Melissa Baker
Coach at CrossFit 8 Mile

My parents started me in sports at a young age. I played t-ball, soccer (quit after getting a ball in the stomach), gymnastics, swimming, and powder puff softball. In middle school, I was able to play on the volleyball team. When I was a freshman in high school, I tried out for the volleyball team and was told I was too short to play. That was a blow to my confidence in playing sports, so I decided not to pursue sports in high school and went more of the academic route, being part of the debate team and forensic team. I didn’t really make a return to sports until I was in my 20s, when I took up Isshinryu karate. I earned my second-degree black belt, instructed both adult and kids classes, gained confidence in myself, and competed in many competitions, including the Isshinryu Hall of Fame tournament a few times, earning trophies each time. After a while, that became less fulfilling and fun and more like work for me, so I stepped away, and in 2013, I found CrossFit. I spent nearly 7 years coaching at another gym and competing in local competitions. During this time, I was also introduced to competitive sailing and was part of a crew that would race once a week as well. In 2020, I changed gyms to CrossFit 8 Mile and continued with CrossFit until I needed a break from it. In 2021, I decided to pursue Olympic Weightlifting with the 8 Mile Barbell Club. During that time, I was able to qualify and compete on the national stage as well as set 3 state records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total.