What a weekend.
We have some amazing news. Melody traveled to Boston, MA this weekend, where she took and passed CrossFit’s Level 2 Instructor/Trainer Certification.
When this test date was announced back in August, we signed her up immediately, but admittedly, we kept it close to the vest. Since then, Melody has been tirelessly practicing and preparing for this event—an event that is notoriously difficult and carries an extraordinarily low pass rate.
Within the worldwide CrossFit community, there are approximately 1500 affiliates and literally, thousands of certified Level 1 Instructors. There are, however, less than 300 certified Level 2 Instructors (there is no third level). With her outstanding effort, Melody has joined an elite group within our coaching community at large—welcome to the club!
Melody’s exam, a three-hour practical, involved teaching a group of seven strangers three of the nine foundational movements These movements were chosen at random, and she taught the overhead squat, medicine ball clean and push press. For each movement, Melody was allowed 10 minutes to make each and every athlete as accomplished as possible. She was evaluated against six criteria: teaching the movements, seeing the movements, correcting the movements, presence and attitude, managing a group, and demonstration of the movements.
All coaches are not created equal. Knowing this, we take great pride at MPH in bringing you the best instruction and guidance possible. Period. What distinguishes great coaches from the rest is accepting and overcoming the difference between knowing the mechanics and aesthetics of movement, and effectively communicating those aspects in a manner that keeps an athlete safe while making them better. Melody exemplifies these qualities more than any other I have met.
Congratulations, Mel. We are so tremendously proud of you. You are a great coach.
–John
—
for time:
2000m row
Compare results to August 27, 2009.
CONGRATS MEL!!!
That is awesome, Melody! Congratulations!
Melody,
Congratulations on level two certification!! I have to tell you that I am not surprised that you passed this milestone. I think I speak for many of us when I say that you are a natural when it comes to coaching the foundational movements. There is no question that the improvements so many of us have made these movements is a direct result of the coaching we receive from you and John.
I am very proud of you and this accomplishment and even prouder to be affiliated with a gym so dedicated to seeing its client’s success. You are awesome!!
702
Nice Job Mel
I always knew to a elite group of very special coaches, but now its official.
Mel –
My heartfelt congratulations! You are a remarkable athlete, terrific person – and an amazing coach.
I knew you were someone special when we met and started training, lo those years ago – but with Crosfit, you’ve come into your own in remarkable ways – combining elements into terrific workouts, adapting and growing your skills – this is the first of many achievements I have no doubt.
I’m so glad to be your client!
Warmest thoughts
Tod
Well done Mel!! I see crossfit.com has your pic up too. Now that you’re famous does this mean you’re going to start charging for kipping lessons? 🙂
Great job Melody! I am proud to call you my coach. Jeff
Congratulations!
Congratulations Melody! You are a great coach.
KC
Mel,
This is fantastic news. You inspire me yet again. But, regardless – you have always been a Level “10” coach to me.
See you later today…
Stuart
Melody,
You will always be Level III to me. (Or in light of Stu’s comments, and in deference to Spinal Tap, Level 11). Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition – for we all know your competence, strength, skill and wisdom, and I’m glad the CrossFit Comunity recognizes it as well. I know your “trainees” came out of the weekend for the better, as we all have.;
Ted
Wooot Woooo! Congrats Mel! A lot of things are making sense to me know that the cat is out of the bag. You have always had that fire but lately you have had that extra level II fire in your eyes…
AWWWWW DAYUMN…I am going to be squatting forever now. *giggle* Congratulations Coach!
Kim
Mel…. great work! You deserve it. You have an incredible work, coach, and general life, ethic. I feel blessed to call you a coach. CS
Mel! Awesome! I knew there was a reason John was playing sick… extra practice for your cert. (ok, maybe not) anyway, congratulations – you definitely deserve it!
Congratulations, Melody!!!
