This past Saturday morning at Cobra Command in Basehor was a very special one. “Operation Sidekick” a parent + kiddo competition, went down in spectacular fashion. 16 teams showed up, dragged camp chairs into whatever shade they could find, and spent three hours finding just how tough they were together.
How it worked
The whole thing was built on one idea: Put a parent + a kiddo on a team, give them something hard, and see what happens.
Every team was one adult and one kid, with a few brave souls running two kids at once. We split the divisions by the kid’s age so a five-year-old was never chasing a fifteen-year-old, and we scaled every dumbbell, every ball, and every box height to match. Three scored events across the morning, plus two floaters they knocked out between heats. One of those floaters was a sled push, where the kiddo pushed their parent, which was as funny to watch as it sounds.
The goal was never complicated: Sweat together, do something hard, laugh about it afterward. By about 9:20am all three were happening at once, in every lane.
So here is how it all went down…
The kid who beat everybody older than him
Cade is 11. He competed in the 14+ division with his dad Chad Shafer, going against a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old.
Cade & his dad won. Team Cool Katz took first in two of the three events and finished on top of the oldest division in the building, five years younger than the kid who finished in second place.
Two sisters, two divisions, two podiums
Emma Kelley is 10. She competed with her dad and won the 8-10 division outright.
Iris Kelley is 6. She competed with her mom and finished third in 5-7.
An entire family on the podium. Both Emma and Iris train here at Cobra Command in our Kids & Teens classes… and Saturday they looked like they do.
The perfect scores
Two teams swept every single event.
The CrossFit Bros, Vince and Knox Bertucci, went first in every event in the 5-7 year old divisions. Father Daughter Dynasty, Ryan and Kendall, did the same thing in 11-13. A sweep means there wasn’t a hole anywhere in your game for anyone to find. Two teams pulled it off.
Three Peas in a WOD
Three Peas in a WOD was Sarah, her son Levi who is 9, and her daughter Cora who is 7. Because the oldest kiddo sets the division, Cora spent the morning competing against 10-year-olds. Pretty cool for an entire family to get to do together.
Full results
5-7
- The CrossFit Bros: Vince & Knox (7)
- Team Punky Cuties: Hedei Newcomb & Cortland (5)
- Just Here for the Vibes: Amanda Kelley & Iris (6)
8-10
- Dynamic Duo: Rob Kelley & Emma (10)
- The WODlers: Maecy A & Joshua Tarin (8)
- Maximum: Kayla Smith & Pierce (10)
- Three Peas in a WOD: Sarah H, Levi (9), Cora (7)
- Bryant Baddies: Kristiane Bryant, Elysse (7), Evanne (10)
- Ginger Gains: Becca Hatcher & Declan (9)
11-13
- Father Daughter Dynasty: Ryan VB & Kendall (13)
- The Pickles: Stephanie & Sierra (11)
- Wicked Welshes: Carissa & Quinn (11)
- Da Baddies: Mallory & Mavi (11)
14+
- Cool Katz: Chad Shafer & Cade (11)
- The Pedigrees: Conrad Bradley & Remi (16)
- Kitty Katz: Erin Norwood, Bailey (15), Taylor (18)
The awards that mattered more than the scoreboard
While the leaderboard is super impressive, placings don’t always tell the whole story, so we had a couple specialty awards too.
Energizer Bunny went to Knox Bertucci, for being the kid who never got tired. Knox is 7. He also swept every event in his division. He truly embodied that never ending energy.
Spark Plug went to Joshua Tarin, for big power in a small package. Joshua is 8, the youngest athlete in the 8-10 division, and he won Event 3 outright against kids two years older than him.
Wrecking Crew went to Emma and Rob Kelley, for demolishing every workout they touched. They won the 8-10 division on top of it, so the award truly shows how they demolished.
Double Trouble went to Three Peas in a WOD, for the most fun and most chaotic morning of anybody in the building. Sarah, Levi, and Cora earned that one honestly, and if you were anywhere near lane one you already know how fun it was.
Two honorable mentions went out as well.
Strength of a Lion went to Iris Kelley. She’s 6, and the day before the competition, she sprained her wrist, but she didn’t let that slow her down one bit. She still showed up and crushed it.
Bravery Award went to Cortland, the youngest athlete in the competition at 5 years old. He said YES when his mom asked him to do it, even though he had never been to C3 before… and he kept an amazing attitude the whole time.
What Operation Sidekick truly was
Something really cool happens to a kid when they watch their parent workout, struggle and keep crushing it right in front of them. It is even cooler when they are inspired to jump into workout with their parent… and it is everything when they can support and encourage each other. That is exactly why we planned this.
What’s next
Our fall Cobra Kids season is just kicking off RIGHT NOW. It runs Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:15PM for kids 5-9 Years Old, and at 6:30PM for kids 10-14 Years Old. Spots are limited.
If your kid was here Saturday and you saw something click, or if you watched from the sidelines and thought…. hmmm…maybe, come talk to us. Book a No Sweat Intro and we’ll figure out whether this is the right fit for your family.
Bring the chair. It’s going to be a good fall.
-Jill
