Jen Schumacher

Bio

Jen’s entry into the world of CrossFit was unusual. A lifelong swimmer training for the English Channel, she quickly found herself a fish out of water when pools shut down in March of 2020. Unable to train, she started doing Zoom workouts in her kitchen offered by her local CrossFit gym in New York. As the pandemic dragged on and the weather warmed up, they moved their workouts to a local high school track, then to a few shipping containers in a marina parking lot, and eventually, the owner reopened in a new facility when the state eased their restrictions. The resilience and grit this group formed together through fitness drew Jen in, and the CrossFit bug bit.

Jen competed in her first Open in 2021, along with a couple of local team competitions, but then pivoted to refocus on swimming in order to complete her Triple Crown of marathon swimming with the fastest 2021 season crossing by an American of the English Channel. When she returned stateside, she came back an overeager land athlete and then promptly experienced a litany of injuries – two broken vertebrae and a slipped disc from overtraining, a broken ankle from a rock climbing accident, not to mention a torn shoulder labrum from the swim. Needless to say, the land was not as friendly as the sea.

As she healed, she relocated to Evanston to work with the Northwestern University Football team as their Mental Performance Consultant, providing integrated mental performance services throughout the organization. Jen brings well over a decade of experience coaching elite and professional athletes, West Point cadets, Special Forces officers, marathon swimmers, and Fortune 100 executives on their mental game. Prior to joining the Wildcats, Jen was the Assistant Director of the Performance Psychology Program at West Point. Jen earned her PhD in Health and Human Performance at Concordia University of Chicago and studied mental performance under Dr. Ken Ravizza at California State University, Fullerton. Jen credits much of her athletic success to her experiences working with and learning from cadets, coaches, athletes, and other high-level performers.

Jen joined CrossFit Wilmette in the spring of 2023 and now joins the coaching staff as a Mental Performance Coach. She loves the vibrant community, ambitious but deliberate programming, and well-rounded warm-ups. She is eager to give back to this special community with her professional skill set and share what she’s learned about the mental game of CrossFit. You can reach her at schumacher@crossfitwilmette.com or usually find her at the 5 am class!