Steve’s Club was started in May of 2007
in a large apartment complex located on the north side
of Camden, New Jersey. Traditionally ranked as one of
“America’s Most Dangerous Cities,” Camden can be
a very rough place for a kid to grow up. It’s a place
that boasts a murder rate more than seven times the
national average, despite occupying a total land area
of only ten square miles. Daily life can prove to be an
uphill battle. For a young kid trying to imagine a world
outside of his or her own, the prospects can seem dark
and bleak when violence and drugs are the orders of
the day. The cycle continues as kids are recruited at a
disturbingly young age to begin a career selling drugs
on the corner and rising through the ranks of the local
gang. Any sliver of hope for a better future or “getting
out” quickly gets washed away by the tempting allure of
fast money, power, and the sense of belonging offered
on the streets.
In order to get the club going, he purchased around
$2,500 in equipment—enough to accommodate 25
students at a given time—along with a used fifteen
passenger van to transport the kids back and forth. His
equipment purchases included barbells, dumbbells, steel
plates and bumpers, stall mats for the floor, materials to
construct homemade equipment, a custom-made pullup
bar (that can be taken down for storage purposes),
a weight bench, plyo boxes, jump ropes, homemade
parallette bars, squat stands, and more.
Steve’s Club builds on the kids’ inherent interest in
athletics to engage them in a fitness program promoting
excellence both on the field and off. While physical
fitness is the heart and soul of Steve’s Club, a sense of
community, belonging, and responsibility is its backbone.
The entire article can be found on the crossfit journal at
http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/71_08_Steves_Club.pdf
Warm Up
1 Lap
5 Alternating Lunge Jumps on Tire
5 Squats on Tire
5 Dot Jumps
5 Seated Rope Climbs
5 Handstand Kick Ups
Skill
Thrusters
*Divide the group in half if large. One group will be focusing on thrusters,
while the other can play Jump The Creek, then switch.
WOD
4 Rounds
7 Thrusters with Bumper Plate
6 Alternating Lunge Jumps on Tire
5 Bumper Plate Swings
4 Tire Squats
3 Plyo Push Ups on Bumper Plate
