Celebrating Mother's Day at Central East

May 13, 2012

Cindy Young

What better way to spend Mother's Day than watching athletes battle a snatch ladder.

What better way to spend Mother’s Day than watching athletes begin their day battling a daunting snatch ladder, wall balls and a handful muscles-ups. While most moms will be celebrating with a quiet brunch and a day of relaxation, CrossFit moms have their own way of making the day special.

“It is just unreal really; to sit back and realize that I will be spending Mother’s Day helping my daughter see her dreams come true,” explains Lynn Sztykile, mother to Sarah Wilson. “The word amazing is overused … I am just in awe. So very proud of what she has built and done so all on her own.”
 
Making this Mother’s Day even more special for Sztykile is the fact that in a few months, Wilson will be initiated into motherhood with the birth of her first child. “I thought being a mom was special, but being a grandmother … best thing in the world.”
 
CrossFit world record breaker Dan Bailey’s mom expressed pride after being able to watch her son this weekend. “I am just so proud of him,” she says. “There are times I watch him go out there and it just looks like he is in so much pain and I want to yell, “Stop!” but I know he is doing exactly what he wants to be doing. And, of course, I always think he is going to hurt himself so there are times I just can’t watch. And then I just go up to him and ask how things went when it is over.”
 
Watching your child compete on Mothers day weekend is one thing, competing alongside them is significantly different. That is what Jennifer Haynes is enjoying this particularly memorable holiday. Both mother and daughter from CrossFit Rutherford qualified as individual competitors for the Central East Region and both have been staying strong together. “I started CrossFit first and then got her into it,” Haynes says. “I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be on the same playing field as my daughter and, low and behold, I am.”
 
This is not the first year  this mother/daughter duo has competed against each other. In 2011, the Central East Regional saw the debut of both athletes pitted against one another in the same heats. “I prepared myself to be in the same heats as my mom this year,” Katelyn Haynes says. “I had to get mentally ready to not worry about what she is doing during the workout. There is something comforting about knowing she understands and gets what I am going through.”
 
This year, she gets to cheer her mom on, which came with mixed feelings for Katelyn. “This year, we were not in the same heats, which I thought would be better, but I found myself looking at her walking off the WOD floor and I could see in her eye that she wasn’t happy with her performance, which made me start getting concerned instead of mentally there.”
 
While Jennifer will not be competing on Day 3, the Haynes women explain what it’s all really about. “I have never felt that I am trying to beat her out whenever we compete,” Katelyn says. “t is not about that for us. It is about being together.”
 
In true mom fashion, Jennifer says she would give it all up for her kiddo. “If it came down to it, I would drop my bar and walk away so that she could win. She is my daughter first and last.”
 

Happy Mother’s Day CrossFit moms!