Mateo M.

NPC/CrossFit Athlete April Montoya-Collis (Testimonial)

To change yourself, you have to change your attitude. The desire to want to be successful, comes from more than the mind or that gut feeling inside. For me, it has come from surrounding myself around positive friends and family, a very simple yet profound concept. You can't get anywhere alone. I have been involved in sports for 17 years. I have competed in ice skating, gymnastics, volleyball cheerleading,softball, track and field, NPC competitions, and CrossFit. It wasn't until 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, that I decide that I wanted to focus my energy and time doing one sport, track and field. I spent at least 20 hours a week at the track for 2 weeks trying to become faster. I would look up and read what type of training professional athletes like Sanya Richards was doing and follow her program. I would go to track meets and see very little improvement. I would leave upset and frustrated when I would see my times. I just didn't get it, what was I doing wrong? I was running everyday, I was cutting back my calories, I was watching the best track athletes during competitions. I had a college coach tell me, "if you want to run fast, run fast." I really did try, and had multiple hamstring and quadricep pulls along with it. How do you "just run fast?" It really is not that simple. In December 2010, I met Coach Mateo Montoya-Collis. Life changing... I had never met anyone like him. So knowledgeable and passionate about sports. He truly makes art out of studying the game, whichever sport it may be. Over time he broke down the science of the body. I was not getting the times I would have liked, because of technique, fatigue, not having any form of a training program, just so many things that I never would have thought mattered. Most importantly, he stressed the need of having a positive attitude, which I did not always have and also being patient with my development. I wanted to be a professional athlete right away. I had seen people my age in the Olympics and wondered why I was not there. Little did I know, they had already had a good 10 or 15 years on me; that's 1000's of repetitions. I have been in Coach Mateo's program going on almost 4 years now.He has trained me on more than speed, focusing on all functional aspects of the body; coordination, catching, throwing, reaction, power and explosiveness, the list goes on. He knows the body. I am an overall, better person than I have ever been. Each sport that I have ever played, when I was younger, I associated myself with that. When I was in cheerleading, I called myself a cheerleader, In track, a track athlete. Now, I am an athlete. In his program, I have received many awards and PR's, most importantly, I have received sound mind and body.My husband, Coach Mateo Montoya-Collis, is as passionate as it gets when it comes to your success. He pushes you to be your best, even when you do not think you are. He is a mentor, friend, and honestly, the best coach I have ever had, met or seen.