Behind the Toon Squad: What Goes into Supporting an Elite Athlete
It’s possible no CrossFit athlete has ever had a fan club as passionate (and loud) as 2022 Games Rookie Phil Toon – his family and friends are unmissable in any live event Toon attends. Cowbells, noise-makers, blown-up pictures of Toon’s face, and near-deafening screams of encouragement, the so-called “Toon Squad” leaves nothing left untouched when it comes to supporting their friend.
Fittingly, this force of a cheerleading team started as a “well, we might as well” situation when Toon’s family learned he was competing at Wodapalooza in Miami in January. Simply put, they didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to, first, cheer on Toon, and second, party in Miami. Then, after Toon proved a force to be reckoned with in the heavy lifting event against veterans of the sport, the group headed to a closeby customizable tee-shirt store to make their first ever Toon Squad swag. And from there, it’s history.
- “I think all of us were ready to pass out,” Justin Zimmer, Toon’s friend and athlete, said on cheering Toon on to his first-place finish in the Minnesota Mashup against Brent Fikowski. “That last 30 seconds, (my friend) and I had bruises on our shoulders from grabbing each other! After that, we were just like, ‘yeah this is awesome.’”
That post-event celebration high wasn’t exclusive to just Zimmer. Toon’s girlfriend, Jordan Noe, says she cried – nay, balled – when Toon’s second-place finish was announced. She shared a sentiment with her friend Kanani Parker that watching Toon’s relentless training and dedication day-in and day-out made a ticket to the Games surreal and awe-inspriring.
While the entire group is, of course, there to support Toon, Noe says it’s brought them closer together as well. The extreme rollercoaster of emotions that is a Semifinal weekend creates a tighter bond between supporters, according to Noe.
That bond has been especially impactful for Ellen Toon, Phil’s mother. Toon was introduced to CrossFit through her son, and has since become an avid fan, a regular listener to the CrossFit podcasts and all. Watching her son compete surrounded by his friends and family has given her a new outlook and appreciation.
- “(I’ve been) learning a lot about Phil through (his CrossFit journey). It’s a different side of him that I don’t get to see,” Toon said. Regarding her son’s support network, she said, “It’s just crazy. I dont know people like these people. He must be so terrific to have friends like these.”
Speaking of wholesome parental support, 2022 CrossFit Games rookie Lucy Campbell’s parents are by her side through long training weeks and the highs of competition weekends. Campbell remembers her mother, Joan Scarrott, sneaking into a restricted area after the final event of this year’s Lowlands Throwdown to give her daughter a bundle of tulips while she waited for results to be announced. While Campbell says it was a bit silly having a bundle of flowers for all of her interviews after the event, she was overwhelmed with gratitude.
- “It meant a huge amount to have (my parents) there when I qualified for my first trip to the Games,” Campbell said. “ It even makes me too emotional sometimes, especially when hearing their voices in the crowd so sometimes they have to try to hold it in!”
Now that it’s Games training season for Campbell, her mother, Scarrott, and her father, Peter Campbell, try to provide practical support when their daughter’s schedule gets intense. Whether it’s keeping watch over an open-water swimming workout (which Lucy has excelled at since childhood), helping with household chores like “tidying up the garden”, or being there to keep their daughter comfortable and happy with jigsaw puzzles and home-cooked meals, Scarrott and Peter are more than happy to make the 100-mile journey to spend time with Lucy.
- “It’s whatever is needed – practical support, emotional support, a listening ear, a sounding board, a break – we are here when she needs us. She can rely on all of us,” Scarrott and Campbell said of their daughter in an email to the Morning Chalk Up.
Unsurprisingly, Campbell’s parents are all-in on their daughter’s CrossFit career, and they say it has brought many joys to their lives.
- “There is little more exciting for a parent than to see your child truly alive – and that’s been our experience of Lucy since she started CrossFit,” the pair said.
According to her parents, Campbell fell in love with CrossFit the moment she entered the gym, but now that she’s seeing some major competitive success – qualifying for her first CrossFit Games in 2022 – her parents get to experience that joy on an entirely new level. Regarding their daughter’s first qualification, they said,
- “That was a magical moment. In that single moment, all of her work, her learning, her working through all of the ups and downs came together – everything aligned. It was emotional for all of us.”
Patrick Sprague also feels that ‘magic’ through watching his son, James Sprague, compete. The father-son duo have five total Games appearances under their belt – three for Patrick and two for James – and have worked as a symbiotic pair in and out of competition for years. Most recently, James competed at the Syndicate Crown, where he missed qualifying for his first Individual CrossFit Games appearance by just one point. His father, along with Sprague’s brother, tried to take everything but competing off of James’ plate so he could focus solely on performance.
- “I think as an athlete, (competition) is the one time where you really have to play narcissistic (. . . ) allow people to help you,” Patrick said. “If you have a team that can help you with everything else from PT to massage to food to transportation ,you’re just going to compete that much better, so we each try to be that for each other.”
Image credit: Ava Kitzi
Since the younger Sprague’s first Games appearance at the 2017 CrossFit Games in the 14-15 Boys division, his father has watched him grow up and face incredible challenge, including a major knee injury and two years of just narrowly missing the CrossFit Games in the Individual division. It’s James’ resilience and perseverance that his father is most proud of.
- Sprague: “James has faced so much adversity, and he is not letting that get in his way or complain. I love that attitude – he’s so positive it’s great for me to be around. It would be very easy and very human to do something different.
James’ infectious positivity has made him a role model of attitude and determination both for his father and CrossFit teens currently coming up in the sport. Last fall, Sprague MC’d at the Elite Teen Throwdown at the Pit Fitness Ranch, where he was able to mentor young athletes that look up to him. As a father, Patrick says this is a very assuring and prideful thing to watch happen.
- “If we can help another human being, that’s what we’re here for, and James sees that and embraces that,” Sprague said. Between the two of them, their mantra is “Spragues don’t quit”. “He’s got a story and he’s not afraid to talk about it. I think that’s important because we all hit adversity, but many of us don’t have the courage to talk about it, but James does.
