Our Staff
Amy Crawford, ATC
Co-Owner/Coach
I've been involved with athletics most of my life. While a high school athlete, I was frequently injured with chronic issues, and decided to study sports medicine in college. I became interested in strength training shortly therafter, and worked as a high school strength coach and athletic therapist. Finding mountain biking, and eventually racing, was fantastic for me, providing me with the oppoturnity to train, race, and have fun, all at the same time!
After a few years of racing for Independent Fabrication, my husband Neil & I decided to start a family. Two kids later, I was still in very good shape, but bored out of my skull in the gym. Enter CrossFit!
I started doing CrossFit at our local gym, with great success. The difficulty, challenge, and rewards were familiar and amazing, and I was hooked! However, doing CrossFit at a typical gym doesn't always work so well, and I wanted to increase my knowledge of CrossFit methodology. In 2008, I attended my first CrossFit certification, and came home with a ton of information, and the zeal to spread the word. In October 2008, CrossFit Blacksburg was born.
Certifications/Professional/Academic
- NATABOC Certified Athletic Therapist (ATC)
- CrossFit Level I certified, working towards Level II
- CrossFit Gymnastics certified
- CrossFit Kids certified
- Attended Olympic Weightlifting Seminar with Chris Wilkes
- BSEd in Sports Medicine from the Univeristy of Virginia
- Experience as an ATC with high school, collegiate, and Olympic athletes
- Attended 1992 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Camp as a student athletic therapist
- Invited to attend 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, GA, as an ATC
- Strength Coach for high school football program
- 1998 Virginia Mountain Bike Champion
Neil Crawford
Co-owner/Coach
I was an athlete in high school, not so much in college, then slowly started getting back in shape a few years later. Mountain biking was my main source of exercise for years, supplemented by some weight work in the gym. After our kids came along, it was harder to get out for long rides, and it was about then we found out about CrossFit. My performance in the gym went up dramatically, and my riding got stronger, even though I wasn't riding as much. Who would have thought at the time our lives would soon revolve around CrossFit?
We started CrossFit Blacksburg in 2008, with Amy teaching all the classes, while I kept my "day" job, and worked on the business side of things. When we decided to move into our current space, we realized it was time for me to jump in full time. So in December, 2009 I quit the day job, got CrossFit Certified in January, and am really loving my new life!
Jesse Hilmandolar
Coach
Jesse is a student of the CrossFit training methodology and his coaching philosophy is centered on improving human performance. He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Human Nutrition Foods and Exercise from Virginia Tech. As a student at Tech he interned in the Sports Medicine and Strength and Conditioning departments working with and gaining exposure to various teams and coaching philosophies. During his time at Tech he also was a member of the Virginia Tech rugby team, captaining the squad his senior year.
His professional experiences include training individuals of widely varying levels of motivation, training age, and physical and mental preparedness. He has helped soccer moms, grandmothers, and weekend warriors alike optimally attain higher levels of health, fitness and/or performance. He has also coached hundreds of athletes ranging from middle school to the professional ranks. While improving his coaching abilities is his main focus, Jesse is also engaged in the constant pursuit to further his own physical preparedness.
Carol Beliveau
CrossFit Kids Blacksburg Program Director/Coach/Nutrition Coaching
- CrossFit Level I certified
- CrossFit Gymnastics certified
- CrossFit Kids certified
- Chris Wilkes" Olympic Weightlifting Seminar
- Robb Wolf's Paleolithic Solution Seminar
I was first introduced to CrossFit in mid 2008, while my husband I were contemplating ‘joining a gym’ to improve our overall health. As it turned out, my friend and neighbor, Amy (pictured above) was a Crossfit Level I Instructor and on a fateful Saturday night, we agreed to let Amy take us through a trial CrossFit style workout. We were immediately hooked. We continued the workouts and changed our diet and very quickly noticed dramatic improvements in our body composition and in the way that we felt. In addition to realizing the results myself, I started to study more about health, fitness, diet and nutrition. I hope to be able to assist others in realizing their health and fitness goals.
I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where I was a competitive swimmer for 13 years before coming to Blacksburg. I earned two degrees from Virginia Tech (B.A., Art and Art History; B.S., Interior Design). I worked as an Interior Designer and still enjoy performing design consultations throughout our community.
Myself, my husband and our children are avid CrossFitters and have all realized the many benefits of this type of program.
