Athlete of the Month
Athlete of the Month
All of us who work out here at Mission CrossFit SA train hard. We are all on our own journey in pursuit of a higher level of fitness, health and ultimately, life. It is not an easy journey, but it’s worth it. It requires hard work, sweat, discipline, and perseverance. The journey is filled with challenges, obstacles, and sometimes-even setbacks. And although every person’s road is unique, it is not a solo endeavor. We are in the pursuit of fitness together. Like a team, when a person is knocked down, the group responds by picking them up. Equally as important, when someone succeeds, their accomplishments are enjoyed and celebrated by the whole. To that end, every month, one person will be recognized for their outstanding achievements in fitness, whether they are in or out of the box.
This page is dedicated to that individual who portrays what CrossFit is at Mission CrossFit SA. It is someone who pushes hard, never gives up and wants to accomplish something each day they step foot inside our gym. They are chosen by their peers and lead by example. The athlete doesn’t necessarily lift the most amount of weight, or win every WOD, but instead they have passion and desire for what their individual goal is. Work hard, everyone is always paying attention, and you could be next!
April 2019 Athlete of the Month
March Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Josh Aguilar on being selected as March’s Athlete of the Month. Josh has put in a tremendous amount of work over the past 6 years since being first being introduced to CrossFit . He was a staple of the evening Sport crew but a new job has seen him shift to the morning Sport crew. Although it was a new adjustment, he still comes in, throws heavy weight around and hits new PR’s . For those reasons and many more is why Josh is deserving of Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit– February 2013
Favorite WOD– Jackie
Least favorite WOD– Diane/Anything over 20mins
Favorite lift– Overhead Squat
Least favorite lift– Deadlifts
Story– I was always an active kid. Running around outside with all the other neighborhood kids until night playing street hockey, tag, backyard football, you name it. Throughout my child hood I played about every sport you could think of and participated in track while in school where I ran the 100 and 200m sprints. Funny, as I wasn’t a fan of running at all, but thought it would be fun to try it out. Once I started college, sports didn’t really play much of a factor in my life and I took to going to the gym and working out. It was a regular GLOBO gym with the typical routine, Mondays were back and biceps, Tuesday’s chest and triceps, and some cardio every now and then. I did this for a while, but my diet was horrible and ate whatever I could afford with a college budget. When they say watch out for the freshman 15, it’s true. Around January 2013, the gym I was attending had started a program called ALPHA. My father had convinced me to try a few classes with him, and although I was a bit hesitant at first, I agreed. The classes were fun and were CrossFit like, but after burning out too fast, I stopped going and went back to my normal gym routine. In February of 2013 at a get together with some family and friends, I was introduced to a person who was opening up their own CrossFit gym not to far from where my family lived. I signed up as soon as I could along with my family and was hooked instantly. My first workout was “Filthy Fifty” and right after that I puked. There was something about the intensity and the friendly competition that just filled a void inside that made me keep going back for more. The most significant changes were the ones I started to see physically such as toning up and burning off fat. I always used to think that I fit, but CrossFit showed me otherwise. I definitely drank the CrossFit kool-aid and would find myself talking about it to everyone I knew, although I don’t think my peers shared the same love for it as I did. Somewhere in 2014 I had switched gyms, and in early 2015 a friend of mine had just joined Mission. Every time we talked, they would mention nothing but great things about the gym. After a few months of talking, I finally dropped in and tried out a class. That was the deal sealer and in the spring of 2015 I officially joined MCF and haven’t looked back since. Everything from the coaches to the community makes MCF the best in San Antonio. The community here at MCF is definitely one of a kind, and the camaraderie can be seen in every class from morning till night. I have made some amazing friends since I’ve been here at Mission and have learned so much in the past four years. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else and am glad I made the decision to come to Mission when I did. A big thank you to the coaches and community for making this the best gym in town. You all make coming to the gym everyday worth it, and I thank you for having me as athlete of the month! I am proud to be a member of MCFSA.
-Josh Aguilar
February Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Nicki Reedy for being selected as February Athlete of the Month. She has demonstrated tremendous work ethic in the 2 years that she has been at Mission. She has put complete trust in her Coaches when they tell her to add weight to her bar or sneak weight on to her bar mid workout. You can always bet that you will never see her without a smile on her face or chitchatting away with the afternoon community. For those reasons and many more is why she is deserving of Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit– January 2016
Favorite WOD– Fight Gone Bad
Least favorite WOD– Anything with overhead squats.
Favorite lift– Push Press
Least favorite lift– Overhead squats & that awful assault bike (you are death to me)
Story-I first stepped into the gym with no experience working out. Having just had two babies within the previous two years, I was looking for a healthy outlet and needed a change. I asked my husband if I could get a membership at a large chain gym but he was convinced I wouldn’t go. Honestly, he was probably right!
