Lofty Goals: CrossFit Never Say Never

March 15, 2013

Megan Drapalski

“We’ve got so many different individuals, from elite ice hockey players to grandmas, that I think we’re ready for whatever they throw at us."


 

CrossFit Never Say Never opened on February 11 in a small box located under a ‘learn to swim’ center in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

“We can have a maximum of eight per class if that gives you any idea of how small it is,” head coach, Joel Hudson, says.

Hudson’s focus from day one has been developing a family-oriented community atmosphere as opposed to recruiting ‘world beaters.’ However, this hasn’t stopped him from having high expectations for the 2013 Open.

“Last year, I think there were 130 teams in Australia and I just thought there’d be 150 or 160 teams this year, so I set a goal of making the top 100,” Hudson says.

With 22 members at CrossFit Never Say Never and 12 registered competitors in the Open, Hudson’s goal was always a lofty one.

The fact that his estimate was well and truly exceeded with 211 teams registered in the Australia Region makes his expectations even higher. And Hudson is the first to admit it.

“It’ll be a pretty big task to get that happening, but I’m sure other boxes have done it,” he says.

What makes the expectation even tougher to achieve is the fact that Hudson is the only athlete at CrossFit Never Say Never to have competed the Open.

“None of the others have even done one, so they’re really excited to have a go,” Hudson says.

“This year, a lot of us are going in for the first time, so we're just going to see how it goes and hopefully (next year) more people will come along and we'll get a bigger team,” assistant coach, Danny Pearson, says.

Hudson’s goals for CrossFit Never Say Never don’t end with the 2013 Open either.

“I’ve set a goal for the team to be in the Regional competition around 2015,” he says.

While it may seem like a big ask for such a new box, Pearson has faith.

“I think it's reachable, but it'll be hard,” Pearson says. “We've all just got to put in and see if we can get there. If not, we'll definitely get there next year.”

Fellow assistant coach at CrossFit Never Say Never, Amy Evans, agrees.

“Everyone's going to get in and give it their best shot to get us there,” Evans says.

What will help push them toward their goal is the strong community Hudson has already built at Never Say Never.

“We’ve got so many different individuals, from elite ice hockey players to grandmas, that I think we’re ready for whatever they throw at us,” Hudson says.

Pearson agrees the wide range of athletes provides an advantage.

“It just gives us a scope of what CrossFit is all about,” he explains. “Everyone getting involved, doesn't matter who it is, anyone can do it.”

While having such a large variety of athletes isn’t unusual in CrossFit, being so tight-knit will push them harder.

“I’ve been involved in Rugby Union and a lot of other sports of the years and I’ve openly said it with Joel and everyone else,” Pearson says. “This is the best atmosphere I’ve ever been involved in. Everyone’s really tight and we all band together.”

The atmosphere at CrossFit Never Say Never is immediately obvious.

“We had our grand opening on the weekend and we had some athletes from other boxes come and they loved the atmosphere,” Hudson says. “It's a very family-orientated box. We have a lot of people with kids that come and they just chill out and relax in the space we have available for them.”

While that energy will certainly help the athletes to produce their best performances as the Open progresses, it comes down to how well the workouts suit the team.

“Nothing too heavy. The short, faster workouts would probably be what we've been training for at the moment,” Evans says.

But again, that wide variety of athletes should work in their favor.

“I've got no idea what our strength would be because we've got so many different individuals that would be good at different things,” Hudson says. “I think we're ready for anything they throw at us, which, I guess, is what it's all about.”

With 13.1 under their belt, a score of 863 and 132nd place in Australia after the first week, time will tell if Hudson’s expectations were too high.

But for now, they’re worrying about 13.2 – a 10-minute AMRAP of shoulder-to-overheads, deadlifts and box jumps.