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!
September 2017 Athlete of the Month
Story: I really appreciate being selected. There are so many athletes in Mission that push themselves beyond what I am capable of and drive me to push even harder every day. In that crowd this is a big honor.My first experience with CrossFit was on Mission’s 5-year anniversary. My wife (Katie) and I pulled up to the parking lot and could not even find a space it was so crowded. I can recall wanting to turn around right then, but we went inside, met Junior, and have not looked back since. I remember completing the warm up and thinking that we must be almost done: I was wrong. I cannot even remember the rest of the workout, but after recovering I knew that I would be involved with CrossFit forever.
I have lifted weights in some fashion for most of my life, specifically focused on powerlifting, and I continued this through my time in the military. After leaving service I let work and school get in the way of working out, but I kept taking on new challenges looking for something to fill the void of pushing myself to achieve new goals. I had heard of Crossfit for some time, and was a fringe watcher as the sport grew, but was not sure it was the right fit. I mostly just felt not ready. I always knew that I would enjoy it, but I thought I would have to be in great shape before taking on Crossfit. I was wrong again, and wish I had started years ago. The scalability of the movements combined with the outstanding programming at Mission and the most excellent coaches allow for everyone to be successful. The competition side of the sport offers a goal that can be chased one day, one workout at a time.
I have no doubt that Mission is the best box in the area. Maybe the best period. For the reasons named above, but also because of all the athletes. Every class is full of people trying to do their best and cheering each other on. I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone and cannot wait to high five after a difficult WOD, or give a hard time to someone who missed a few days. I literally just hit my best hang snatch the other day, after missing the lift twice, because Ignacio said “I should just do it,” so I did. It is the people and the coaches that make Mission great. I travel a lot for work and visit a different box every day I am out of town and can honestly say the combination of Coaching, Programing and People make Mission the best period (I am sure Matt Fraser said the same thing when he visited and probably wishes he could work out with us everyday).
I look forward to each new challenge. Each day I am excited to see what the WOD will be, even if it includes lots of running, because no matter what else is going on in your day the WOD will make you forget. Thank you to all the coaches and athletes who make Mission awesome. Stay classy, be excellent to each other and always remember “Never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing.”
August 2017 Athlete of the Month
July 2017 Athlete of the Month
June 2017 Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Kiera Roberto for being selected as the June 2017 Athlete of the Month! Kiera’s dedication to fitness was apparent during tax season. While working extra long hours, being a new wife and a mom, she continued to put in the work. Almost without interruption she showed up for morning and weekend classes. She continues to uncover new progress and PR’s in fitness journey. For those reasons and many more, she is definitely deserving of the title for Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit:
April 2016
Favorite WODs:
Anything with programmed rest!! AKA Dance breaks ??
Least favorite WOD:
The ones I don’t make it to. ☹️ Also, Running is the worst.
Favorite lift:
Cleans
Least favorite lift:
Snatch and overhead squat
Story:
May 2017 Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Jake Gray for being selected as the May 2017 Athlete of the Month! Jake brings amazing energy to the noon class as well as a can do attitude. He comes in everyday and works his butt off! You can always find Jake helping other with their equipment and after class to work on his mobility. For those reasons and many more, he is definitely deserving of the title for Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit:
First Class was “Fran” in August 2015; Commited and started “for real” March 2016
Favorite WODs:
Open WOD 17.4, then “Fight Gone Bad”
Least favorite WOD:
Any with running intervals – the runs zap my energy for the fun stuff and slow me down.
Favorite lift:
The Bear Complex
Least favorite lift:
Sleds
Story:
“CrossFit, where have you been all my life?!”
After playing baseball and football in high school, then baseball and intramurals in college, my fitness/athletic pursuits tapered off until I trained for and ran the Houston Marathon in 1997. Though it was not my intention, I never trained to run distance again. From 2000-2002 I went to grad school in Austin while running my own business in San Antonio – think “very little sleep and late night ice cream and snacks”. I met my wife in 2002; we married in 2003, and I started a couple companies in 2006-2007. One of those companies was the primary reason that 2007 to 2011 were the worst four years of my career as an entrepreneur, with expensive life lessons, even less sleep, more stress eating, and virtually zero exercise. My daughters were born in 2007 and 2009 and represented the biggest blessings in an otherwise yucky time.
