2014 SoCal Regionals Recap
After three full sleeps I have had a little time to put the 2014 SoCal regional into perspective. CrossFit PB was lucky enough to be one of six gyms in Southern California to qualify two teams to the SoCal regional. This is quite a feat considering there are over 500 gyms in our region and only 6% of them were able to even qualify one team. We finished the weekend with one team in 6th and the other 20th.
These finishes, 6th and 20th are exactly where we belonged and I am beyond proud of all of our athletes. We are in Southern California, probably the most competitive hotbed of exercise in the world. The top 6 teams in our region also finished the CrossFit Open ranked in the top 18 in the world. Yes, a third of the top 18 teams in the world are concentrated in this small region. If you win in SoCal, you win everywhere, and this is the goal of our team. On top of that, when you run the numbers, our effort this year would have landed us 15th worldwide.
What did come out of this year, as with every experience is a ton of learning. In 2012 we finished 15th, in 2013 we finished 8th, and this year we qualified two teams and finished 6th and 20th. The numbers don’t lie. We are getting better every year, and at a faster rate than almost every other team. We are on the right track and have yet to have a year where we have gone backwards. Forward progress is the goal and the system is working. Nothing worth doing is ever easy and making it to The CrossFit Games is no exception. All of the credit goes to our head coach Bryan Boorstein for making the gym so deep and well rounded. To get better at this rate in a sport that is growing exponentially is extremely difficult,
As for the athletes, I could not be more proud. Jenn Ryan is a warrior battling some nasty last minute injuries and still giving her A-game out there. Lodin is a model of consistency and leadership. Kendall killed in his first of many regional appearances. Kuchan let the hair fly and was at any point the most exciting athlete on the floor. Brittany snatched 145 pounds, which is probably much more than you can do. She is going to be a staple of the CrossFit PB team for years to come. Lindsay competed in her fourth consecutive regional and had a huge weekend being incredibly gymnasty. Thank you for giving everything you had and I am very proud to have you all represent the CrossFit PB name.
The Mecca of Swole, taking SoCal by storm and forever changing the landscape of exercise team names. I never want to be happy about any gym closing, but the addition of CrossFit USD to the CFPB community has been so awesome. All of the USD athletes have brought such a good vibe and work ethic to the CrossFit PB community. Matt Couch and Monica Oddo were both part of USD and I am so happy they were able to go to regionals and showcase the skills they learned at USD and brought to CFPB. The Aaron Straker story is beyond inspiring. In late 2013, Straker was vying for a spot on Team PB when he tore his Achilles tendon. He spent the next 7 months aggressively rehabbing and training and earned his way on to The Mecca of Swole team. For the rest of eternity, please refer to Straker as “The Big Man from PB,” as he was affectionately called by the emcee. Jackie competed in her second regional and had a great showing after having surgery on her knees during the 2013 season. Dorota competed in her third regional and loved every second of the handstand walk. I am so glad we screwed up on Friday because we got so much face time on the live feed destroying teams for the next two days.
I am also so proud of the CrossFit PB community. When you are standing on the competition floor and look up to see a brigade of Swoldiers partying and cheering, that warm tingly feeling takes over and you realize there is a bigger purpose. Who in the world ever thought over 12,000 people would pile into a stadium to watch people climb a rope and do thrusters? Or that well over a 100 people from within the CrossFit PB community would show up at 6 AM to pregame for a party bus, and then literally take over center stage at the venue? You could not look anywhere in the stands without seeing red and blue CrossFit PB shirts. I cannot thank you all enough for the support.
At the start of event eight I had the realization that I may never set foot on the competition floor ever again. I realized this may be the very last time I ever do a competitive pull up. It is a very emotional experience knowing something that has defined you for so long may be coming to an end. I was able to sit back, look at our fans, and fully appreciate how incredible it is to represent the people that I care the so much about, on this stage, for the past four years. I realized in that moment, this whole thing is and has never been about me or where the team ends up on the scoreboard. The true purpose is dedicating your life to something, and inspiring others to want to be a part of that dream. Everyone needs exercise in their lives. You do not need to wake up at 6:00 AM to party and support people. That is your choice. When people tell me that what we do is inspiring I feel the need to instantly stop the conversation. The fact that you all feel the desire to spend your weekend cheering us on is just as inspiring, we just express it in different ways. To me, representing all of you, in front thousands of people is an honor. It is humbling, I am thankful, and the emotion that I feel thinking about that moment, seeing all of you before event eight, is somewhat overwhelming and will be with me forever.
After waking up from a slight hangover and getting back to the real life, we got an email that gives some perspective:
“Hey,
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how inspiring it was to watch you guys over the weekend. I watched from my office on Friday, went in person Saturday (which was AWESOME) and watched at home with my girls Sunday. Seeing what all you guys did really pumped me up to continue to try and become the best me I can be.
Please let all the women on the team know that they are now rock stars according to my girls. I always try to show my girls cool things that older girls/women are doing so they know they can do it too someday and they really loved watching Lindsey, Jen and the rest of the girls. They were cheering at home and every time the announcer would say "here comes CrossFit PB" they would yell, "Daddy - its PB!). I need to bring them in one of these days and have them meet Lindsay & Jenn.
Hope your head has cleared after some well-deserved partying.
Cheers,
Bob
