Our Coaches
We take fitness seriously and we demand a lot of our coaches. Our primary goal is to provide an amazing coaching & class experience for our members. Thus, our Coaches must be “The Best” at what they do: Coaching. We require 160 hours of Observing & Assisting under the guidance of our veteran Coaches. They also need to keep up their coaching, nutrition, and functional movement education through our partner Madlab. Madlab is a leader in continuing education and certifications for Fitness, Nutrition, and Kinesiology. We also provide mandatory training on all aspects of coaching: from one-on-one sessions to effective group classes. And we require our coaches to “practice what they preach.”
Every coach on our staff, including the owners, were doing CrossFit on their own before becoming a coach with Crossfit Pleasanton. Our coaches know what the customer experience is like because they were all clients. They are passionate about fitness, nutrition and the CrossFit methodology. They constantly searching for information, videos, books, and blogs on everything related to fitness, nutrition, CrossFit and weight lifting. They pursue new Certifications every year. They compete regularly in CrossFit, Olympic lifting competitions, triathlons, 10ks, Marathons, and more. Their reward is your results. Go ahead, ask them any question you have we are here for you.
ZOLTAN HITES
CROSSFIT COACH / OWNER
As a former professional tennis player, Zoltan spent most of his childhood on a tennis court. But as a kid, he also played football, basketball and soccer. At 12 years old, Zoltan decided tennis was the sport for him and never looked back. He had an impressive junior career which led him to play seven years on the ATP Tour traveling all over the world playing on the some of the biggest stages in tennis. During his years playing professional tennis, he was trained in the areas of physical fitness, sports psychology and weightlifting by the best in the world. After his professional tennis career, Zoltan taught tennis for 14 years. He coached high level national and world ranked players as well as young kids and senior clients. He’s also managed two different Country Clubs and Director of Tennis at various clubs throughout the Bay Area. In these roles, he gained the experience of running large facilities with huge member bases and the knowledge of how to manage successful fitness facilities, making sure that member’s needs are meet. Three years ago, Zoltan discovered Crossfit and functional fitness and could not get enough. He totally believes that it is the best way for anyone to reach their physical potential and the most efficient way to reach any fitness goal. In fact, he wishes he had been doing Crossfit when he was playing professional tennis; it would have given him an edge over the competition for sure. Eventually, Zoltan turned his love of Crossfit into a second career and began coaching Crossfit. When the opportunity to own and manage a Crossfit facility presented itself to him, he jumped at the chance with zero hesitation. In his mind, it is just like running a Country Club with the only difference being that the community is tighter and more like-minded and the service we provide can really improve people’s daily lives. Zoltan loves CFP and the loyal membership. He truly wants to give the gift of fitness to anyone that wants to get challenge themselves to be their strongest, best self.
NICK KAO
CROSSFIT / MOBILITY COACH
I’m Nick Kao, I’m an Army veteran and currently pursuing a degree in math at UC Berkeley. Ever since I joined the military I’ve been a firm believer in a healthy mind and a healthy body and eventually I was put in charge of my unit’s PRT (Physical Readiness Training) Program where I helped soldiers maintain their physical standards. After the military, I reentered college and was introduced to CrossFit. Originally I majored in math and kinesiology as I wanted to incorporate health and wellness with solid data and mathematical models. I eventually got my Level 1 certification in CrossFit and I’m working towards an NASM certification on my spare time from college. I’m particularly interested in mobility and rehab. I like working with others to restore range of motion and improve body mechanics.
TERRY BURKE
CORRECTIVE MOVEMENT SPECIALIST
Terry’s love for fitness started during his time in the Navy as Rescue Swimmer. After he got out of the Navy Terry went to National Personal Trainer Institute where he obtained his Personal Training Certification, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, Weight Loss Specialist, and Performance Enhancement Specialist certifications. On September 11th he attended the CrossFit Level 1 course in order to further his knowledge and his career in the fitness industry. He’s very excited about being a CrossFit Coach and is looking forward to making you the best athlete you can be.
MARIANA AGUILAR
CROSSFIT COACH
Mariana was born in Lake Tahoe CA, and grew up in Nevada. Being physically active outdoors has been part of her life from a young age. The Tahoe lifestyle exposed her to biking, swimming, snowboarding, hiking, and running outside. Mariana also grew up playing competitive soccer and tennis but fell off the fitness track when she began college at the University of Nevada Reno, in 2008. Lost, overweight and uninterested in her original major Mariana dropped out and perused a career in retail management. In 2012 Mariana set out and accomplished a goal of losing 50 pounds and running 13 half marathons in 13 months, along with, completing her first ever full marathon. In 2014 she was introduced and immediately hooked on CrossFit ultimately competing at the local level and becoming CrossFit level-1 certified. Her new-found passion for fitness and helping others drove Mariana to step down from her career position to pursue a new career in fitness. Very shortly after Mariana’s health took a hit when she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, Systemic Lupus. Mariana pushed through and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology from California State University, Chico in 2017. During her time in College Mariana focused on the science behind how exercise heals the body, nutrition and physical therapy. Mariana fell in love with coaching and inspiring others to fall in love with fitness. She has struggled with major weight loss, and health issues but overcame those by studying and focusing on the healing effects that exercise has on the body. Through CrossFit Pleasanton, Mariana hopes to provide our members and community with an inspiring and powerful environment to help them learn, grow mentally, heal physically, and achieve their goals while maintaining balance.
