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Climbing Coaching Indoor climbing

Who needs a climbing Coach?

Do I need coaching?

Do you want to get better at climbing? Hopefully the answer is yes and it’s like anything in life, the more you practice the better you will get, providing you are practicing the right techniques. Practice a bad technique then you will become very good at doing something very badly but if you practice the right technique you will get better.

A coach may not be the best climber, but they can see what you are doing and tell you what you are doing wrong – there are lots of people who can do this – like your mates, but a good climbing coach can tell and show you what to do to improve.

Is a coach just for competitive athletes?

All top sports people have coaches and they have got to the top of their chosen sport by having coaches from an early age. That doesn’t mean its too late for the rest us to get better at our chosen sports, all it takes is dedication and a coach. Coaching is a new addition to amateur sports but it’s slowly gaining popularity. Although sport is a pastime for fun and a way of keeping fit, it helps to have the drive to become better which will help to maintain your interest. It’s like having belts in martial arts, a way of monitoring progress and keeps you focused by having goals to aim for. In climbing, you can try a more difficult grade of route, achieve it and then aim for the next grade and the cycle continues, showing your progression.

Regular sessions pay off

Coaching is not about having one hour’s session and thinking you will improve overnight. It’s about regular meetings, for example once every 4 weeks. This allows the climber to practice, maybe using a training plan that’s been worked out by the coach, before being reassessed and learning more techniques and discussing ideas. Discussing ideas with a coach is very important as we are all different and what might suit one person may not suit another, problems have to be discussed so the coach can find the correct solution.

Another big plus of the coach is they act as a motivator. The coach has set you a training plan, you have four weeks before reporting back, showing improvement and pleasing the coach as well pleasing yourself. What a great incentive?

I know what I am doing

Not everyone can be coached, some people think they know everything already and so they can’t be taught. They might get better as they figure it for themselves but it’s easier with a coach. For the climbers that explore becoming a coach it will be something that they won’t regret and it will have an impact on their climbing as well as their day to day life.

Recommended coaches

The 2 links below are for 2 climbers who set routes and problems at Alter Rock. They would be happy to coach you on the routes and problems they have set.

Steve McClure http://www.steve-mcclure.com/coaching

Mark Pretty http://www.markpretty.co.uk/index.php/coaching.html

Anita Aggarwal all things climbing – inclusive climbing coach – GB World Paraclimbing Medalist. Contact Anita via message or email from her athlete page. https://www.facebook.com/ParaclimberAnita/

Another coach you might like to try is

Jamie Vardy https://vardyclimbingcoach.wordpress.com/coaching-climbing/