Pottstown Athletic Club

My husband and I have 4 kids, 14, 9 & 5 year old twins.   I had just retired from Pottstown’s local Women’s Roller Derby team, my husband was looking to shed a few pounds and my kids had outgrown the YMCA one at a time over the last few years.    This was the perfect time for our family to look at a new kind of sport that we could all enjoy together.    Pottstown CrossFit peaked our interest.   Of course we all saw the CrossFit Games and loved it!  Every time we drive up Hanover Street there are people of all ages, shapes and sizes doing all kinds of fun looking things on the sidewalk like throwing balls at the walls, jumping up onto high platforms, rowing.  We had to try it.   My twins and my 9 year old started in the kid fit class.  If the kids weren’t into it we couldn’t let the Y membership go and make the switch.    The next day the rest of us tried it out.  To say it was love at firs...

Peter Driscoll is a CrossFit Level 1 trainer and a physical-education teacher at Hartland Elementary School in Hartland, Vermont. He’s also the founder of HES CrossFit, which operates out of a transformed kindergarten classroom in the school. The affiliate is helping the school’s K-8 students gain strength and confidence through the integration of CrossFit into their daily lives. Driscoll explains that when he brought research to principal Jeff Moreno “that showed him how movement positively impacted cognitive capacity and academic performance,” Moreno decided to support Driscoll’s efforts to build the program. As a result, what began as a small initiative with six male students, some PVC pipes and a few kettlebells has grown into a school-wide movement. Students now take exercise breaks throughout the day and can choose to do CrossFit during recess or elective periods or after school with their teachers and peers. “We believe in getting the kids out of their seats. We believe i...