Ben Kelly

 I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney at North Curl Curl. The locals refer to it as ‘Seven Miles from Sydney-but a thousand miles from care’. I spent all of my youth surfing the waves of ‘Curly’ which were 500 yards from my front doorstep.

At 9 years of age, I started playing Rugby League. Rugby League is a similar game to Rugby for the novice watcher but totally different in that you get hit 20-30 times a match and you are required to make 20-30 tackles in 80 minutes. In a nutshell, the game is brutal, and I loved it. I competed in Surfing Titles all through my teens and competitive Cricket, which I played through the summer months. Of all the sports I played, I excelled at Rugby League, representing the district on representative teams at 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21 years old.

I went to college at Sydney University and studied toward an Exercise science degree. Sydney Uni is regarded as one of the best universities in Australia and afterward I fell into professional work at a magical fitness facility close to home with a cardio room overlooking Freshwater Beach. It was there working under Dr. Mike Climstein, a cardiovascular/heart specialist, that I earned my stripes in the field. After 4 years there, all the while still playing Rugby League semi-professionally, I moved on to starting my own Personal Training business Body Balance. Juggling a business with Rugby League was very difficult and when the opportunity arose in 2000 to play in the Elite 1 Professional League in France I took the offer.

Villeefranche-De Rougue is the South west corner of France, not far from the famous wine region of Bordeaux was where I played for a year. Whilst playing there I was offered a position to play in the American National Rugby League competition. I took up an offer from the Connecticut Wildcats to play for 3 months and to work at Creative Health and Fitness in Milford.

I have been in this country now for 5 years having won two National Rugby League Titles with the Connecticut Wildcats and also represented the United States of America against Australia in a Rugby League Test match in 2004 in Philadelphia and also represented USA on 2 tours to Australia. I coached women’s Rugby team at Sacred Heart University in 2004 and won the National Rugby title as coach of the Connecticut Yankees in 2005

My whole life has been devoted to health and fitness and I strive to get the best out of each and every day. I spent four great years at Creative Health and Fitness as fitness director and formed many great friendships. In that time I won 3 National Rugby League Championships with the Connecticut Wildcats and, as I write (June 1st 2008) we are the current 2-time undefeated National champion and about to embark on a repeat.

August of 2007 I attained the esteemed CHEK (Corrective High-Performance Exercise Kinesiology) Exercise Coach Certification and I am aiming for Level 4 Certification over the next 5 years.

In November of 2007 I was selected to play with the USA National Team in a World Cup qualifier against a Samoan team of full time professional athletes and we gallantly went down 32-10.

In March of 2008 I opened my first fitness studio, called CrossFit Performance, located in Fairfield,  CT CrossFit Performance was created with an innate desire to help people achieve optimal health and wellness through private one-on-one and both small and large group training.

Certifications:

CrossFit Level 1 and 2

CrossFit Endurance Level 1 and 2
Crossfit Football

CrossFit Nutrition
CrossFit Olympic Lifting Level 1
CrossFit Rowing Level 1

CrossFit Science of Exercise Certification.
CHEK Institute (Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiology) Coach

Athletic Achievements:
Manly Warringah Rugby LeagueRepresentative 13.15,17 and 19 years.

USA V AUSTRALIA 2004 ,FRANKLIN FIELD,PA

Manly Warringah Rugby League Under 21s. Professional
Valley United 1st Grade Premiers 1994,1998
Villefranche De Rourgue  Rugby League,French Professional  Elite 1  2002
Connetictut Wildcats American National Rugby League Champions 2004

Connetictut Yankees Rugby Union, Coach, National Champions  2004
Connetictut Wildcats American National Rugby League Undefeated Champions 2006-2007.
USA Rugby League Representative Australian Tour 2004.

USA Rugby League Representative V Australia ,Philladelphia ,2004
USA Rugby League Representative  V Samoa ,World Cup Qualifier, Leeds England,2007.
4 place CrossFit  East Coast Challenge , Albany New York,2008.
1st Place CrossFit  New England Throwdown , 2009.

CrossFit Games 2009 Northeast Qualifier

Videos:

Ben wod 3 from Matt Dyson on Vimeo.

Ball Thruster

Andrew Yaun began his educational fitness career in the Fall of 2004 at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts enrolling in Exercise and Sports Science: Clinical Physiology. He then became a certified personal trainer through National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).  It was here, where he was opened to the world of core strength, balance/propriception, and functional training. Andrew started training through Crossfit in January of 2008 and gradually incorporated the fundamental elements learned from NASM in addition to the Crossfit training techniques.  Currently, Andrew is a 4th year Chiropractic student at the University of Bridgeport.  His clinical and rehabilitation expertise combine to make him one of the most dynamic, creative, and knowledgeable trainers in the area.  As an athlete he has a strong history in tennis, racquetball, and mainly wrestling. There are many skills earned from the wrestling mat (physically and mentally) that coincide and mesh well with the Crossfit concepts.  Crossfit gives the opportunity to incorporate different skills into WODs; the fun part is exploring this freedom in order to create a continuously new approach to fitness.

CFNE Throwdown 2009

Singer Songrwiter

Melissa’s commitment to personal training evolved during her years as Ben Kelly’s client, starting in 2004.  Like many people, perhaps like you, she was simply looking for a way to get into better shape and stay in shape during the winter months – maybe run on a treadmill and lift a few dumbbells.  As luck would have it, she found Ben and was transformed by his passion for finding the athlete in all of us.  In January of 2008 Melissa began Crossfit training with Ben and also started training with Andrew (”Spiderman”) to learn some new, crazy skills.   By October of 2008 she had her first Crossfit Certification and was working with Ben and “Spider” to become an official Crossfit Performance staff member.

Melissa is a professional vocal coach and therefore has a strong background in teaching physical concepts to people of all ages and levels of experience.  Because of singing’s focus on breathing techniques and breath support, she brings mid-line stabilization and core awareness to every athletic movement.  We’re not talking Pilates and yoga – we’re talking dead lifts, back squats, pull-ups, ring dips, handstands, and every other functional movement Crossfit Performance prescribes!

Melissa believes that there is an athlete in all of us who wants to help us feel better, look better, live better, and embrace our authentic selves completely.  This is why she is a Crossfit athlete and a Crossfit Performance trainer.

Thank you.

Firebreathing CrossFitter