Belayed Gratification Climbing Club

When I first moved to Columbia, South Carolina, in the summer of 2005, I started frequenting the local climbing gym. I started working at the Stronghold Athletic Club in 2007. I worked at SAC for about three years but unfortunately I was let go in September of 2010 due to the previous owner's financial problems. The gym was sold to the current owner and with a fresh paint job the gym was redubbed Stronghold Gym.  I tried to reacquire my position and was met with excitement but a week later I was told the position had been filled.

Finlay Park - Columbia, South Carolina

While in hiatus from SAC I worked at United Parcel Service (UPS) for a year and then applied for the Columbia-Richland Fire Department, all the while climbing mostly outside. Upon finishing Recruit training in May of 2012 I decided to see if the new owners of Stronghold would let me volunteer to set routes. Rumor had it that there was a lack of motivation in route setting in the tower by the then current staff. I was patient and volunteered about twenty four hours as a way to get my foot in the door. Once word got out to the owners that I was doing a 'great job' I applied to become a part-time employee. Since the gym was going through a transition period, I was able to reacquire my position as a climbing instructor, route setter, and climbing coach.

Stronghold Gym Climbing Logo

I now coach the Belayed Gratification Climbing Club and the Holdstrong Climbing Team (within the climbing club). The competition team has several elite climbers, especially when considering that we don't have a state of the art facility or any outdoor climbing areas nearby. In fact several of these team members have made it to Nationals at USA Climbing, in both the American Boulder Series (ABS) and the Sport Climbing Series (SCS).

The competition team recently started the 2012-2013 ABS season. The team attended a preseason competition at Active Climbing in Athens, Georgia and came home with a good amount of experience under their belts. This past weekend (Sept. 8th and 9th) I was unable to attend a competition at Wall Crawler Rock Club in Atlanta, Georgia but several of my students placed well in their season opener. 

When I coached the team previously we had age criteria that had to be met, seven years old and up and under eighteen. I did away with the criteria because some of the best climbers are younger and because USA Climbing allows any age level to compete and they also host a Collegiate Climbing Series (CCS) which allows anybody attending college to compete at the Collegiate Competitions.  

My goal is to nurture a climbing community that has folks from all walks of life. When the adults I invite to club witness the younger climbers crushing, it motivates them to work hard. Inspiration and motivation work both ways so I invite high level climbers as guests to motivate my younger crowd as well.

I want club members to not only be good at climbing indoors and at competitions but I also stress the importance of knowing how to climb outside... safely. A thirteen year old student of mine is actually one of my favorite climbing partners. This past summer he was my go to climbing partner. He was on summer vacation and because of his age didn't work. I knew I could count on him because I had coached him during my previous stint as coach for SAC. A simple call to his mother or father and they would give him to me for the day. He and I had a lot of adventures this summer and we both learned a lot together. I feel that his hard work is paying off. He placed first at the Wall Crawler Competition in his age group and he has only been climbing about a year and a half. His motivation blows me away. Every exercise I have the Club do he finishes first and does so with no complaining.


For some of the Competition Team members it has been a hard transition to go from their old climbing coach to me because we have very different styles of teaching. I stress technique, personal strengths, power endurance, and most important efficiency. Some of the team members are used to relying on strength, power, and spoon fed beta that their previous coach was known for. I want well rounded climbers who know how to think for themselves, read routes, down climb, and have endurance to spare. Most of these competition team members climb in both the ABS and SCS which require different skill sets that tend to be opposing but if done correctly can be very complimentary.

Because climbing outside is important, I have already given more outdoor climbing opportunities to the  climbing club and competition team members than they received all of their last season in the two months I've been coaching. I don't get paid extra for the outdoor climbing trips but I don't do it for the money, otherwise I wouldn't be working at the gym period. I love to pass on the gift of climbing outside with no expectations of monetary gain. Climbing outside was taught to me in the same manner.

I've been having fun teaching the hobby that I love and I hope to get better as a coach and instructor. I also hope that our small climbing gym in the middle of the sandhills can stay open for more generations of climbers to come. It's an oldie and a woody. Until next climb!