IN HIS OWN WORDS:
When Chris told me I was going to be the profile tonight. I actually felt honored, but I didn’t want to be up. Not for being embarrassed, not for showing my true colors, but I feel so many more of you should be up here before me. You guys know me. I see your faces day in and day out. Most of you have seen me workout. Most I have worked out with, and I’ve coached each of you. And love every second we get together. For every second counts! Then I realized, you only know me inside the gym. So here’s a little story of me on the outside:
I don’t know when my internal fire had started exactly, but I was always athletic as a child and my parents put me in every sport they could as I was growing up. I’m forever in debt to them for that. Each pick up game, match, competition, and practice there was one thing I would never let happen. That person next to me. Work harder than me. I always had the drive to want more in myself and with crossfit, I found I wanted it in others.
It became all about the soccer pitch and the gym, that’s the gymnastics gym if you’re brand new to me. I stopped competing gym at about 13 years old. Then there was no off season for soccer. Playing yearly from then on. Let’s skip forward a little. I would later go on to play some quality soccer in college. Making DII NCAA final 16 one year. Then, a one year transferred schools (Limestone College – Springfield College). Now post crossfit, wasn’t invited back for preseason, and I didn’t want to walk on again, so I went back to gymnastics. 6 days a week, 3 hours a day at 22 yrs. Almost 10 years off of gym and practiced with some of the best in the nation. At first I thought, “What am I doing here?” Then, I was getting skills and strength I never had before in gymnastics. So, what am I doing here turned into, “Can I really make the team?” So, trying out for the team, but only for one event, the rings. If some of you couldn’t guess. I missed out for being too old. If I was a freshman, the coach would have taken me. But for only being able to get a year out of me, I was cut. The coaches told me, “I love your work ethic, intensity and just your overall spirit. As well, when you’re up on rings you make the others work as well.”
I partly believe if it wasn’t for crossfit there was no way I was even coming close to even thinking about trying out for the gym team. The fact that I was holding up with some of the best in the nation and other team members saying to me, “I wish I could do what you can do on rings.” After a 10 year hiatus, I am fulfilled.
And one quote I look at every day, “Why tip toe through life, to arrive safely at death? If you’re gonna be afraid to live, what’s the point?”
Thank you and Enjoy!
Jay
