If Then…

The following is the list of CFQS If, Then scenarios. The majority of these scenarios are real scenarios that have come up with coaches and athletes. These scenarios are brought up at coaches meetings, where we as a staff come up with what we feel is the best way to approach a situation. For many of these situations there are no right or wrong answers. Many are very situational and context specific. However by using our core values of Humble, Hungry and People Smart, we come up with the principle based solutions that we feel would most positively affect our community.  



You cover a class for another coach. The class is unusually busy and has over 25 athletes in attendance. A few days later one of the athletes in the class approaches a member of the management staff upset because they felt ignored during class. As the coach, you never used their name, acknowledged they were in class, or checked in with them at any point. They have been training at the gym for years, but are considering leaving based on how the class made them feel. How do you handle the situation?

Principle Based Solution

·       Humble (Thrive on Feedback,Ownership of Mistakes): Take ownership of the situation. Acknowledge that as a coach you could have been better.

·       Emotional Bank Account: This situation can be a withdrawal from their emotional bank account. Start rebuilding the relationship by speaking with the athlete.

·       Empathy, Seek First to Understand: Thank them for speaking to someone about this. Ask them what would have made their experience better.



Bill has his name on leaderboard for 3 of the last 4 benchmark workouts. He is very happy and proud of his most recent PR on Grace. After the class you hear 3 members in the lounge chatting, and you hear they think Bill has been cheating, that he didn't do all 30 reps. What do you do?

Principle Based Solution

·       People Skills (Awareness and Group Dynamics): Address the gossip and defend the athlete. Assume a noble motive (maybe they miscounted, etc). By defending the athlete you show others you would defend them too. Also address that gossiping is negative and that if an athlete wants to bring something up it is best to address it with that person or staff.

·       If you think they may be correct in their judgement, and if you notice this as being a recurrent thing, you can count reps through encouragement (ie 5 more).



You have an athlete in your class who comes in every day complaining about their day, the workout, and their family. You notice it starting to wear off on other athletes, they do not want to be around that person or end up sharing in the complaining. You recognize the issue and decide you want to address it, how do you approach the conversation with the athlete?

Principle Based Solution

·       Hungry (Lead from the front): Respond to their negativity with positivity, flip their situation around, find a positive.

·       People Skills (Empathy, Awareness, Sincerity): Bring it up to the athlete. Get to know them. There may be things going on with them that you are not aware of. Address privately, how their negativity affects them and affects others. Let them know you want to help them with this. Give them actionable things to start with. Reward and comment on their positivity as it comes up.



You are coaching class and a new athlete walks in. They have questions about memberships but you're just about to start the workout and there is no one else on staff. How do you handle the situation?

Principle Based Solution

·       People Skills (Group Dynamics, Awareness): First things first, take care of the class that you are coaching. Let the prospect know you will be with them shortly. When you have a minute, ask them how you can help. Tell them they can stick around in the lounge to watch if they wanted, give them a card for our website, etc.

·       Hungry (Celebrity Treatment): Priority is with the class, making sure they get the treatment they deserve, while remaining respectful to the new person.



An out of town athlete is dropping into the gym. They have been doing CrossFit for a few years and also coach rowing at a high level. While you are collecting scores they ask if they can give the class a few tips on rowing technique. What do you do?

Principle Based Solution

·       People Skills (Sincerity, Group Dynamics): thank them, let them know you want to close the session, ask to go over it with them afterwards (want to know more before bringing it to members), set proper expectations (things you can action and deliver).

·       Humble (Team over self, Thrives on Feedback): Acknowledge their input, if they are truly someone with a lot of knowledge in that area, get them to teach you first, then other members.



You are about to start the 7:30pm class (it's 7:28) and a stranger walks into the gym, although you can't be sure they appear to be on drugs and when you approach them they do not seem totally coherent. You ask how you can help them and they say they would like to sign up for a membership and take class. You ask if they have previous CrossFit experience and they say "no". You then explain that they will need to come to a Thursday free trial class and complete the On-ramp before signing up for a membership. They understand but ask if they can hang out and watch. You say yes and after starting class they walk up in the lounge, go through the lost and found, and take something. You notice this and approach them, how do you handle the situation?

Principle Based Solution

·       People Skills (Awareness, Empathy, Group Dynamics)

o   Remain non-confrontational, assume a noble motive, maybe they thought it was a box of free items.

o   Community First: put personal safety of the gym members first, politely ask them to leave if necessary.

o   Don’t judge a book by it’s cover: Maybe the person was simply confused about the purpose of the lost and found. Explain its purpose for them.



An athlete new to CrossFit (and working out), who just joined the gym is taking your class. The class is busy (15+ people) and space it tight. The workout involves 20 minutes of gymnastics, weightlifting, and rowing. When it starts they look lost. You approach them to help figure out what they should be doing and they respond by saying I am just going to bike instead. You encourage them to try the workout and they say I don't want to get in the way of anyone else, I don't think this is for me. You ask if everything is ok, and they respond with I'm not going to be renewing my membership. What do you do?

Principle Based Solution
Principles: First Things First, appealer to the nobler motive, emotional bank account, conflict resolution.

·       People Skills (Approachability, Sincerity, Empathy): Ask if they can stick around after class so you can chat. If not follow up with them immediately after class. Try to find out what is going on, there may be underlying issues. Get to know them.

·       Hungry (Initiative and going beyond): Frequently check-in with that athlete, show that you care about how they are doing.

·       Humble (Ownership of Mistakes): Take ownership over what you could have done to make their experience better. Come up with a plan moving forward.



An experienced athlete attends your class who normally trains at a different time. Near the end of the workout, with 9 reps left, they are deadlifting with a rounded back. You feel the movement is unsafe, but do not want to overcoach them or create a negative experience/withdrawal with the athlete. How do you bring it up to the athlete so they know you have their best interest? How do you address it to minimize the potential withdrawal from the EBA and ideally, make a deposit?

Principle Based Solution

·       People Skills (Empathy, Sincerity, Awareness)

o   Use the situation to appeal to their goals (fitness, longevity, competition, etc)

o   Make sure they understood the cues you were giving them.

o   Give them some actionable things moving forward.

o   Try to teach them something new about the movement, give them a different perspective.