Cassidy Jones
Coach
- Crossfit Level I Certified
- National Federation of High Schools Certified Coach
- Attended Olympic Weightlifting Seminar with Chris Wilkes
- Winner, The College of William and Mary’s “Strongest Woman” Competition, 2004
I came to Crossfit Blacksburg in early Spring 2010, looking for something to reinvigorate my passion for strength and fitness. I had spent the five years since college poking around a Globo gym with no direction, and was burnt out. In college, I was a Division I shot put, discus, hammer and weight thrower, so I knew how to lift heavy weight, but needed something new. Before college, I was a highly competitive volleyball player, so I started playing again, but even the combination of sport and weightlifting wasn’t satisfying me. Crossfit was the answer to my “ordinary workouts”.
Now, I love the challenge of workouts that test my weaknesses, and I thrive on the continued improvement I see in my own strength and fitness. As a result of Crossfit, I am stronger now than I was as a shot putter at the USA Junior National meet, and I expect that trend to continue. I currently serve as the Head Volleyball Coach and the Assistant Track Coach/Throws at Christiansburg High School, and have incorporated Crossfit methodology into my training programs there. My husband and I both agree that Crossfit is the best decision we’ve made for our own physical well being, and I hope to inspire others to take a chance and see where Crossfit takes them.
Jake Shreckhise
Coach
I grew up in the small “town” of Grottoes, Virginia where sports became a huge part of childhood. My football and basketball career began in second grade and continued through my senior year at Fort Defiance High School. To stay in shape during the off-season, I joined the track and field team in eighth grade. Little did I know that this supplemental sport would lead me to a program that provides life-long fitness: CrossFit.
As a diehard pole vaulter, I wanted something beyond the strength and endurance conditioning provided at track practice—training that involves the gymnastics aspect that is necessary for vaulting. Coincidently, my older brother had recently obtained his Level 1 CrossFit Certification and was eager to program workouts with an emphasis on gymnastics. I truly believe that my competitiveness at the state track meet was a direct result of my CrossFit training.
In February of 2011, a month’s membership gift certificate introduced me to the CrossFit Blacksburg community. After getting to know the members and coaches at the box, I wanted to further my involvement through interning and regularly attending classes. During my four months of interning, I learned the many aspects of coaching, and I was able to shadow classes in order to get the full experience. Now, like my older brother, I am a Level 1 CrossFit trainer. I look forward to sharing my passion for strength training, conditioning, and overall fitness.
Ben King
Coach
Originally born in Texas, I moved to Charlottesville Virginia at the age of 6. I've been CrossFitting since 2009 and becoming a coach has been one my greatest accomplishments since then. Outside of the gym I am a Geography major at Virginia Tech slogging away in the office and class from 9-5. I enjoy cycling of all sorts and once rode my bike across the United States from Virginia Beach to San Francisco to raise money and awareness for multiple-sclerosis, this another one of my greatest accomplishments.
Ever since I was a child, sports always went the same way for me. I would fall in love with challenging myself, excel in a sport, and then lose interest when competition would make me start to beat myself up over small mistakes. This happened as a young boy playing baseball and later in high school playing lacrosse. After trying to understand why this would happen I came to the conclusion that the appeal of sports to me is the challenge; the personal desire to achieve something for no one but myself. So when I was introduced to CrossFit, through a close friend of mine back in Charlottesville, I had finally found a sport that I could do just for me, just for the challenge. I hope, through my coaching, to help people find what works for them, both physically and mentally, when it comes to leading the life they want to live.
Ben Lehmer
Coach
I grew up in Manassas, VA and attended a small Christian private school for 13 years, graduating in 2006. I was very competitive and played many sports throughout high school, including Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, and Baseball. After graduating, I attended community college for one year and helped coach basketball and baseball at my high school. In 2007 I was accepted to Virginia Tech and joined the Corps of Cadets, firmly believing that I had an obligation to fulfill to my country. In 2008 I joined the Virginia Army National Guard and shipped out to “boot camp” in May. I have excelled in my training and have attended many different Army schools, including Airborne, Air Assault, Combatives: Level 1, Warrior Leader’s Course, and in November 2011, I graduated Ranger School.
I have been deployed once, in 2010 to Iraq, for a convoy security mission. While I was in Iraq I started lifting weights and working out religiously. I had heard about CrossFit, so I started implementing a few workouts into my routine. I decided that when I got back, I would look into joining a box so I could learn more. Enter CrossFit Blacksburg in January 2011. I was hooked, and my life has forever been changed for the better because of CrossFit.