Leap of Faith

She looked up. Worry narrowed her eyes. Tension hunched her shoulders. She rubbed a clenched fist into her palm and pinned her arms tight to her body.

She let out a huge exhale, trying everything to build herself up to do it. To actually go through with it.

She shook out her hands. Balled them in and out of fists. She reached up only to flinch away.

Slowly, she raised her open hands. She didn’t flinch back this time. She held them steady.

Another breath. Another visible exhale. Another jagged rise and fall of the shoulders.

Then, she did it.

She jumped.

She held on.

What it meant to her couldn’t have been more obvious. The instant change in her body language screamed it as she dropped down. Her shoulder tension disappeared. The worry that narrowed her eyes was gone. They widened in shocked ‘I can’t believe I just did that’ disbelief.

The class cheered. I cheered.

Because for the first time in her life. Sam had just jumped up to the gymnastics rings and held on.

Moments like these. Truly important moments in the lives of those we coach. Those who graft day after day to improve themselves. They don’t just deserve a stage to play out on. They demand them.

It’s our job as coaches to provide that stage with the gym environment we create.

Because you only get the privilege of being present for these moments, truly present, by genuinely investing yourself into the progress of your athletes. You simply cannot fake that investment. It must mean something to you. Or the moment will pass you by without you ever recognising how significant it was to them.

Because we didn’t just see what Sam did that day. We felt it.

The moment she overcame something genuinely terrifying for her wasn’t just witnessed. It was cheered on by her friends. By her coach. By those important to her and her gym community.

There’s been a noticeable difference with Sam in the days since then too. She carries a new sense of confidence. And rightly so. She faced a fear in a uniquely pressurised environment and overcame it.

And in a world where almost every gym tells us the same old ‘community’ and ‘culture’ buzzwords.

Stories like these. Moments like these, show it.

So if you’re trying to figure out a way to tell everybody how important the community of your gym is. Why not show it with stories that really mean something.

Because stories are your gym culture and community in action. They deserve to be told. And I’d love to help you tell them.

Just click here and leave your details to get started

(The thumbnail image is taken at CrossFit Southampton. It acknowledges how proud we are of Sam’s achievement and how grateful we were to have been there to see it)