He brought me to a 5:30 am class at his favorite gym, Mission. How in the world do people even workout that early in the morning!?! Y’all still amaze me! To be honest, I was incredibly nervous the first few weeks. I had never worked out so hard, let alone done CrossFit! It wasn’t long before I loved it!! I began seeing improvements in my overall strength and mental endurance to push harder than before. Going to class I found a group of people that cheered each other on and coaches that were committed to helping us do the movements correctly. During my CrossFit journey I became pregnant with our third baby and during that time the coaches were fantastic at helping me modify when needed. Having gone through pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum two times before, I can say that I felt stronger and healthier than ever. Today I show up because I love the community of people that I have grown so close to. I love working towards goals and seeing them get met. I love that it’s a healthy outlet that helps me be a better mom, wife, and friend. I am truly thankful for every coach and athlete at Mission that continue to show up and give it their all. You each are an inspiration to me!
Nicki Reedy
January 2019 Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Ben Villafuerte on being selected as January’s athlete of the month. Ben has been a member of the Mission family coming up on almost 3 years. Some of you may not have had the opportunity to WOD with Ben due to the fact that he is a staple at noon class 99% of the time. He come in quietly and kills every WOD we put in front of him. Always striving for perfection during his lifts as well as pushing that extra weight during the workouts. For those reason and many more is why Ben has been selected as January’s athlete of the month.
Started CrossFit– March 2016
Favorite WOD– Helen
Least favorite WOD– Fran
Favorite lift– Power clean
Least favorite lift– Thruster
Story– My CrossFit journey started a few years ago when I was looking for something to push me mentally and physically. Something I had lost from my college days of being a student athlete. A friend recommended I try out CrossFit so I did and the rest is history. It was exactly what I was looking for. The challenge of learning new lifts and movements from great coaches who constantly push and encourage you to get better. The camaraderie and friendly competition between one another to help push you through workouts. Mission has introduction me to some really great people. I would like to thank all my coaches and fellow MCF members for your support and encouragement each and everyday.
Ben V.
December Athlete of the Month
November 2018 Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Bryan Sethney for being selected as November’s athlete of the month. Some of you may have not had the opportunity to have met Bryan due to the fact that he is a staple of the noon class only. Bryan has put in tremendous amount of work since first stepping in the door back in 2015. You can always find him encouraging his fellow athletes as well as putting in extra work to improve his weaknesses. For those reasons and many more is why Bryan is deserving of athlete of the month.
Started CrossFit– October 2015
Favorite WOD– Helen
Least favorite WOD– KALSU
Favorite lift– Clean
Least favorite lift– Snatch
Story– My CrossFit story probably begins like many others. Life was busy; between work, getting married, moving back home to San Antonio and having 2 children the time working out became less frequent and my schedule became more inflexible. I wasn’t inactive but I thought that frequent golf, yard work and coaching my kids youth sports made me an active guy. This pattern lasted about 10 years. I think not being “unhealthy” or at least not in an obvious way made me believe I was “healthy” or at least not that far away from it. Sometime in my late thirties, the reality of 40 started to knock on my door. That knocking became louder when on a family trip to Colorado, I was surprised at how winded I felt unpacking a car and carrying suitcases up two flights of stairs to our cabin. That was a big deal, it should have been easy. I’m at high noon in life, I needed to do something and not keep putting it off. A month or so passed and frustrated that I still hadn’t done anything I impulsively packed a gym bag and strolled into Mission. Truthfully, I had very little idea of what to expect at CrossFit. I knew people that did it, I was also interested because of my two Brother-in-laws who were into CrossFit and I thought… “We’ll lift weights, we’ll run, we’ll circuit train maybe, it will be great”. Oh boy, I was wrong and it was much harder than I expected. A huge reality check for not just my strength and endurance but I realized how incredibly inflexible my body had become. Those first workouts I failed at almost everything (really everything); It was humbling to say the least. If it wasn’t for the positive “company culture” of the coaches and members, I wouldn’t have lasted two weeks. We developed a plan, we scaled, we improved and continue to improve every week. The enthusiasm the coaches bring every day sets the tone and it made a huge difference for me. Consistency counts so much in CrossFit, repetition (not just in the programming but in actually attending) and over time things started to change in a big way. The hard work the coaches put in at gym, behind the scenes programming, investing in equipment and taking care of the facility does not go unnoticed. All of these things are why I have been successful in the progress made for my personal fitness goals. I am not a CrossFit competitor, I don’t come every day but it has made a huge difference in my strength, flexibility and overall health. Improved mobility, less pain in my lower back, better stress management, better diet choices, and better sleep are all unexpected extras I have found along this journey. Thank you coaches for thinking of me this month and thank you to all the members that have shown me the ropes and push me along each and every class.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Bryan Sethney
