Coaching Staff

Jeff Rice, Owner

Jeff Rice
  • CrossFit Level 2 Certified Coach
  • CrossFit Kids Certified Trainer
  • CrossFit Coach's Prep Course
  • CrossFit Olympic Lifting Course
  • CrossFit Mobility Course
  • CrossFit Endurance Course
  • CrossFit Rowing Course
  • CrossFit Gymnastics Course
  • Carl Paoli's Freestyle Connection Seminar
  • USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
  • 2017-2019 CrossFit Games Media Team Volunteer
  • 2013-2017 CrossFit Regional Media Team Volunteer
Jeff has been an active person for pretty much all of his life. He spent about 9 years studying karate (Isshinryu and Washin-ryu) and really thrived in the environment of the dojo. Something about the combination of hard work, discipline and camaraderie really resonated with him. In 2008 he discovered CrossFit. It was everything he was looking for and got him into the best shape of his life. Jeff and his wife, Laura, opened Flower City CrossFit in November 2010.

Laura Rice, Owner

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  • CrossFit Level 2 Certified Coach
  • Media Team Lead for the 2017-present CrossFit Games and the 2013-2017 CrossFit Regionals 
  • CrossFit Kids Certified Trainer
  • CrossFit Coach's Prep Course
  • CrossFit Mobility Course
  • CrossFit Olympic Lifting Course
  • CrossFit Rowing Course
  • CrossFit Gymnastic Course
  • Carl Paoli's Freestyle Connection Seminar
  • USA Weightlifting Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Former Div 1 Volleyball Player
Laura grew up playing volleyball, basketball, soccer and running track. She has a MS in Information Technology (multimedia & e-commerce) from RIT and a BS in Business from Washington State University. She is a west coast girl who was transplanted to the east coast after college. She worked as the Assistant Director of an IT Dept for many years and has a passion for CrossFit, media, sports, technology and most importantly, family. 

Jenn Back

Jenn Back
  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • CrossFit Kids Certified Trainer
  • Twitter for the CrossFit East Regional 2013-2017 
  • Teacher by day



When Jenn moved to Rochester to pursue her masters degree, she saw a Groupon for bootcamp at FCCF. After less than a month, she was hooked and excited for the constant variation of CrossFit. Since joining Crossfit she has run two half-marathons and competed in multiple CrossFit competitions. Her strong expertise is in lifting heavy weights! After teaching high school students all day, she greatly enjoys coaching both adults and children!

Sara Dehm

Michelle Stewart
  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Teacher by day!
Sara started bootcamp in May 2014, and switched over to CrossFit about a month later. She loves that CrossFit provides constant challenges and the ability to always learn something new. When she realized how passionate she was about CrossFit, she decided to get her Level 1 in July 2017. 

Sara is truly grateful for the wonderful members of the FCCF communities, many of which have become her close friends. She enjoys coaching new members, and encouraging them to have confidence in their own abilities.  She brings lots of energy and effort to all things she does, and is excited to help people feel motivated about fitness! We've also had the pleasure of watching this amazing coach have two children in the last few years!

Ben Summit

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach

Christine Tensley

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  • CrossFit Level 2 Certified Coach
  • East Regional Athlete 2017
  • Physician's Assistant by day

Christine is the mother of five boys! She also placed 23rd worldwide in the 2016 CrossFit Open. She works extremely hard, inspires others every day, and wants to be a positive impact on those around her.

Christine started our Bootcamp classes in June 2013 and converted over to CrossFit classes about three weeks later. Through hard work and consistency, she has increased her abilities month after month.
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Join Christine in class and get inspired by this amazing woman!

James Whelan

James Whelan
  • CrossFit Level 2 Certified Coach
  • CrossFit Mobility Course
  • East Regional Athlete 2017
  • 2013 & 2014 North East CrossFit Games Media Team Volunteer
  • Nutrition Coach, owning resiliencenutrition.com
James started CrossFit in hopes to improve his conditioning for the upcoming soccer season at RIT and within the first week of starting CrossFit he was hooked. After finishing his second season playing for RIT, James decided to stop playing soccer and refocus what he was doing at RIT. This is when he joined FCCF where he found a competitive and supportive community. Within a year of joining FCCF, James obtained his Level 1 and began coaching at FCCF. We've watched him get his undergrad, masters, get married, get a dog and now he has a baby on the way. He owns ResilienceNutrition.com and helps many FCCF athletes.

Trisha Van Buren

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Criti​cal Response Specialist 
  • Adjunct Professor
Trisha grew up in a small town called Bergen. She played soccer for 11 years, and participated in track & field in high school. She graduated from SUNY Brockport with a Bachelor’s in Meteorology in 2014, and from the University of Missouri with a Master’s in Atmospheric Science in 2017.
 
“All throughout college, I made excuses as to why I couldn’t work out and eat healthy. I ate fast food daily, consumed an excess amount of alcohol, and even started smoking cigarettes. After graduation, I decided enough was enough.” 

Trisha was introduced to CrossFit in May 2016. She immediately looked into it and joined a nearby box where she fell in love with the community. Her focus switched from wanting to be skinny, to wanting to be strong. She finally felt confident in her own skin. 
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Jim Sennett

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach

Stacey Tensley

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach

Sam Colliss

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • College student by day
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Sam started CrossFit in 2015 because he wanted to learn how to do a bar muscle up. One of his friends invited him to try a CrossFit class with him and he instantly caught the bug.  After getting his first muscle up two years later, he wanted to get certified as a trainer so he could share his knowledge. Sam loves CrossFit because it is always a continuous learning and self-improvement process. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge to help others in their journey towards self-improvement.

Bill Balch

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Deputy Sheriff
Bill has been an active person for pretty much his whole life. He spent years as a combat instructor in the Marine Corps and is currently a Physical Fitness Instructor with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The combination of hard work, discipline and camaraderie really resonates with Bill.

​In 2014, Bill discovered CrossFit with us. After being absolutely crushed and humbled and picked back up by his fellow athletes and coaches, he knew it was what he was looking for with his fitness. 

Josh Marshall

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  • CrossFit Level 1 Certified Coach
  • Firefighter
Copyright (c) 2022 Flower City CrossFit

3543 Winton Place, Rochester, NY 14623