Competitive climbing

[Anonymous]

Looking to transition DD from competitive gymnastics to another less demanding team sport. She has no interest in any ball sports or thr majority of mainstream sports. Has anyone had any experience with competitive climbing at a rock climbing gym? What is the vibe like?

[Anonymous]

Chill laid back group. Movement runs great programs. I have no experience with Sportrock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chill laid back group. Movement runs great programs. I have no experience with Sportrock.

+1. Very supportive community at Movement

[Anonymous]

Agree on the supportive team environment at Movement (my child climbs at the Crystal City location). The coaches don't push the kids to compete until they are ready (usually at least a year after climbing regularly). Competitive team practices are 2 times per week (kids under 13) or 3 times per week (kids 13+) plus workouts on their own, but there is a range of levels (from intro to advanced to competition team) depending on each climber's skill level and desired level of commitment. The climbing world is a relatively small community where local climbing kids know each other and we've heard Sportrock runs a strong program as well. I'd recommend climbing regularly for at least 3 months at the closest gym (or signing up for a class or camp) and see how your child likes it. Gymnasts and dancers tend to transition well into climbing once they build the technical skills.

[Anonymous]

In Montgomery County, it is very competitive to make any level of the climbing team. I agree with the previous poster of having your child start to climb regularly now if they may want to make a team in the future. There just aren't enough spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In Montgomery County, it is very competitive to make any level of the climbing team. I agree with the previous poster of having your child start to climb regularly now if they may want to make a team in the future. There just aren't enough spots.

Have you tried Sportrock Rio? That team was just getting established this past year, and they’ll be having tryouts in late August for the coming year.

[Anonymous]

Climbing da best

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Montgomery County, it is very competitive to make any level of the climbing team. I agree with the previous poster of having your child start to climb regularly now if they may want to make a team in the future. There just aren't enough spots.

Have you tried Sportrock Rio? That team was just getting established this past year, and they’ll be having tryouts in late August for the coming year.

Some climbing gyms are very supportive and care about their team kids and others only care about making money and replacing good coaches and staff with less experienced people to limit cost. Check out Movement Rockville or Crystal City if you're in those areas and Evolution Boulders if you're out near Manassas, VA. I'd avoid Sportrock, especially for beginners, since they've replaced almost every coach at every location in the past couple years. Also, the Rio location you mentioned hired and fired their head coach within a year and I think that job opening is still open.

[Anonymous]

So, my kid is 11 and interested in climbing—he loves hiking, camping and we've been doing some mountain climbing, but no rock climbing. But likes doing outdoors stuff and challenging stuff. At school they watched some show that Alex Honnold did and he was very enamored with that.

He's overall very athletic—plays soccer, basketball, rugby, ran track, baseball... will pretty much play anything I'm will to drive him to. But he's also a big guy—fit and strong, but (like me) broad shouldered and stocky. Can pick up his teammates and carry them around easily, can run up and down the field, can bike for hours, etc. but with his build, struggles with pullups and has never been able to do monkey bars.

Given his interest in climbing and curiosity, and given his general athleticism, I figured it would be cool to bring him to one of the gyms mentioned above and let him try—maybe get him a few private lessons... not sure I can make any of the after school sessions work... but is it possible that he's just not the right build and it's just going to be frustrating or disappointing? The kids we know who have done climbing are all great and the community seems cool, but they were all wiry little guys and he's sensitive about being the big one in a group.

I'm inclined to just send him and let him find out if he likes it—if it's something that clicks with him and he does it regularly, I assume he'll develop the skills and strengths, but he also DOES have enough going on already...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Montgomery County, it is very competitive to make any level of the climbing team. I agree with the previous poster of having your child start to climb regularly now if they may want to make a team in the future. There just aren't enough spots.

Have you tried Sportrock Rio? That team was just getting established this past year, and they’ll be having tryouts in late August for the coming year.

Some climbing gyms are very supportive and care about their team kids and others only care about making money and replacing good coaches and staff with less experienced people to limit cost. Check out Movement Rockville or Crystal City if you're in those areas and Evolution Boulders if you're out near Manassas, VA. I'd avoid Sportrock, especially for beginners, since they've replaced almost every coach at every location in the past couple years. Also, the Rio location you mentioned hired and fired their head coach within a year and I think that job opening is still open.

Movement Rockville is really hard to get in - if you aren’t able to sign up within ten minutes of beginner classes opening for registration, you are SOL. And my kid has been climbing for a year and STILL isn’t good enough for the team, so he is stuck in less formal settings with brand new kids and it’s hard to progress like that. It’s not very welcoming logistically to getting new kids into the sport even though everyone is kind and encouraging.

