Cindy Malz – Head Coach & Owner
Cindy Malz is a lifelong athlete. She grew up playing basketball, field hockey, and softball. Upon graduating from college, Cindy fell into the routine of running for distance and focusing on cardio. Cindy can still run like a gazelle, but she’s made significant gains in strength and overall conditioning. In her spare time, Cindy enjoys making artisan sausages, chainsaw art, and performing as a mime.
Cindy holds the CrossFit Level I Trainer Certification, and also holds the CrossFit Basic Barbell Certification, the CrossFit Mobility Certification, and the CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting Certification.
Will Malz – Head Coach & Owner
Will Malz grew up playing the usual sports: football, basketball, and baseball. Being one of the biggest kids in his classes growing up, he was naturally drawn to lifting weights, which he started doing when he was 8 years old. Will excelled in both football and track while in high school, and continued playing football in college until a shoulder injury ended his career. After graduating college, Will began the all-too-common slide into obesity, gaining about ten pounds per year until, at age 36, he hit an all-time high of 328 pounds. Will’s brother introduced him to CrossFit, and Will was hooked. Three years later and 100 pounds lighter, Will likes to point out that he’s both stronger and faster than he was when he was playing college football.
In addition to the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certification, will also holds the CrossFit Basic Barbell Certification and the CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting Certification.
J. J. Chella – Coach
J. J. was born a poor sharecropper. After his brief career as a member of Cirque du Soliel was tragically ended in a mishap involving a mini-motorcycle and a bear, he decided he was better suited to a career in deep-sea oil exploration. His chronic childhood ear infections prevented him from being able to properly perform the Valsava maneuver, and J. J. saw another dream die. Not to be deterred, J. J. decided the third time was the charm and finally found his special purpose when he completed his CrossFit Level 1 Trainer certification; an achievement that was all the more remarkable due to his insistence on not removing his spun brass diver’s helmet until he had completed the course.
Billie Jenssen – Coach
Billie Jenssen has always loved sports and competing but easily found excuses to stop being active. After several failed attempts at losing weight and getting back in shape Billie found CrossFit Playground and easily fell in love with the workouts and community. She can easily relate to many athletes who are struggling to find that spark again and enjoys helping others realize how strong they truly are. Billie has rekindled her passion for working out and now leads by example in her field of interest; specializing in sports rehabilitation rather than just empty words. She wants everyone to have the same positive experience with CrossFit as she has experienced and is enthusiastic about helping other’s reach their goals. Billie Jenssen is currently pursuing her doctrine in physical therapy and athletic trainer certification.
Pat Kennedy – Coach
Growing up as the only non-native pearl diver in Polynesia is fraught with difficulties, as Coach Pat can tell you. After one too many close encounters with an exceptionally aggressive moray eel nicknamed “Zalecadoc,” Patrick decided to move on to bigger and better things. After returning to the United States, Pat had a brief and eventful career as an alligator wrestler in rural Alabama, and then proceeded to the Pacific Northwest, where he perfected his tracking skills while searching for Bigfoot. Although he never caught the beast, Pat’s daily pursuit of the Olympic lifts make it a good bet that Sasquatch is in for one hell of a fight when Pat finally does track him down.
Laura Mooney – Coach
I’ve always loved sports and being competitive, but found it difficult after college to stay active. No matter how many miles I ran on that treadmill and how healthy I ate (or thought I ate), I kept putting on weight, didn’t see results, and was bored out of my mind with working out. I had accepted that genetics were taking over, and I was doomed to become what my family calls a “Dutch dumpling.” Six years later, I met Dollie who suggested that I try CrossFit to get in shape for my wedding. I was immediately drawn to the fact that it was a different workout everyday, but was nervous because I had never done a pull-up and never lifted weights in my life. But more than anything, I was ready to make a change and finally feel good about myself. After the first workout, I was hooked. It was exactly the challenge and community I was looking for. I participated in our gym diet challenge, which forced me to revamp everything about the way I ate, and I saw results… big time. I love CrossFit because I have done things I never knew I was capable of. A year later, I have met my goals times three, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I feel strong. I have lots to learn and many new goals to reach, but CrossFit has truly changed my life.
Joyce Moorcroft – Coach
Joyce dabbled in various sports as a kid, but was plagued by bad eating habits and terrible athleticism. Her athletic endeavors never amounted to anything more than a glorified bench warmer.
Fast forward twenty plus years; Joyce met Cindy who introduced her to CrossFit. She immediately became hooked. CrossFit has, without a doubt, brought on blood, sweat and tears, yet Coach Joyce is always thinking about the next chance to work her endurance a little harder, try like hell to be patient with her kipping pullups, and to continue on her path to a better eating lifestyle. Joyce likes to sum up her philosphy as, “I may not be the best, but at least I know what I have to do to get better.”
Joyce holds the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certification, the CrossFit Mobility Certification, and the CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting Certification.
Will Moorcroft – Coach
Will was first exposed to Crossfit by others at the local Globogym in 2008. He began to experiment with various WODS and finally took the full plunge in early 2009 by fully subscribing to the Crossfit philosophy and training methodology. Will received his Crossfit Level One Certification in 2009. Will is married to Coach Joyce and they have four sons, he graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Political Science and Environmental Science. An avid skier, runner and tennis player, Will enjoys introducing others to Crossfit and working with athletes to constantly improve performance.
Will holds the CrossFit Level 1 Trainer Certification and the CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting Certification.
Dollie Stiles – Coach Emeritus
Despite achieving international acclaim at a relatively young age with her groundbreaking work surrounding the migratory patterns of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, Coach Dollie is unwavering in her commitment to CrossFit Playground. Upon retiring from the field of zoology at the age of 25, Dollie emerged as a force on the professional windsurfing circuit, where Dollie managed a top-ten finish in the international rankings in her rookie season, and she claims she would have “been in the mix for it all” if she had been CrossFittig during this time. Coach Dollie moved to California in 2011 to begin Doctoral dissertation on The Grand Unification Theory as view from a Quantum Perspective, but you never know when she might turn up at The Playground for a WOD!
Randy Spellman – Coach
A few years ago a trainer at our work gym sent around a CrossFit video called “nasty girls”. When a friend had to take a few weeks off from work, he began following Crossfit passionately. He then came back and taught us much of what he learned. More important than what he taught us about each movement and each workout was the approach. The small daily doses of CrossFit journal reading/watching, warmup routine, movement practice, WOD intensity, and journaling/reflecting on progression completely changed how I dealt with fitness. During one of my first workouts which involved more pullups than I thought were humanly possible, he stopped his own WOD and stayed with me the whole time until I finished. After experiencing some real improvements someone asked me, “what are you going to do with all this strength?”. This stayed with me for a quite a while in a kind of confusing way. I went through some ups and downs with being consistent. The only reasonable answer I could come up with was—give it away. So here we are. I love the balance of the unknown or just being told what to do and the open source community which also encourages you to plan for yourself and find methods to work on your own problems. The volume, calibre and breadth of this community is outstanding. It’s like they are giving this stuff away.
In addition to the CrossFit Level 1 Certification, Randy also holds the CrossFit Mobility Certification.