EXPERIENCE
Member and Club Officer of the Pre Physical Therapy Club at CSU Chico.
Level One Certified CrossFit Coach.
CPR AED Certified.
Certified Zumba Instructor.
Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Successfully completed 13 half marathons in 13 months 2012- 2013.
Successfully completed a full marathon December of 2012. Overall 2012 Tahoe Trail running series long distance champion.
Placed 2nd in 2012 Tahoe trail running series short distance. Placed 2nd at Human Performance Project GNC Throw Down Individual CrossFit competition June 2013.
Placed 2nd at the Gold Town Throw Down team CrossFit competition in 2014.
Placed 2nd at the Golden State Games team CrossFit competition in 2015.
Climbed Mt. Whitney in the Summer of 2017.
DR. MARK KORANSKY
DIRECTOR OF SPORT/CROSSFIT COACH
Mark Koransky fell in love with CrossFit in 2017 and has never looked back. After a lifetime of working out and lifting heavy weights, he found the variability and intensity of CrossFit to be exactly what he was looking for. A full-time General Surgeon, he is one of our gym’s Master Athlete Competitors and placed 138th in 2020 Open and made it to the Age Group Online Qualifiers. He also qualified to compete in the 2020 Atlas Games and the 2021 Northern California Classic. . He was invited in 2017 by CrossFit Hq to be one of the first physicians to take the Level 1 Certificate Course as part of CrossFit’s attempts to educate medical doctors about the benefits of CrossFit and proper nutrition. He has completed the CrossFit Online Training Courses Lesson Planning, Spot the Flaw, Scaling, and Judging. He is passionate about trying to help you reach your fitness and health goals with a special interest in advanced skill-building.
Erik Larson
CROSSFIT COACH
Erik is a Crossfit coach from Santa Cruz, California. A CFP Competition Group member and Crossfit competition veteran, Erik is quick to remind you that he started 40 lbs overweight and continues to work on improving his own fitness. Having spent many years as a teacher in private college and other settings, Erik has been compelled to share his teaching experience along with his love of Crossfit with other CFP members. Erik employs a work hard/play hard mentality that proves it is possible to have fun while improving fitness and health. Additionally, Erik believes an obsessive focus on technique, discipline, and consistency is key to achieving your goals. Beginning his Crossfit journey in order to improve his skills as an American Football receiver, Erik has transitioned to Crossfit as his main physical outlet.
LISA CORTI
CROSSFIT COACH
Lisa dabbled in sports through school, such as track, basketball, and volleyball. It wasn’t until I got my first gym membership at 19 that I fell in love with fitness. In 2007, Lisa joined a local Crossfit gym and she was hooked on the constantly varied workouts. Lisa ended up taking a sabbatical due to work but continued to workout and maintain her fitness as her health has always been a priority. Lisa found herself back at Crossfit in 2015. Since 2015, she has gotten increasingly stronger, leaner, and has increased her engine/cardio capacity. Lisa took her love for Crossfit to the next level and started coaching in 2020. I love being able to share what I have learned with others and to see others excel in this sport.
Nabil Saad
CROSSFIT COACH
Nabil is very passionate about health and fitness, whether it is with his own personal training or teaching his students the importance of movement and physical activity. While earning his B.A. in Liberal Arts and Health Education, he was also a collegiate athlete, and continued on to earn a M.A. in Athletic Administration. Nabil holds a CrossFit Level 1, NSCA-CPT, and USMTA Kickboxing certification. His professional coaching experience includes fifteen years of competitive club and coaching high school soccer. Nabil found CrossFit in 2017, he competed in The Open five months into CrossFit and never looked back! He went on to receive his Level 1 and implements CrossFit fundamentals in his PE curriculum. Nabil is a Health/Fitness instructor and Director of Athletics at a private school in Danville. “What I love most about CrossFit is the power of community!”
Caron Knight
CROSSFIT COACH
Caron Knight is a long-time resident of Pleasanton. She played multiple sports growing up including soccer, softball, and basketball. She played on the basketball team for both Pleasanton Middle school and Foothill High school making varsity her freshman year. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in kinesiology and a minor in nutrition. She has been a member of CrossFit Pleasanton since 2009. Caron is an amazing athlete, her knowledge of sports and movements is a great asset to our team.
Elaine Trinh
CROSSFIT COACH
Elaine and joined Crossfit in 2016. She has competed in Crossfit and Olympic Weightlifting since then, reaching one of her goals to compete at the USA Weightlifting University Nationals! Her Crossfit journey has been rewarding because it has taught her about hard work, patience, and being humble. Elaine's coaching philosophy is based on growth mindset, that little accomplishments and failures are much more promising than we believe them to be. What She loves about Crossfit is that it is accessible to anyone and everyone, no matter where you are in life! Elaine loves questions about individual goals, please feel free to ask her anything. She is currently a nursing student, wrestling coach, and BJJ practitioner (pajama wrestler).
