that first evening, early as usual, followed by her friends Jen, Erin, and Mary. Soon after was Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Pip - moms of two Champions Club OGs and next-door neighbors - who had no clue the other was joining the Mom's Club.
Our first workout was "Cindy" modified to 8 minutes. I still have the notebooks with all the results from the pre-business days and here's what their results looked like:
It was obvious right away that this group was at least as fun to coach as our kids, if not more. Mrs. Pip, Mama V, and Mrs. Carey proved to be three staples that were stuck to the Champions Club's spine for the long haul.
Summer 2011
Six weeks later, during the second cycle of the Mom's Club, we picked up a fourth: Crystal Reed.
Summer 2011
Each brings a unique aura with them every time they walk into a session. Mrs. Pip has invisible headphones playing "Good Day" by the Nappy Roots on repeat, Crystal wins all the workouts while her stubborn German fury sometimes gets unleashed upon me, Mama V lives in a constant state of thinking people are actually listening to her opinion, and Mrs. Carey just plainly, openly, blatantly DGAF. Together these four have given the Champions Club an odd, yet extremely steady pulse through the good years and the rough ones. They have endured 10 years of changing standards and changing locations and have provided the Champions Club with an incredibly solid foundation to build the parents group into what it is today. Not only that, but having Mrs. Pip, Crystal, Mama V, and Mrs. Carey consistenly in the gym makes it more welcoming for our OGs to come back in the midst of all the change in location, layout, and people and still feel like they're right at home.
On a personal note, the Mom's Club provided me with the first test of Urgent vs. Important in my coaching/business career in January 2011. That semester I had a night class scheduled Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7 pm - which meant I'd miss half of the Moms Club sessions. I was in the middle of my junior basketball season and the need to stay eligible was pulsing in and out of my head. At that point I'd never failed a class - let alone skipped one - and I was also not aware that I was actually at the beginning stages of running a business. My instinct told me that these ladies had the potential to play a very big part in the Champions Club's future and developing a relationship with them was important beyond measure.
I ended up going to two classes to keep myself eligible, skipped the rest, and took some blowoff online summer class to make up for it and retain my eligibility. But I didn't miss a Mom's Session and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
November 2014
The Champions Club is definitely going fast in the direction we're currently headed and it probably seems hard to keep up sometimes - especially if you're on the fringe. We have new families coming in that are truly awesome people (wait until you guys meet Mrs. Jayme and her crew!) and our young athletes are quickly taking over the gym. Nothing is going to change about this, but every now and then it is important for everyone - especially the new people - to appreciate the history of this place and the people who made it possible. When our first Mom's Club session happened, Jaylee Hall was younger than Johnny J, and Dillon Sharp was like this. Zeena was not born when Mrs. Pip spent her entire lunch hours looking for a place for us to go when we got kicked out of Foley, somehow stumbling upon 32301 Stephenson.
Mama V, Mrs. Pip, Mrs. Carey, and Crystal Reed are absolute gems. Doing anything for 10 years is legit; being part of the Champions Club for 10 years - especially when they started - is truly improbable. Somehow they managed and we are all reaping the benefit.
Thank you guys!
- Chris
Photo Galleries from the vault:
Original Mom's Club (Old Weight Room)
Crystal's Birthday Workout (Laundry Carry included)
Running Wild at the Zoo 5k (I willingly missed college football for this)
