Friday, June 1, 2018

A New Era: "And so it begins"


A New Era
“And so it begins”

Next week is the Youth Pan American Championships to be held in Palmira, Colombia.  I am excited to lead my three boys into their first International Competition.  I have:

·      14-year-old Morgan McCullough
·      16-year-old Ryan Grimsland
·      16-year-old Jared Flaming

This group marks a new beginning for our team.  We have a whole new culture that we have all developed over the last year.  Hunter Elam was just talking to me the other day about the changes.  She said that she gets nauseas thinking about the way it used to be, and I have to agree.  Yes, we had great athletes, but there was no camaraderie. There was jealousy. Athletes were bad-mouthing each other.  This was all my fault.  I was more concerned about growing this unbeatable team than I was about nurturing the team that I had.








Coach Sean Waxman was the one that called me one night and told me what I needed to hear.  He told me that I had to change my athletes or change my athletes.  This meant that I needed to get things under control, or I needed to cut some of the issues.  A little bit at a time, I was able to handle this leaving me with the most incredible team to date.

It was this youth and junior team that led the way.  I know that this is not the way that it normally happens, but in this case it was exactly what happened.  These young men and women love each other.  They support each other down to the last man.  It’s not only the onsite team.  We have some significant additions around the country like Nathan Clifton (Missouri), who’s on his way to his second CrossFit Games and is a great weightlifter as well.  We have Kobe Thomas (also Missouri) a great Junior Weightlifter that is moving out to North Carolina in a few weeks.  Jacob Hamby (also Missouri) is a former Team USA Youth Weightlifter, and he’s the one that started it all with my Missouri boys.  Jacob is also a great CrossFitter.  Jared Flaming is my newest Online Athlete, and he’s on his way to the Youth Pan American Championships.  Jared is from California, and trains with Mash OG Jordan Cantrell. 



Some people give Online Training a hard time, but they should see how my boys and girls interact.  When they come together for training camps or competitions, you would swear that they are family.  They are inseparable.  Not only are they close, but also the families are close.  It all started with Jacob Hamby’s family.  I feel like they are my extended family.  Without a doubt there is a place in my heart for that family that could have only been formed by God. 

We are working on our first Mash Affiliate in Missouri as we speak, and I can’t wait to spend some quality time out there.  The point to all of this is that we have created something special.  I say ‘we’ because I didn’t really plan this.  It just kind of happened.  The young boys and girls did most of it.  They text and snap chat (or whatever it is that they do) on a daily basis.  They pick nicknames ‘lil ounce and big ounce, which I have no idea what either mean. 

There is so much more that has happened to form this community like families open up to each other.  Crystal McCullough (Morgan’s mother) and Jessica Grimsland (Ryan’s mother) both have opened their homes to our athletes as they visit Mash HQ in North Carolina.  On the other hand, Michelle and Sam Clifton (Nathan’s parents) had Ryan at their home for a week leading up to the CrossFit Games Teenage Online Qualifier. 

I ponder the formation of this National alliance on a daily basis. I just chalk it up to being a God thing, which puts it in the hands of all of us to make sure the whole thing is glorifying the Him.  That’s a tall order that I take seriously.  Forming something this special is one thing, but maintaining it is another.  I don’t know of another National community like this.  It’s a special thing that we have, and I am going to cultivate it and nurture it.  The good thing is that I don’t feel like that I am all alone in this.  The athletes and the parents are in this with me, which lets me know that this bond is strong.

All of this was simply to say that it all gets started next week.  Ryan, Morgan, and Jared will take their show on the road to South America.  These boys are all three strong competitors.  I am excited to see how they perform on an International level.  However I am fairly certain that all three are prepared. 



The best thing about raising athletes from the ground up is that you can prepare them properly.  They don’t have preconceived notions from other coaches that aren’t used to International competition or from coaches that don’t think the way you do about International competition.

Here’s what we’ve worked on to prepare them:

1.  Warm Ups and Order of Attempts- for the last few weeks, we’ve worked on the order of their warm ups and the order of their attempts normally three times per week.  I want them to be on autopilot in Colombia. 

2.  Philosophy of International Competition- it’s different when you are competing for Team USA.  It’s not about your PRs or American Records.  It’s about placing as high as possible and hopefully medals.  It’s not Team Mash.  It’s Team USA now.  You simply lift what’s on the bar.  You can worry about all of the other stuff when you are in America competing.  Does that mean you won’t be attempting PRs?  Not necessarily!  If the situation calls for a PR, then that’s what you will do.

3.  Nutrition- They all know that the food will not be the same.  If they’re picky, then they will need to bring their own food to eat like waffles or protein powder. 


By now, they are all used to making attempts.  All three of them average between 4-6 for 6 in their competition attempts, so they are used to succeeding.  Success is something that you practice.  I don’t want them to surprised or relieved if they hit their openers.  I want them to be surprised if they miss their final attempt and only go 5 for 6.  There is a huge difference in these two mind sets, and this is something that nurtured from the very beginning by good coaches. 

Everyone that knows me understands that I have been waiting on this moment for quite some time.  This young group of men and women has helped change the culture of Team Mash from the ground up.  They have formed this National Community all on their own, and I am simply blessed to be a part of it.  Next week begins this new era of Mash Athletes at the International level.  I hope that all of you will pray for these young people and join me in congratulating all of them for making their first Team USA.

If you want to partner with us in supporting this team, we are a non-profit 501c3.  Our mission is helping these athletes reach their goals and working with at risk youth in our community.  You can donate to the team here:


There are benefits to donating that are explained by clicking on the link.  We don't want anything for Free.  We just want to help these young people crush it.



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