Competitive youth climbing is a growing sport. With greater international attention on climbing, chasing dreams of climbing competitively in college or going pro is becoming a reality for more young people. But, the journey to the biggest stages in the world all starts somewhere closer to home, like a youth competitive climbing team at your local gym.
Even if the love of climbing ends with childhood, there is much to gain from participating in a youth competitive climbing program.
Rock climbing is an expensive sport. Youth climbing teams are no exception, with monthly membership fees quickly reaching $300 per kid. If you invest, it’s worth knowing what your child will get in return. As a formative time in their lives, youth competitive climbing must bring valuable benefits. Sports that have been around for hundreds of years have a plethora of evidence in their favor (i.e., soccer, football, baseball, running). As a niche sport, the benefits of rock climbing are only now being documented. Keep reading to uncover seven benefits of youth competitive climbing to help give insight into your investment in your child.
7 Benefits of Youth Competitive Climbing
1. Discipline
Competitive youth programs have multiple weekly practices, each with a structured workout. Showing up to each practice and focusing on the workout, even on the days they aren’t motivated, builds discipline. The competitive team environment will motivate them to endure discomfort and push their physical and mental limits when their mind and bodies tell them to give up.
Climbing is also an inherently dangerous sport. There is time for fun and games during practices. Still, coaches will enforce and prioritize safety. Fun-loving, rule-bending kids will learn the discipline to switch between fun and focus as situations demand.
2. Intrinsic Motivation
Climbing is an individual sport. To succeed, the climber must want to climb, set big goals, and put maximum effort into training and competitions. Participating on a youth team can provide an initial boost of external motivation. Yet, over time, the climber will develop a strong foundation of intrinsic motivation paired with the discipline to show up and give their best effort consistently.
3. Patience
Beginner climbers tend to advance through the lower climbing grades quickly but eventually reach a plateau. Breaking through to the next level becomes more challenging as the difference between 5.11 and 5.12 is more incremental than between 5.8 and 5.10. At higher levels, breaking through to the next grade becomes the equivalent of shaving hundredths of a second off a 400m or 800m race. When faced with a plateau, climbers must practice patience and focus on becoming stronger and smarter, regardless of the results. Youth climbers must rely on their discipline and intrinsic motivation to develop their patience muscles.
4. Community
Participating in a youth competitive climbing program provides a community for climbers and their parents. Many youth climbers naturally form strong bonds with teammates after spending hours together each week, challenging themselves and motivating each other at practices and competitions. Parents often create climbing groups as they pass the practice time (sometimes climbing gyms offer membership perks for parents of competitive youth climbers) or connect over carpools and long weekends of competition.
5. Mental and Physical Strength
Rock climbing at the competitive level increases mental and physical strength. The child undergoes intense physical training at each practice to strengthen all the muscles necessary to complete challenging competition climbs. Alongside building physical strength, coaches work to improve their climbers’ mental game. Climbing is as mental as it is physical, demanding quick problem-solving, confidence, and the ability to remain calm in high-stakes situations.
6. Fear Management
Rock climbing is an inherently dangerous sport that can invoke natural fear reactions. Whether it’s a fear of heights, a fear of falling, or both, rock climbers share the experience of feeling fearful while climbing. On a youth competitive climbing team, climbers work with their coaches to overcome or learn to manage those fears. Learning to work through fear while actively climbing can be applied to other situations in life in which calming your fear ensures your safety and success.
7. Fun
You want your kids to have fun and enjoy the activities you pay (often hefty sums) for them to do. Rock climbing is a fun sport that illuminates the inner child in everyone. It’s dynamic, with each climb bringing new challenges and problems. It can take your child on national and international travels, exposing them to the world’s beauty. Whether it’s indoor competitions or outdoor team bonding trips, fun is integral to the foundation of youth competitive climbing.
Youth competitive climbing brings incredible benefits to a child’s formative years. They’ll develop friendships and skill sets that can last long after they’ve entered adulthood or hung up their climbing shoes. With the sport’s growth, more and more climbing gyms are offering competitive programs. If any of the above would benefit your child, it may be worth inquiring about tryouts
with your local climbing facility. For youth climbers (current or former), parents of youth climbers, or coaches reading this, feel free to share the most significant benefit you believe youth competitive climbing has to offer below!