–Scores–
Ted K.: 8:15
Alex M.: 7:39
Tamra F.: dnf
Kim H.: 9:19
Kris C.: 9:04
Ivy F.: 8:57
Jen M.: 8:17
Neil A.: 7:45
Josh O.: 8:06
Jeff W.: 8:07
Ralph A.: 9:01
Mike D.: 7:47
Ravi S.: 9:04
Mayra C.: 9:09
Sidra C.: 9:13
David O.: dnf
Rob K.: 7:42
Christine S.: 9:34
Joe P.: 6:55
Jessica H.: 8:37
Mead O.: 9:51
Dennis D.: 8:21
David C.: 8:49
Brendan K.: 8:21
Lisa C.: 8:53
Travis O.: dnf
Steve D.: 7:08
Webster S.: 7:10
Adam H.: 7:50
Roselena R.: 9:50
Jeremy N.: 7:28
Amy S.: 9:06
Erin H.: 10:23
Ricky B.: 8:31
Meghan M.: 8:08
Adam C.: 7:29
Congratulations Melody! We are so fortunate to have you as our coach. Thanks for all you do for all of us.
Peace,
Ivy
Congrats Melody! I don’t know how many different ways you now have at your disposal to tell me “lower,lower, dammit joe, get lower in the squat!”, but I have faith you will find new ones (although hopefully I’ll just get it right negating the need and allowing you to move forward to find other things to yell at me for).
See you tomorrow!
Joe P
Congratulations Mel! Your dedication to improving not only yourself but each of the rest of us is truly inspiring and is what makes MPH so great!
Congrats Mel! Very impressed but not surprised that you passed. You’re a terrific coach as clearly expressed by everyone on the blog. We are lucky to have you!
Congrats Mel! That’s so exciting that you passed level II. You are a wonderful coach and it’s great to see you get the recognition you deserve! We are certainly fortunate to have you as our coach.
Sid
Mel,
I am so happy for you! This is so well deserved. We all know that you can spot a fix to technique from across a chaotic room, this… this just gives you street cred. 🙂
Thanks for helping us be the best version of ourselves everyday.
Congrats Mel! I don’t think anybody here is surprised that you passed it on the first time around. Although I think it’s worth noting that it’s very, very rare to do so. Most people fail their first time through, even though they are experienced trainers. So it really is a great accomplishment.
AMAZING NEWS!!! Congratulations, Mel!
congrats Mel- i am not surprised at all. your superior coaching was evident from my very first warmup at MPH. i esp. like your “all business” tone during sessions. keep up the great work!
Steve D
Team,
Thank you so much for all of your kind words!! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate them, and your support. The fantastic experience that I had in Boston, while a lot of pressure, was made possible by two things: John, the most bad-ass coach and teacher ever, and you guys. Instructing groups, especially the Elements classes, comes in very handy when the test criteria is built on how well someone does exactly that!
I was considerably nervous going into the exam on Sunday morning, but I stuck with exactly what I knew I could do well, and in the end, teaching a room full of strangers felt no different than a day of coaching at MPH.
I am so glad that I could represent MPH well this weekend. See you all later today, or tomorrow morning!
Melody
Way to go on a hard-earned and very well-deserved recognition, Mel! We are lucky to have you, but we knew that well before this weekend.
Mel, you really are a great coach! I’m very proud of you and happy to have you as one of “my” coaches. See you soon!
Mel,
Congrats on a great accomplishment! You have always known your stuff, but having had the benefit of some more personal attention from you over the last couple of weeks, I could tell you really had it dialed in lately.
I have to think that we are one of the few, if only, boxes that has two kick-ass Level 2 certified trainers, and one waiting in the wings (no pressure Baykay).
Meetings kept me from making it in today, but I was stoked anyway since my work gym has a nice, seldom used Concept 2 Model D rower, and I needed to atone for my last effort at 2k. I now know why it is seldom used – the sensor doesn’t record any movement. After spending about 15 minutes trying to get it to work, including using a coin to unscrew the cover to the flywheel, I just set my watch for 8 minutes and rowed. Hitting the globo wasn’t an option, so will have to do this one again at some point this week.
John
You are amazing!!! We are lucky to have you as a coach. You have raised the bar for us all.
DC MPH is the best.
Ralph xoxo