Climbing Professionals
Commitment & Risk Training
Participants in Warrior’s Way programming went from an average of 41% confidence to 84% confidence when answering the following prompt: “I feel confident falling with proper technique and my ability to reduce the risk of injury.”
We see a problem in the climbing culture and industry around risk management and coaching. Risk tends to be mismanaged due to lack of experience with falling. Coaching tends to move clients into the panic zone where they can become traumatized.
Our solution to these problems comes from the three decades of teaching mental training in our flagship course: Falling & Commitment. This course addresses both of these problems. In a very literal sense, it addresses the down direction (falling) and the up direction (commitment) so risks are navigated effectively, empowering both coaches and climbers to excel.
This course is for coaches, instructors, outdoor guides, gym management, and gym staff.
Belaying prompt: “I feel confident as a belayer to give a cushioned, proficient catch to my climber.”
- Net score before = 61/105 (58%)
- Net score after = 96/105 (91%)
- 33% increase in overall confidence of belaying ability
Participants gave themselves a failing grade of 58% to give their climber a cushioned, proficient catch before taking our falling clinic. Their confidence in their belaying ability rose to an A- (91%) post clinic.
Risk Assessment prompt: “I feel confident in making appropriate decisions for risks I choose to take.”
- Before 50/105 (48%)
- After 89/105 (85%)
- 37% increase in overall confidence for risk decisions
Climbers throughout the United States lack confidence in their own ability to make appropriate decisions for the risks they choose to take. Participants in the Falling & Commitment clinic self-assessed their own ability to make appropriate risk assessments. Before the clinic, it was at 48% confidence. After the clinic it rose to 85% confidence. We MUST shift personal responsibility in our sport for obvious reasons. If we don’t we will continue to see too many injuries and deaths both indoors as well as outdoors.
Part 1: Risk Management through an understanding of falling and decision-making
The falling portion of this material addresses risk management and decision-making. It teaches climbing professionals why we teach falling and exactly how we teach it.
Why we teach it points to the importance of experiencing the consequences of our risk decisions.
The incremental approach we use, with a focus on learning falling as a skill, and defining appropriate risks based on that experience, allows climbing professionals to guide the risk decision process for their clients.
That’s important for your organization for diminishing accidents and liability, while allowing your clients to take risks that are appropriate for them.
You’ll learn how to integrate this training into your organization systems, such as lead climbing instruction or belay testing.
Additionally, youth and adult coaches will learn how to effectively coach their athletes to optimize performance and increase longevity in the sport.
Part 2: Coaching through an understanding of commitment to learning
The commitment portion of this material teaches climbers how to value stressful experiences as learning opportunities.
It teaches climbing professionals how to coach clients into their resilient zones where they can maximize their learning and reduce the risk of injury.
They learn how to create appropriate learning situations for clients with just the right amount of stress.
Most importantly, climbing professionals will learn how to engage with appropriate stress in their own indoor and outdoor climbing. In doing so, they can articulate these concepts to their athletes effectively, because they’re using the concepts from The Warrior’s Way® in their own, personal climbing.
This shift in how they coach completely changes how they coach their clients.
They use goals as a direction to move toward and coach their clients based on where each individual is at. Athletes will achieve greater learning outcomes and diminished injuries and trauma.
The data we’ve collected shows greater client experience, which translates to client retention and a longer career in our wonderful sport.
One of the most important things participants will gain from this training is a shared language for risk management and coaching. A shared language is important for developing cohesion in your team so they can support each other, as they support your clients.
Levels We Offer
Level 1: In-person clinic only
Level 2: In-person clinic, plus 6 months of ongoing staff development
Level 3: In person clinic, 6 months of ongoing staff development, plus online resources