Consistency helped Jadzia Onorati-Phillips become a regular in her sport. But she always wants to go further.
Marysville’s Onorati-Phillips, 17, recently qualified for 2022 CrossFit Games. She is one of 10 athletes (girls aged 16-17) in her class attending a global event starting August 3 in Madison, Wisconsin.
“I’m very excited to try to do better than last year,” said Onoratti Phillips, who finished fourth in 2021. After a while, I’m very excited to come back and compete with people and use that energy. “
CrossFit is a fitness program named after the company that created it, CrossFit LLC. The organization has thousands of affiliate gyms around the world. Athletes can do recreational or competitive training. Onoratti-Phillips does the latter.
“CrossFit is a combination of gymnastics, plyometrics, weightlifting and endurance training,” said Bradley Berlin, coach of Onoratti Philips. “We take elements from all these different disciplines and mix them into our workouts to create a whole range of fitness.”
Berlin is the head trainer for CrossFit Maven in Rochester Hills. Onoratti-Philips drives from Marysville to the property six days a week.
“She is one of the most suitable teenagers in the world,” Berlin said. “She trains more in a day than most healthy people do in a week. She does 5K (running), gymnastics, weightlifting, and then other strength training. Work on. Then she leaves, and that day she may also go swimming for training. “
Onoratti-Phillips trains up to 4 hours a day. But that type of commitment is nothing new to her. She prepared a similar amount during nine years of gymnastics.
“What impressed me most about Jadzia was her dedication,” said David Phillips, father of Onoratti Phillips. “If she decides on something, she chases it.”
When her gymnastics career ended in early 2019, Onoratti-Phillips wanted a new challenge. She saw her parents participating in Growing CrossFit and she decided to give it a try.
“She really fell in love with it,” said David Phillips. “When we sit around the dinner table, we talk about CrossFit, so there’s a common thread in our lives that we all can relate to.”
“I enjoy the variety you get with it,” said Onoratti-Phillips. “Every day, you’re doing something new, so you won’t get bored. Through it, you can track your progress and see daily improvements.”
But CrossFit isn’t the only thing in her daily life. Onorati-Phillips is a second year student at Blue Water Middle College, a three-year program that allows students to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree. She has already completed the high school part and plans to get a degree next year.
“Obviously, college lessons are short,” said Onoratti Phillips. “So I have a relatively flexible schedule when it comes to training. I’ve been doing it at school and in gymnastics for the rest of my life.”
After starting online learning in elementary school, Onoratti Phillips perfected the balance between athletics and homework. Sometimes she set aside her weekend to complete her assignment.
“She didn’t have a traditional school (experience),” said David Phillips. “She always participates in Michigan’s online school program here. It shows in my heart that she can do it. She understands what is important and prioritizes them. I can.”
The road to CrossFit Games is long, so diligence helped her get back to this point. The season began in February with the Cross Fit Open. Athletes who finished in the top 10% of the class advanced to the quarterfinals. From there, the top 30 were invited to the semifinals. Only the top 10 have moved to Madison.
“I’m confident she can get to the top three podiums,” Berlin said. “We are training and preparing for her chances of fighting to be the best in the world. She doesn’t think any part of the podium is out of reach.”
“I want to win,” said Onoratti Phillips. “Not only did we clearly win, we also got the podium, and we want to feel like we’ve done everything we can, and we’ll get where we need it.”
But that’s where she is and I’m very proud of the people around her, as well as who she is.
“Her mother and I are delighted that she continues to make progress,” said David Phillips. “And her love for sports continues to grow. She meets all our expectations associated with the game. From our point of view, she disappoints us no matter what happens. I can not do it.”
“She is a very dynamic person,” Berlin said. “She’s more than just an athlete. She’s very smart and very mature. Everything she does is a challenge.”
Please contact Brenden Welper (bwelper@gannett.com). Follow him on Twitter @ BrendenWelper.