For years I paid the typical gym membership dues, played racquetball from time to time, jogged, cycled, but still, had no meaningful, CONSISTENT exercise.
Then in 2013 I co-founded with a friend of mine another company located one mile from Mission CrossFit. I would drive past MCFSA daily thinking “I should check that out.” It took me a couple years, but I finally did check it out, and early Google search results for CrossFit were intimidating and perplexing (the CrossFit brand could do without Pukie the Clown, if you ask me). Anway, it wasn’t until I realized that you can scale the workouts that the beasts like Froning, Bailey and Bignall were crushing that I finally ventured into MCFSA. Fran was my very first workout. I felt drunk afterwards – think “impaired…under the influence”. Not euphoric. In hindsight, I realize that I should not have driven back to my office that day.
Since then, I’ve logged more than 150 workouts at MCFSA, with no two the same. I LOVE the variety of CrossFit. I’ve overcome joint pain that initially kept me from regular class attendance, lost some weight and improved strength and mobility in ways I could not have imagined. Before CrossFit, I never lifted weights with any concerted effort or purpose, even in high school or college. I never rowed. I rarely did pull ups or push-ups.
Now, I think of the barbell and rig work that we do as “recess for big kids”. And I want to do fun new things and get better every day. We get to throw weights and wall balls around, do handstand pushups (or the scaled version for me), jump rope, climb rope, jump over boxes, row until our lungs explode and hang from the rig like it’s a set of monkey bars on the playground. My youngest daughter, Katie, points to the callouses on her hands and says, “Why did God have to invent monkey bars…because I just CANNOT resist them!”). I feel about Mission CrossFit like Katie does about the monkey bars. I just cannot resist it.
THANK YOU to coaches Drew, Meagan, Rebekah, Julianne, Junior, Roland, Mike and Amy who have shepherded me and my noon classmates. And THANK YOU to Stephanie and Chris and Caleb and the veteran members of MCFSA who have also given me coaching tips along the way. You guys are the athletes of the month, truly. CrossFit has been the best thing to happen to me in the past two years, and I am grateful to all of you for the community and CONSISTENT improvement you’ve welcomed me into here at MCFSA.
“CrossFit, where have you been all my life?!”
April 2017 Athlete of the Month
Congratulations to Paul Steinhoff for being selected as the April 2017 Athlete of the Month! Paul has put in many early morning training sessions at Mission since 2014. He is one of the first ones to show up at 5am for the Mission Sport Program almost every day. He crushed the 2017 CrossFit Open and dominated 17.1 by posting the best Male RX score. Besides a 20min commute to Mission, Paul drives back up the same 20minute stretch plus an extra 30mins to get to work in Canyon Lake, true dedication. For those reasons and many more, he is definitely deserving of the title for Athlete of the Month.
Started CrossFit– July 2011
Favorite WOD– Any Chipper workout
Least favorite WOD– 15.5 (Rowing & Thrusters) I was sore for 2 weeks!
Favorite lift– Deadlift
Least favorite lift– Thrusters
Story – First off, I’d like to say thank you for selecting me. I’m not sure I truly deserve it, there are way too many expectant mothers kicking butt on a daily basis that deserve this more than I do. I first started CrossFit when my wife, Katie, bought a groupon for my birthday to try a random box for a month. My goal that month was to attend as many days as possible and write down every workout with the intention of repeating the workouts after that month and never joining a gym. CrossFit was too “expensive”. It didn’t take long for us to realize the true value of CrossFit, we were hooked after that month and haven’t looked back. Since then we have bounced around a couple boxes until we found our home at Mission in 2014. The coaching and programming were nothing like we had experienced, so it was an easy decision to join despite having a 20 minute drive. Since then we have been truly grateful to be a part of the Mission family. Not only has our fitness continued to improve year after year, but the care and support Katie was given during all 9 months of her pregnancy was remarkable. I am truly proud to say that I am a Mission athlete!
