Week 2 is in the books. I knew this past week to be a big and likely most stressful week for Power and Grace. Mike and I were separated this week while he helped Emily in Northwest and I handled Sasser and JoEllyn in Central East. There was a lot riding on both of those Regionals and a pretty big learning curve for me personally.
Sasser’s performance was a roller coast ride for me. I have never seen the competition and extreme level of fitness all stacked together in one Regional. Sasser knew better than me the times and the results that each competitor would put up. It wasn’t until the finish of day 1 that I realized gameplans had to change and Sasser’s performance had to be flawless to have a chance. In most regions a competitor can drop a workout and place 12th and still make the podium or even win the region. Not in Central East. In the Central East, a slip-up is anything outside of top 10 and puts the podium in jeopardy. What’s more, a 12th place finish would be top 3 in every other Region. He performed exceptionally and outside of 5 no-reps in event 4, I could not have asked anything more of him. He honestly did WAY more than I asked and could have done more. I am very proud of his performance and the learning curve this year was massive. We have to wait and see what happens with Wild Card invite spots but regardless the future looks very good for Sasser.
JoEllyn had a tough regional. As most have noticed by now this year’s regionals put a pretty high emphasis on gymnastics and body weight movement. Much of which had Jo upside down or hanging above the ground. Jo and I have spent the year working on her squat form and mechanics as well as cleaner, more precise movement. Much of which involved the barbell and overhead movements. She has seen a DRAMATIC improvement in that arena. Unfortunately there is only so much time in the day. Handstand walks, HSPU, and gymnastics body control unfortunately took backseat. I am a firm believer that an athlete HAS to focus on symmetry, precision of basic movement, and injury prevention LONG before they move to more advanced movements. She did that this year and her squat and basic body movement has gained so much ground. Unfortunately she had not spent enough time on her hands and that is my fault. She took a hit early in the HS Walk but I have not been more impressed with anyone’s attitude and mental fortitude in a competition ever in my life. She was never phased, never discouraged and always laser focused. She trusted me and our gameplan down to the second on EVERY workout and performed exceptionally well based on our practice attempts. Jo has a big year of training ahead of her as her volume will increase a bit this year and the skills will be more advanced and more abundant. Except a very well-rounded athlete to walk on that arena floor next year.
Emily was probably the most stressful athlete for me this week and likely the least stressful for Poppa. Watching her perform on live feed was very tense for me. There’s a lot of analogies I want to use there but none really explain how that feels. We knew that going into the Regional Emily would be good the downside to that truth is that we knew the Regional was hers to lose. There were a lot of little small features and details to our plan for her that had to be emphasized and performed for her to take the top spot. Luckily, Mike handled her perfectly as he always does and her performance as near flawless. (5 no-reps on HSPU and 1 fail on a MU prevented me from giving her an A+… critical I know) However, her performance this weekend was an exact representation of her training over the past year and she earned every finish she took. 2 awesome but VERY active little boys and a full-time job made for prioritization of training very important. Add some long-time nagging injuries that could only be managed not fixed and it took an extreme amount of dedication and perseverance and trust from Emily to get her ready for the Regional. Luckily, with the help of her husband, she was able to balance it all this year and train perfectly leading into Regionals. Mike and I could not be more proud of her performance though at the Games no-reps are not allowed :). I know Emily stated, “The Games were pretty relaxed for me last year. Nobody was really watching me, I kind of want to do the same this year. Just slide in there and do what I can do.” Unfortunately everyone knows who she is now and we will be doing much more than just sliding in to do what we can do. 🙂
Also, I want to give a shoutout to Crossfit Oregon up in Northwest for their hardwork to get to Regionals. Power and Grace followers also with a very bright future ahead of them.
Thanks also to Fort Wright Crossfit in Cincinnati for letting our crew train in the mornings at your place. We had a blast and your facility is top-notch.
Overall, Week 2 was a success for Power and Grace. We learned A TON about competition and how to increase or decrease performance needs based on the rankings and the athletes around you. Joellyn and Sasser will get some time to relax, have some fun, do all the things they were forbidden from doing since January. Emily will get a couple days to relax and celebrate before we do more of the same for her. Week 3 will be our last week of Regional competition for Power and Grace as we have BOTH Jeff Germond and Jason Hoggan chasing a podium spot in South Central. Three days to relax, breath, recover emotionally and we get to do it all over again one more time.
Great work this week guys.
