Coach Profile: Stace Walter
Get to know Stace, one of our valued coaches at CrossFit Wrexham.
What makes your approach to coaching unique, and how do you bring that into your classes?
My approach is unique in that I try to identify the type of coaching that a member or athlete requires, and adapt my style to suit the individual. I can sometimes take a much more nurturing approach for those that need guiding through a tough session, as well as a no BS attitude for those that just want to be pushed hard on that day.
I like to offer a mixture of simplifying movements to make them as easy as possible to understand and perform, whilst still being able to offer more technical points to those that enjoy the science of movement.
How do you tailor your coaching to help members of all skill levels progress - whether they’re beginners or experienced athletes?
I tailor my coaching to members of all skill levels, by quickly identifying movement capability, as well as training experience. A brand new member who presents a number of movement limitations will need to be coached differently to somebody with the equivalent experience, but can achieve much more demanding ranges of motion (ROM)
Similarly, an experienced athlete who moves well and has tons of strength at their disposal can always be challenged to demonstrate more control, mastery of a movement or even just to move that little bit faster than they're comfortable with.
What’s the biggest breakthrough moment you’ve seen an athlete achieve, and how did you help them get there?
Two specific breakthrough moments come to mind with members that I coach:
Helping Davinia achieving her first box jump. She'd worked on this for years and couldn't quite develop the confidence in her ability that we both knew she had.
I created a number of different pathways for her to feel comfortable in her ability to jump high enough. We did this by changing her relationship with the box and making it feel small, as well as working on her jumping and landing accuracy so she could be confident that she can pick exactly where she puts her feet when landing. Her new found power has also had positive effects on her weightlifting results too.
Anthony approached me after The Open WOD 25.1 to say that was the first time he has lifted a dumbbell to his shoulder without having to support it with the opposite hand. He'd had a longstanding issue with shoulder impingement and initially started working with me to develop his overhead ROM. After an initial assessment to identify the limiting factors, I gave him a set of movements of which he followed diligently. Not only did his ROM increase dramatically in a short period of time, but it had a positive impact on his Open performance too.
How do you stay at the top of your game as a coach, and what drives you to keep learning and improving?
I still consider myself a new coach and "top of my game" is yet to be seen.
I love jumping into classes to be coached by the other more experienced coaches at CFW as we all offer something slightly different and approach coaching in innovative ways. Investing in professional development is important to me also, and I already have an idea of my coaching development budget that I've set aside for the remainder of 2025.
What drives me to continue improving is value for the members. CrossFit is a premium service of which the main selling point is the fact that members are coached and not just "instructed"
I want to ensure that everyone feels like they're receiving value when they're in one of my sessions.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone looking to build confidence and take their training to the next level?
If someone wants to build confidence and take their training to the next level, I'd say:
- Find something that you enjoy and is important enough that you want to dedicate time to it
- Set a measurable goal
- Build the correct daily habits and system to achieve that goal
- If the above is a challenge or you struggle with accountability, find a coach to assist you in getting set for success
What do you love most about CrossFit Wrexham?
What I love most about CrossFit Wrexham is the community. I could be having a shocker of a day, but when I get to the gym I can practically guarantee that somebody is going to make me laugh, make me proud, or even just remind me that things are never really that bad.
I get to come here most days and do what I love in front of a great group of people. What's not to love?!
