Three affiliate owners in destination cities share secrets to dealing with visiting athletes while ensuring members receive the attention they deserve.
Visiting other affiliates for a workout away from home is part of leading a fit lifestyle, building the global CrossFit community, experiencing new coaching styles, bulking up the T-shirt collection and getting acquainted with the locals.
But visiting athletes can also create management challenges for affiliate owners. It’s not uncommon for coaches to curse on the inside when a visiting student who claims to be very experienced shows up 10 minutes late and then exposes complete ignorance of the squat clean. Even on-time and proficient athletes can pose a challenge if a box has limited staff and a busy coach has to try and get waivers signed before warm-up.
The former problem has a lot to do with the athletes themselves, while the latter highlights another challenge of running a small business. Both, however, can be addressed in a variety of ways.
Joe Marsh, Monique Ames and Bryant Powers all run affiliates in destination cities, and they’ve developed visiting-student policies that work for them. Although all three have different policies regarding visitors, they all agree on one thing: If you’re ever visiting an affiliate for a workout, the best approach for athletes is to be humble, gracious and low maintenance. When that happens, everyone wins.