Champion Made

I had a coach tell me that if I want to be better than just a "regional champion", then I had to step on the big stage.  That year I competed in Masters Worlds and swept my division, taking first.  In the absolute I got outworked by my good friend, Krystal McKenzie, and took third.  My second Masters Worlds I took second place, and then 3rd place again in the absolute.  That same year I did adult Worlds and took third overall in my division.  I was unable to compete in the absolute because I took a red-eye out that same day to get back in time to watch Chris compete in a strongman competition.  In 2018 I took a full year off of the IBJJF scene to do smaller tournaments and make myself known again in the Milwaukee, WIsconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois areas.  I'll be back on the big stage soon.

A couple years back I had a long talk with another coach, Dave Rosenmarkle, and he told me something that stuck with me.  I don't remember the exact quote but it went something like this:

"I may never be a black belt world champion, but that is a decision I had to make.  I could devote all my time to myself with training, diet, and competition preparedness, or I could dedicate my time and knowledge and create champions.  I chose to coach."

Let me be clear, he is a damn good coach.  He was there at all my major tournaments and he knew exactly what to say, when to say it, so that I reacted automatically.  While I want to be on that World stage again, I am even more excited to create champions.  Every day I tell myself, "You're going to be a damn good coach."  And then I go to work.