The logistics are much, much easier at Sportrock Rio - want to start getting more serious? Great, just sign up. Because it’s less popular and farther out, they are actually taking new kids into the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Montgomery County, it is very competitive to make any level of the climbing team. I agree with the previous poster of having your child start to climb regularly now if they may want to make a team in the future. There just aren't enough spots.

Have you tried Sportrock Rio? That team was just getting established this past year, and they’ll be having tryouts in late August for the coming year.

Some climbing gyms are very supportive and care about their team kids and others only care about making money and replacing good coaches and staff with less experienced people to limit cost. Check out Movement Rockville or Crystal City if you're in those areas and Evolution Boulders if you're out near Manassas, VA. I'd avoid Sportrock, especially for beginners, since they've replaced almost every coach at every location in the past couple years. Also, the Rio location you mentioned hired and fired their head coach within a year and I think that job opening is still open.

I disagree, having had kids on both Movement and Sportrock teams (and Earth Treks long ago). While Sportrock saw some coach turnover this year, Movement has in other years. These coach jobs are typically part-time, so it’s normal that people move on to other things. And some get really into outdoor climbing themselves and relocate for that reason.

The Rio head coach spot has been filled since May, so no worries there.

And for Movement Rockville specifically, it is very hard to get onto the team because of demand. No matter how good your kid is, current team kids will get priority, so there just aren’t many new spots available. For people in MoCo looking for a spot on a team, Rio will be easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, my kid is 11 and interested in climbing—he loves hiking, camping and we've been doing some mountain climbing, but no rock climbing. But likes doing outdoors stuff and challenging stuff. At school they watched some show that Alex Honnold did and he was very enamored with that.

He's overall very athletic—plays soccer, basketball, rugby, ran track, baseball... will pretty much play anything I'm will to drive him to. But he's also a big guy—fit and strong, but (like me) broad shouldered and stocky. Can pick up his teammates and carry them around easily, can run up and down the field, can bike for hours, etc. but with his build, struggles with pullups and has never been able to do monkey bars.

Given his interest in climbing and curiosity, and given his general athleticism, I figured it would be cool to bring him to one of the gyms mentioned above and let him try—maybe get him a few private lessons... not sure I can make any of the after school sessions work... but is it possible that he's just not the right build and it's just going to be frustrating or disappointing? The kids we know who have done climbing are all great and the community seems cool, but they were all wiry little guys and he's sensitive about being the big one in a group.

I'm inclined to just send him and let him find out if he likes it—if it's something that clicks with him and he does it regularly, I assume he'll develop the skills and strengths, but he also DOES have enough going on already...

It's fun to try, and sometimes it's good practice working hard at something you're not the best in.

I'm a stocky adult who couldn't do monkey bars until doing some casual rock climbing when my kids were in a rec session. I'll never be a master climber but I'm pretty awesome at monkey bars and jungle gyms now, lol. Maybe go on a weekend with your family just to try it out. A lot of it is mental, so if you're good at puzzles, that can help you work smarter and more efficiently. When people start they use their arms too much; you want to be mostly using legs, so if it's a possibility, don't give up until you get that technique down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, my kid is 11 and interested in climbing—he loves hiking, camping and we've been doing some mountain climbing, but no rock climbing. But likes doing outdoors stuff and challenging stuff. At school they watched some show that Alex Honnold did and he was very enamored with that.

He's overall very athletic—plays soccer, basketball, rugby, ran track, baseball... will pretty much play anything I'm will to drive him to. But he's also a big guy—fit and strong, but (like me) broad shouldered and stocky. Can pick up his teammates and carry them around easily, can run up and down the field, can bike for hours, etc. but with his build, struggles with pullups and has never been able to do monkey bars.

Given his interest in climbing and curiosity, and given his general athleticism, I figured it would be cool to bring him to one of the gyms mentioned above and let him try—maybe get him a few private lessons... not sure I can make any of the after school sessions work... but is it possible that he's just not the right build and it's just going to be frustrating or disappointing? The kids we know who have done climbing are all great and the community seems cool, but they were all wiry little guys and he's sensitive about being the big one in a group.

I'm inclined to just send him and let him find out if he likes it—if it's something that clicks with him and he does it regularly, I assume he'll develop the skills and strengths, but he also DOES have enough going on already...

It's fun to try, and sometimes it's good practice working hard at something you're not the best in.

I'm a stocky adult who couldn't do monkey bars until doing some casual rock climbing when my kids were in a rec session. I'll never be a master climber but I'm pretty awesome at monkey bars and jungle gyms now, lol. Maybe go on a weekend with your family just to try it out. A lot of it is mental, so if you're good at puzzles, that can help you work smarter and more efficiently. When people start they use their arms too much; you want to be mostly using legs, so if it's a possibility, don't give up until you get that technique down.

Thanks... I'll try to find some time to take him.