Youth Climbing

Let us take a step back and look to when you first climbed.  Maybe you started when you were a kid or perhaps by taking your own kids to a rock-climbing gym.

The excitement in kids faces when they walk into a rock-climbing gym for the first time and see other people climbing, and the big walls with all the different type of rock holds is refreshing. A kids first experience in a rock-climbing gym can make the difference of wanting to go again and again.

 When a kid gets to go to a rock-climbing gym, most parents want to find the small walls in order to get used to it and then to understand the auto belays.  There is a learning curve, because the majority will be climbing for the very first time at a gym. 

It is very important that kids get encouragement from their parents or guardians.  Positive reinforcement helps newcomer to try harder specifically in those scarier times on higher walls that they’ve never done before.

 At the right gyms the staff and other members/people climbing are encouraging to the kids, which helps, because when kids feel the positivity and encouraging environment they’ll want to come back and do it again. 

After climbing for the first time or a couple times thereafter, kids will have the opportunity to join programs which can range from recreational to competition teams. 

What’s awesome is that if they decide to join a recreational team there’s no experience needed when it comes to climbing. They also get to learn every week about climbing.  It also helps to be with other kids their age, in order to build friendships while having fun on the walls.

 After working hard and learning more about climbing at the rec level, trying out and making the competition team at your local gym is the next step.  That is where kids get to be pushed more, as well as travel to other gyms and compete against others in their age group. 

At the end of the day youth climbing is so important not only for the physical fitness aspect but also the social aspect. I highly recommend taking your kid or kids to your local climbing gym for a day of climbing fun.  From there, the sky is the limit!