For sure I am confused about a lot of things. If there is any doubt about that, I'm sure my wife would be glad to confirm.
I'm also new here so I'm trying to be careful and my rhetorical style might have gotten me in trouble. In every sport, there is an *acquisition* of strength and a *display* of strength. I feel ridiculous linking to your own article (Strength and its Derivatives | Mark Rippetoe) but at least you know that I've read and internalized it.
If somebody acquires strength by doing SS:BBT, practices the sport of ice skating, and then displays strength by winning an international ice skating competition, I'd call that person a world-class athlete.
If somebody acquires strength by doing SS:BBT, practices the sport of swimming, and then displays strength by setting a 400m freestyle swimming record, I would think they are also a world-class athlete.
If somebody acquires strength by doing SS:BBT, practices doing box jumps really fast, and then displays strength by setting a world record for the most box jumps done in an hour, fastest handstand walk, or whatever the heck they do at crossfit competitions, that would seem to fall into the same bucket as a display of acquired strength
What I'm (clearly) failing to see is why acquiring strength using SS, practicing some Crossfit skill, and then displaying strength by doing that skill is somehow different.
In the first two cases, there athleticism isn't questioned because they are choosing a sport other than football. But in the last case, the athleticism is called into question.
If somebody thinks they are *acquiring* strength by doing group crossfit classes, they will be terribly disappointed. Nobody here needs me to say that squats and deadlifts for sets of five across would be much better preparation.
If we're just hating on crossfit and I ruined the party, please accept my apologies. I didn't comment on this thread to stir the pot.
I have friends and neighbors who *like* to do crossfit competitions and I'd like to encourage them to acquire their strength by doing the barbell training for which you advocate because I think they would get better results.
I'm in the same boat as the OP. If somebody wanted to train for a crossfit competition, I'd have them do the program exactly as in the book (and also some HIIT conditioning like Jonathan Sullivan describes in Barbell Prescription0
And I would take great joy if somebody went out and won a crossfit competition and got asked how they trained and they said "Starting Strength" But I also don't want to tell somebody that it's the right program for them if it really isn't. I don't see any list of contra-indications of SS for any type of athlete and I can't think of any basis in biology or physics that it *wouldn't* be the right program.
I really hope this post isn't taken in a negative way because that's not what I'm going for.
If hating crossfit is a requirement to be an SS coach, I'll ask to come to the next seminar. But I'd still help somebody who is interested in crossfit competitions because they would get way more out of it than suffering through ineffective group classes.