Bess Jackson Mitchell

The first team sport I ever played was t-ball, and at 5 years old I had the time of my life running fast and one-upping the boys — some may say not much has changed, and they might be right. After that I played soccer competitively for a number of years, and once I got to Jenks High School I made the junior varsity team my freshman year and the varsity team my sophomore through senior years. During the 6A state championship game in May of 2006, I scored a goal and we ultimately won against Edmond North. That was a highlight of my high school soccer career.

In college, I occasionally played intramural soccer for fun but started to gravitate towards running as my preferred sport and method of exercise. I have run numerous 5Ks, a 10K or two, a couple half marathons, and a full marathon. Around the time that I started training for my full marathon, I also started doing CrossFit. Much like running, I found CrossFit to be meditative in a sense — when working out, I can let go of everything else and be present with myself and in my body. Unlike running though, CrossFit helped me to build strength and skills that I would not have thought possible prior to walking into the gym for the first time.

After stepping into a coaching role, I came to perceive and respect CrossFit and myself in a different way. Through the last 7 years of being a coach, I have learned a lot inside and out of the gym. Based on my experiences, here are some ideas/suggestions that I would encourage people to explore for themselves:

- It’s okay to be unconventional.
- Know your strengths and lean into them.
- Know your values and priorities, and do your best to live by them.
- Protect your peace.
- Extend grace to others and also to yourself.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing, and in some cases you shouldn’t.
- Listen to understand, not to respond.
- Say what you mean, mean what you say.
- You can speak to a room of people and they will all hear, experience, and understand what you said in a unique way.
- Meet people where they are.
- Life can only be lived forward, so don’t get too hung up on the past.
- If you stop learning and really living, you quit growing and start dying.