ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Ninety-nine percent of people use CrossFit as a means to get back in shape. Then there's Ashley Schroeder.
“She wows us at pretty much everything that she does," said Rochelle Thayer, owner of CrossFit TNT in St. Charles.
Ashley is only 15-years-old but ranked twelfth in the world in her age group after scoring high marks in last week's CrossFit Games Open. Her stats are impressive. Even more impressive is her drive to get stronger.
“I think what makes her so great is that she’s a great listener. She’s coachable. And that’s really hard to find," said Thayer.
It's also hard to find a teenager who enjoys hard work and discipline as much as Ashley.
“I really like snatching, cleans, jerks," she said. “It may not seem fun but it is.”
That 'fun' actually started eight years ago when Ashley was just seven years old. Her mother was the first to sign up at CrossFit TNT in 2009. It wasn't long before Ashley showed up at the gym doing light CrossFit kid-friendly workouts.
“It’s just something I love," said Ashley. "I think if you find something you love, the sky is not even the limit.”
And those aspirations only make Thayer, also her coach, that much more excited for her future as a competitive athlete. Because of Ashley's high scores, she will be competing this upcoming week in an attempt to qualify for the Reebok CrossFit Games in Wisconsin, a world competition in which only the best of the best compete to be crowned the fittest person on Earth.
“Getting into the CrossFit games is the one percent," said Thayer. “This is just the beginning. She hasn’t peaked yet.”
Ashley is an Orchard Farm High School freshman who also plays in the school band. How she finds the time to still workout six to seven days a week is quite remarkable. But she won't be content unless she's doing what she loves most.
“I trained so hard for this and I really love it and I just wanna inspire other people to go try CrossFitting," said Ashley.
“I love the CrossFit community and I don’t ever see leaving it," she said.
