The Bloc Climbing & Fitness hosted our second competition of our still young season. This was the first test of our athlete's onsight skills, and a good opportunity to see what we need to address before our next comp.
As opposed to last comp's redpoint format, this version requires much more mental discipline. Each athlete has 6 boulders to climb, none of which they have seen before, and they have 4 minutes per boulder to do their best on each one. The physical skill required is obvious, but the problem solving and positive self-talk that an athlete must maintain is much harder to train for. It is so easy for someone to slip down a dark path of negativity if they don't feel like they performed well on a particular boulder. One MUST reset and focus on the next task at hand after each climb. I have a blast coaching these skills because I don't think I need to convince anyone of the life lessons at play here!
As a team we looked great. I look forward to continuing the training, and our next test will be in two weeks at AZ on the Rocks. Check out results HERE and enjoy the photos courtesy of Sarah P.
