A few weeks ago, I listened to a pastor I like give a sermon about serving others.

He said, “Want to feed the hungry as much as you want to feed yourself when you get hungry. It means: Want to find your neighbor a job as much as you are glad you have a job. Want to help your fellow student get A’s as much as you want to get A’s.”

It got me thinking about what kind of coach I’d be if I coached everyone with the same amount of energy I use to approach my own training.

On mornings I have to be at the gym for the 6 AM class, I usually wake up at 4:30 and leave my house at 5:30 so I have time to pick up a coffee on the way and still arrive 15 minutes early for class. I use this hour to mentally prepare for the day ahead so I’m not stumbling into class rubbing my eyes, trying to muster the energy to effectively coach the first class of the day.

With all my good intentions of waking up to my alarm (it’s the theme from Star Wars, in case you were wondering), I still have some days where I roll over at 5:20 and realize I HAVE to leave in ten minutes, otherwise I’ll be late. On these days, there’s no time to shower. There’s no time for breakfast. There’s time to dress, throw my hair back and GO.

In four years of coaching, I’ll admit I’ve had more than a few of the abrupt “I SHOULD HAVE LEFT TEN MINUTES AGO” wake-ups. My response used to be one of disoriented irritation.

“Why didn’t I wake up? Why do we have to have such early classes? Will I have enough time to get coffee?”

Though these mishaps don’t happen much anymore, one happened a few days after hearing that sermon.  

I had really been turning the message over and over in my head since I heard it. What did it mean to serve others? It meant that when I woke up late and had to sacrifice a shower in order to be at the class on time like I did a few days ago, I did it willingly and gladly. It means I coach people the way I want to be coached.

Meghan Russell of CrossFit JAX posted on Facebook a few months ago that she wasn’t the best female athlete in her gym and that meant she was doing her job right. When I interviewed her for the Nasty Girls series a few months ago, she talked about having the confidence to teach muscle-up progressions even back when she couldn’t do one herself. That’s dedication. That’s being a servant. That’s giving the best you have to give.

What would your affiliate look like if you served your students this way?