Jim Thorpe, Dion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Briana Hamilton? That comparison may not seem too far out there in a few years once this gifted athlete establishes herself as a professional athlete, not only in softball but also in GRID. That's right -- the Akron Racers' Briana Hamilton is a professional athlete in two sports!

Hamilton On The Diamond

Most softball fans know Briana "Breezy" Hamilton as the power-hitting corner on Florida State's WCWS team in 2014. Hamilton was a two-time All-ACC athlete for FSU and lives on in the Seminole record books fourth all-time in career home runs. She finished her Florida State career with a .243 batting average, 28 home runs, 97 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .933 fielding percentage. After her senior season in 2014, Hamilton was signed by the PA Rebellion and had a productive rookie campaign, playing in 36 games with 104 plate appearances, five home runs, and 10 RBIs.

Midway through the 2015 season, Hamilton was abruptly and unexpectedly released by the Rebellion for conflicts between her two professional sports careers. Having family members in Akron, Ohio, Hamilton packed her bags the next day and headed west. Knowing it was a long-shot that any NPF team, let alone the Akron Racers, would need a player mid-season, Hamilton called up old Rebellion teammate Sarah Pauly who was currently with the Racers to see if there was any opportunity.

Racers' GM Joey Arrietta signed Hamilton to a two-week contract that Hamilton took full advantage of. In her first nine games with the Racers, Hamilton hit .240 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. Her performance in those two weeks earned her a contract for the rest of the year.


Hamilton hitting a shot over the right field wall for the Racers 

Hamilton now finds herself near family and with a team that respects her dual careers. "It couldn't have worked out any better. My grandmother's house is right by the housing development they [Akron Racers] put us up in, so I usually just stay with her when I'm in town," Briana explains about playing in Akron. And as for her professional career in GRID, Hamilton said the Racers totally understand. "There is some overlap between the NPF and GRID seasons, but Joey is great. It's all about communication with her. As long as I communicate any conflicts ahead of time, she's willing to work with me."

Hamilton On the GRID

The National Pro GRID League is entering its third season. For those of you who have no idea what the GRID League is, think professional team CrossFit. GRID is self-described as "Strategic Team Athletics Racing" and has drawn top talent from the CrossFit Games including Elisabeth Akinwale, Spencer Hendel, Noah Ohlsen, Lindsey Valenzuela, and Brooke Wells.

Hamilton competed one season in the GRID's amateur South Atlantic GRID League before impressing NPGL officials at the DC/Baltimore Pro Day, which is the equivalent of the NFL combine in which only 100 athletes receive an invitation. Following her impressive showing at her Pro Day, Hamilton was drafted 27th by her current team the Boston Iron in 2015.

The 25-year-old has a rather impressive GRID score, the equivalent of a ranking all GRID athletes are given. The GRID score is a cumulative value of the following five different physical tests: as many ring muscle-ups as possible in 80 seconds, 20 thrusters at 95lbs as fast as possible, four rope climbs to a height of 15 feet as fast as possible, a two-repetition maximum clean and jerk, and 15 ground-to-overhead barbell lifts at 95lbs, followed by 10 bar-over burpees, followed by 15 ground-to-overhead barbell lifts at 95lbs as fast as possible.

A perfect GRID score is 20 on each physical test, resulting in a maximum possible overall GRID score of 100. Briana's is 72, with speciality scores of 70 for strength, 64 for body weight, 71.5 for power, and 79.5 for speed.

Hamilton In the Gym

In order to be successful as a dual-athlete, Hamilton trains a lot -- three time a day to be exact. Her morning sessions include a fairly standard Olympic weightlifting program, comprised of some sort of snatch, clean and jerk, and squat variations possibly with a couple accessory lifts. Her second session of the day focuses on what CrossFit and the GRID consider gymnastics movements -- handstand pushups, pull-ups, muscle-ups, rope climbs, ring dips, l-sits -- and her last session of the day is some kind of metabolic training, similar to the general population's conception of CrossFit. Believe it or not, Hamilton manages to squeeze a two-hour softball session in three to four days a week while she's in the gym three times a day.


Hamilton nailing a three-position snatch at 170lbs. 

Hamilton is admittedly "addicted" to working out, and even does some sort of easy workout the morning of game days. "I train almost every day except Sundays," explains Hamilton. "I like to workout before games even. I don't do any max lifts or anything like that. I just like to get in the gym and do some body weight exercises, run, or row. None of my teammates understand it, but if I didn't do something before games, I won't perform as well."

Hamilton's training age and experience is well beyond that of her softball teammates, and has been that way for a while. "I wouldn't say my strength and conditioning coach at Florida State and I butted heads, but we did come to an agreement my junior and senior year that I could lift on my own and do my own training separate from the team," revealed Hamilton.

She began training in the weight room in seventh grade, but did fairly pointless exercises that didn't translate to her softball performance like bicep and forearm curls. It wasn't until her senior year of high school when she began CrossFit that she saw improvements in her game. Though the general public sees CrossFit as dangerous and collegiate strength and conditioning coaches see it as a joke, Hamilton sings its praises.

"I saw more results faster with CrossFit than I did with my high school and college training. I became more explosive, moved quicker from right to left, and had better body awareness with my throwing and hitting mechanics," explained Hamilton. Concerning the "danger" of CrossFit, Hamilton disagrees. "CrossFit is no more dangerous than getting in a car. I've been in two motorcycle accidents and have been able to physically walk away from them. My training has prepared me for a variety of things in life. You know, a farmer's carry is just like carrying groceries and a bar muscle up is the same movement as getting out of a pool."

Hamilton believes the keys to safely and productively training CrossFit is knowledge of it as a strength and conditioning program, a good coach who also understands it, and understanding your own personal limits.

Beyond the benefits to her game, her CrossFit and GRID career has given Hamilton another way to compete and push herself as an athlete. Though she thinks making it to the pinnacle of CrossFit, the CrossFit Games, is a "long shot", Briana still continues to compete in CrossFit as well. She placed 29th in the Central East region during the 2015 CrossFit Open, missing qualifying for Regionals by nine spots. "I may never make it to the Games, but I will qualify for Regionals one day." You can expect that Hamilton will be one of the first to register for the 2016 CrossFit Open when registration begins January 14.

Right now Briana is living the dream as a dual professional athlete, but she sees coaching in her future when her own athletic career is over. "I want to give back to the game. I feel like softball has given me so much and has done nothing but good things for me. It's always been an outlet for me and I want to respect the game and help people get better and grow."

I have a feeling her coaching days will have to wait for several years until this gifted athlete decides to hang up both her cleats and weightlifting shoes.