The Huddle

"Hey isnt it weird that I have more Super Bowl rings than Tony Romo has playoff wins...?"

Back in 2008 when I really started to get into CrossFit I remember how I would literally attack people with annoying never ending diatribes against “globo gyms” and everything that wasn’t CrossFit.  I was foolish and although most of what I said was well-intentioned, it was still dripping with ignorance and naiveté. 

Fortunately I have grown a LOT in the past five plus years and have learned quite a bit.  I am nowhere near the coach/trainer/mentor/life-changer I want to be, but I am certainly leaps and bounds better than I was years past. 

But I did have some good points back then...

I was reminded of one of these points (which I will eventually get to I promise) while listening to “Mike and Mike” – a sports radio talk show on ESPN radio - one morning on my way to the gym.  The topic was the relationship and bonds between players on an NFL team.  Mike Golic, former Notre Dame and NFL football player, spoke about how unique a football huddle was.  I believe he was quoting someone else but unfortunately I cannot remember the person at this time.  Anyway, he went on to say that inside that huddle there were no longer any differences between the eleven men.  Skin color didn’t matter, how much you made didn’t matter, what kind of car you drove didn’t matter, your experience didn’t matter… the only thing that mattered was that every single man in that huddle was ready to do his absolute best for every other man standing in that huddle.  

The huddle transcends the outside world.  For that brief moment reality as most of us know it is suspended and in its place is left a unique opportunity to do something amazing, to be something great, and to accomplish things many can’t even begin to imagine. 

Outside that huddle you are judged.  You are told what you should and shouldn’t do and how you should and shouldn’t do it.  Outside that huddle failure is expected and success is greeted with delightful surprise.  Boundaries are set and comfort zones are never broken.  Dreams are replaced with expectations and hopes are dashed by someone else’s definition of “reality”…

… But not in that huddle. 

And not in my CrossFit box.  And not during the hour (or in my case hour and 5 minutes!) you are in my class. 

That hour is our huddle.  The people who show up are your team.  Once class starts, nothing else matters.  Color, income, political, religious, social beliefs… none of it matters, just like in that huddle.  We are in it together, working to accomplish a goal.  THE SAME goal. 

“But Ryan… the guy/girl next to me is, like, Joe/Jane Competitor Badass Superman/woman… I’m not on his/her level!”

ENOUGH WITH THAT CRAP!!!! Stop with the excuses and stop focusing on the WRONG things.  You have goals.  The person next to you has goals.  It doesn’t matter what those goals are… what does matter is that the both of you are giving 100% effort to ACCOMPLISH THOSE GOALS!!! 

The unified goal, therefore, in every single class from every single person is to put forth the greatest effort you possibly can to reach your goals.  And that is something we do as a team, in our little version of the huddle. 

Next time you come into the gym look around and see who is in there with you.  Those are your teammates.  They are there to give 100% right alongside of you… and they are counting on you to give that same effort.  Poor work ethic is contagious and you wouldn’t dare ruin their workout by infecting them with your shitty attitude.  Man up… or woman up.  Get tough and walk over to the person next to you and hi five them and tell them “Let’s kick the shit out of this workout.”   Work hard because you realize you are not an individual but an integral part of a team that relies on you and counts on you to give your all each and every time you step into that gym. 

This was true back in 2008, and it is even truer now in 2013 as CrossFit continues to grow each and every day.  It is why this CrossFit “fad” is anything but a “fad”… and it’s going to be around for quite a while…