Matt Recla

Matt Recla played soccer and judo at a young age, and competed in soccer, wrestling, and tennis, throughout high school. After high school he took a long break…until his metabolism caught up. Never the strongest or the fastest, but one who could endure, running seemed to be a natural fit. After trying a few other things first (including globo-gyms and the original Power 90), he began training for distance races. He has run 4–5 half marathons, and since moving down to Santa Barbara in 2006 to work on a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, has run the LA marathon, the Santa Barbara marathon, and completed a UCSB Sprint Triathlon in the cold March ocean. In mid-2010 he ran into CrossFit on accident while on vacation, and looked up Crossfit Goodland when he got back into town. The personal coaching, the endless variety of workouts, and the chance to pursue well-rounded fitness was something he had been missing in all his previous routines and the sense of camaraderie with the Goodland crew was an invaluable bonus. For his one-year CrossFit anniversary he decided to get the Level One Certification. As a teacher in his academic career, moving into the coaching aspects of CrossFit was a natural next step. He is humbled by the opportunity to work with such a great group of athletes, and excited to grow as an athlete and coach at Goodland.