“It’s been a tough few years dealing with my hip injury,” said Zack George. “Before that, not being able to go to the Games after earning a spot because of COVID. At this stage in my career it felt like the right time to go team and work with some other incredibly talented British athletes to what we can achieve.”
With a baby on the way and heading into his final year of competing, Zack George is chasing a different goal this year but hoping for the same result that has eluded him so far – competing in Madison at the CrossFit Games. Working on achieving this goal alongside him are Will Kane, Nicole Crouch and Janie Garratt on Team Training BFG. “We came together through Team Training Program and knew it was a great fit – we’re all determined to show up, learn and work as a team to achieve the dream of getting to The Games,” Zack explained.
Along with Zack’s Regionals appearance in 2018 and his Fittest in the UK 2020 crown, the team boasts plenty of experience as individuals. Nicole Crouch, or Crouchy, won the RX division at last year’s Lowlands Throwdown; Will Kane is a three times Regionals athlete and Janie Garratt finished 7th with CrossFit Mayflower at last year’s Strength in Depth Semi Final as well as her own solo run in Regionals 2018. Zack and the team are keen to make use of everyone’s experience to help the team, especially Janie’s team pedigree, “Janie competed at Semifinals in the team division last season, we have been taking a lot of advice from her on tips and strategies that are unique to team workouts”.
Fraser McKenzie, owner and head of programming for Team Training Programming, is ready for the challenge of getting the team ready to fire when it matters. “They’re all capable from a fitness standpoint individually to get there, so their team sessions are what we really need to work on. Synchronization, knowing each other inside and out, communicating and building that chemistry,” he said.
Fraser also echoed Zack’s explanation on the importance of having Janie around with team experience, “In the small amount of sessions they’ve had it’s visible. Just being able to add in fine details that people may not have thought of. You can see from the guys they are really responsive to her as she’s been there and done it, she’s a great asset. The guys’ experience helps them with picking techniques up quickly, so it’s a great combination to have.”
When it comes to the goal, Zack showed how uncomplicated it is on paper, “Our goal is simple, make it to the Games”, but, as a group of well-known athletes on the UK scene there’s an added pressure to the season as Fraser explained, “There will be a lot of attention and intrigue surrounding them on how they will fare this season, on paper they should really be up there. They are all capable and fit enough to hang with the best, but, many times you’ve seen in the past in team competitions it’s not about the individuals, it’s about who works together the best and communicates well.”
This isn’t the first time Zack has trained with other people but it’s been rare that the goal has been shared so evenly with others, “I’ve had training partners but this is completely different. We’re working together and I’ve loved that element of it. I’ve never lacked motivation to chase after my own goals but it adds another level when you’re not just showing up for yourself, but, for your team mates too.”
