Coach Jimmy

Long story short…

About a dozen years ago my neighbor/bro Fitz asked if I wanted to start morning working outs (subtle hint… “do these elastic waistband cargo shorts make me look fat”?). I realized it had been too long since I’d been surfing and the only basketball I was playing was against my six-year old son, Wilson, who toyed with me even at that age.

Fitz and I started doing morning workouts and running almost 300 grueling yards before having to stop and throw-up (me, not Fitz). Eventually, we started surfing all the time and gleefully blew off the workouts.

Fast forward 7-8 years and I was looking to augment my surf with some other kind of exercise. After miserably failing to become even a mediocre cyclist (foreshadowing my hatred of all things cycle, especially the assault kind) I took a friend’s advice and gave cross fit a shot. Love at first sight? More like intriguing like at first sight. Loved that I could get an insanely hard work out in only an hour. Kinda bummed that my self-proclaimed super surfer fitness level didn’t translate from sea to land. Why would anybody want to squat or lunge? Pretty soon I realized that squatting and lunging (even poorly) actually translated to better surfing. So did the improved cardio, flexibility and strength. 

Then, few years back, Coach extraordinaire Jeremy suggested I also might like to become a coach and get my Level 1 Cross Fit certificate. I figured, sure why not. It’s probably like becoming an internet minister, you know, so you can do the marriage ceremony for your East side friend’s wedding. Little did I realize how much time, effort, sweat and humility it involved. I’m so fortunate that Jeremy and the other coaches at CFTO showed incredible patience and kindness. My apprenticeship lasted well over a year (possibly two… thanks a lot Covid!). Slowly I refined my teaching skills and learned how to legibly write on a white board.  

I am truly humbled and so proud to finally have earned the title of “Coach” at CFTO, the world’s greatest Cross Fit box. Nothing brings a smile to my face as much as helping one of our athlete’s achieve one of their goals. Nikki Mars walks on her hands and does bar muscle-up! Diego pulls ring muscle-ups. Tabitha modified work outs cuz she was in a boot. And Fitz? He joined up about a month after I did. He didn’t become a coach, but he’s a helluva cross fitter and we still get out and surf (but, Dude we need to get in the water more often).

  • Jimmy Pool’s Bona Fides

  • Graduated UCLA 1986

  • Festivus Games Gold Medalist 2018

  • Level 1 Cross Fit Certificate 2019

  • California Teaching Credential, Physical Education 2020

  • WuLift Weightlifting Certificate 2021

  • Daddy of 3 Kids and 2 Dogs

  • Hubby of 1 Fine Woman