A life update

On Friday morning, I finished my sessions with my clients and walked out of Tidewater Performance (soon to be Pivot) for the last time as one of their Performance Coaches after almost 2 years of working with some of the greatest coaches and clients.  Later that day, I walked into Crossfit Oyster Point, like any other day that I spend in there, however this time with a brand new role!

From Tidewater Performance Coach

To Crossfit Oyster Point Coach

Tidewater Performance was my first job out of Lynchburg College.  A month or so before graduation, after applying to probably 50 different fitness-related jobs all around the country, I received a call from Tidewater’s then-supervisor (hi Katie 🙂 ) .  She asked if I was interested in coming in for an interview just a few days away.  To be honest, having applied to so many different jobs, I had no idea which one she was actually referring to in that moment nor did I actually know where Newport News was located, despite telling her “yeah, I’ve been there before, it’s great!”.  I quickly searched Google Maps for how far away it was from school and confirmed with her that I could be there on that Tuesday afternoon.

On interview day, I was finished around 3:00pm which would get me back to Lynchburg by 6pm, meaning I would miss any classes at my current gym, Crossfit Lynchburg!  Like any obsessed (I mean dedicated) Crossfit athlete, I had my Nanos and workout clothes packed just in case, so I searched for some local gyms.  Besides, I figured if I was going to move out here for work, I was going to need to find a new Crossfit community to join!

I clicked through a few of the many options in the area and decided on Crossfit Oyster Point because it was one of the closest and had a coach who’s name I recognized as an athlete from the Superfit Games Pro Division competition I had competed in that winter (in the Scaled division BTW).  There was a 3:30pm class which was perfect timing too so I chose OP.  On that day, I met our owner, Dianne Koske.  I was early and waiting in the parking lot and she was about to pull out, but stopped and got out of her car to greet me and let me know Coach Lindsey Bomba would be here soon!

In Coach Bomba’s class, she warmed us up properly, coached us through a great workout, and educated the class about movements, physiology, and anatomy along the way which was awesome to hear!  A friendly community with knowledgeable coaches was what I was looking for to match that of CFL and I ended up with my gym before I even had a job or an apartment.

Over the next 2 years, I got settled into my living situations and my job coaching clients of all ages and levels at Tidewater Performance.  I learned from the other coaches who all hold impressive degrees and certifications with unique experiences in sports and training.  Also during these past couple years, I got involved in the OP community and if I wasn’t at work, I was probably working out or just hanging out at OP!

This change will also bring a new opportunity to light that I have been dreaming about for some time now! About a year ago, I got certified in Exercise and Sport Nutrition from Precision Nutrition and it solidified my beliefs about the importance of proper nutrition habits for overall health as well as for peak performance.  I started testing my knowledge out with the help of a good friend who got to be my first nutrition client.  Helping him made me realize nutrition coaching is something I want to help more people with so I began playing around with the idea of developing my own Nutrition Coaching business. The more reading and studying I did on the subject of coaching nutrition concepts, the more excited I got about being able to help others with what I have learned and practiced!  As my first step, I created this blog with the encouragement of some supportive friends and I am excited about the growth I have planned for it!

When the opportunity arose to be the Head Coach at Crossfit Oyster Point, it was difficult to make the decision to leave my established work place, my great co-workers, and my amazing clients.  However, it is time to make a change and start in a new direction focusing in on my love for Crossfit and the Oyster Point community and take the opportunity to grow my nutrition coaching by taking on new clients!

Some of the great people I’ll get to interact with more often now!

So, officially tomorrow, I have begun a new job as CFOP Head Coach as well as open to accepting new clients looking to improve their nutrition habits for reaching their goals of health, fitness, and performance!  I am beyond grateful for the experiences and opportunities that were granted to me at Tidewater Performance which helped me grow and develop into the fitness professional that I am so far.  With all the skills, training, and knowledge I have learned and practiced, I am looking forward to applying it all at OP to help make our community become even better while also taking on new challenges to continue growing and improving my training and coaching philosophies and practices!

I also want to say Thank You to my supportive family & friends who help me daily with making the best of what life throws at me!  I couldn’t have made this decision without bouncing ideas, fears, and dreams off of them and I’m so grateful and lucky to be able to lean on them!  Everyone has been so encouraging of my transition from Tidewater and the OP community is always welcoming and excited for new changes, so thank you ❤