My name is Sarah Hills and I am a high school Phys. Ed teacher in the city. As long as I can remember I have wanted to be a teacher and although I enjoyed being physically active, I was never very good at the traditional sports. I loved Phys. Ed class but found it to be stressful as I was self-conscious about my abilities. This was one of the big things that drove me towards Phys. Ed as a teaching area. I knew there were a lot of girls feeling the same way I did about P.E. but I also knew you could enjoy physical activity without being the best basketball or volleyball player. Instead of focusing my class around traditional team sports I try to center my class around the idea of lifelong activity, focusing on activities that can be pursued after graduation and into adulthood.
While attending University of Saskatchewan and completing my Kinesiology degree I was a member of the Huskie Cheerleading Team. I spent four years on the team and after graduation moved to Edmonton to pursue my Education degree. When I moved back to Saskatoon I joined an adult cheer team for a few seasons but was not experiencing the same enjoyment I had been a few years before. I decided to retire as an athlete and focus on coaching the cheer team where I teach. I spent the next few years focusing my time and effort on securing a permanent teaching position and coaching at school. Before I knew it several years had passed and there wasn’t much left in my life for me. It was around this time that my parents introduced me to Crossfit. They had both signed up and my mom thought it would be something I would really enjoy. She convinced me to attend a bring-a-friend day and I was instantly hooked. The very next day I emailed the gym and wanted to know how quickly I could start! Over the next two years I discovered so much about myself and what I was capable of. The push and encouragement from the people at Synergy has helped me accomplish so much more than I ever thought possible. To have a group of people believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself is amazing. It gave me the courage to start training competitively and sign up for the 2012 Crossfit Games Open, something I would have never done without the support of everyone at Synergy. Two years after first signing up I decided to take on a new challenge and start with the trainer development program. I enjoy teaching and coaching so much at school that the decision to start as a trainer at the gym was an easy one. I want to give back to the Crossfit community; so many people have played a role in my joy and accomplishments at the gym and I want to provide that same support and encouragement for others. I want everyone to experience the amazing feeling of a PR they never thought possible because with enough determination and belief in yourself it is.
I love the Synergy community and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to work with such wonderful people. I truly get to spend my days doing what I love – coaching, teaching and being active!
