13 May Father and sons
Eric Horst has been climbing since 1977; he is know across the United States for his more than 300 first ascents and his contribution to the development of New River Gorge, WV, in the late Eighties, but also for his publications on training for climbing. And lately, he has made the headlines again, or better; his two kids have made the headlines, by reaching the grade 8b+ at the age of 11 and 10. It is not always easy to be the parent of a promising young climber, and Eric tells us about his whole family’s climbing life, and about the balanced approach he is teaching to his children.
Training kids: is it something that you grew interested in once you realized your own kid’s passion for climbing, or were you studying it even before?
I’ve been studying and writing about training since the late 1980s, so of course I’ve read up on youth sports training. However I didn’t get into it in depth until the past decade as my boys got into climbing.
How did your kids start climbing?
We have a nice home gym and climbing wall, so it was natural for the boys to play on the climbing wall soon after they learned to walk. Of course, they didn’t really climb on it too seriously until around age 4 …when they understood the concept of doing a "problem." From there, they advanced quickly…doing toprope climbing outdoors at age 5… Both boys did their first (easy) sport leads the summer before their 7th birthday. The rest is history as they have both climbed extensively around the country (sport and trad), including trad ascents of Devil’s Tower, Indy Monument, and several shorter routes in Yosemite. Cameron went on to led 5.13a at age 9 and 5.14a at age 11. Jon bested that by doing 5.14a at age 10 and 7months…likely making him the youngest climber on the planet to led 5.14a!
What are the main differences in training adults and kids, as far as motivation and techniques are concerned?
It’s quite different – you cannot train a kid as a smaller version of an adult – their bodies and minds are vastly different. I’ve writing extensively on youth training. In general, the best approach is to focus on developing technique and good footwork up through ages 10 or so–no need for any strength training outside of climbing. There’s a unique skill window for neurologic development at this age, when hyper learning occurs. There’s a similar "window" of opportunity for strength/power development ages 11 – 14…but you must train the kids carefully as they enter the growth spurt years, so as to avoid injury.
How complex is it to train one’s own kids? Is there the risk of projecting one’s goals on the children?
I’m sure that could be a problem with some parents–you certainly see that play out on soccer fields and football fields, etc. In my case, the boys are very self-motivated and have learned to set and train for their own goals. Of course, I guide their training…to keep it safe and maximally effective. In fact, the biggest thing I do is make them climb LESS than they want to! As youths fall in love with climbing they often want to do it daily…and year-round. This is unhealthy and dangerous! So I limit my boys to 3 or 4 days per week, and they take a climbing offseason in the Fall when they both play tackle football for 3 months. A parent should be strong and not let the kid quite everything else so that they can climb more.
How do your kids train? Do they work together or each has his own routine and gym friends?
There aren’t any youth climbers near our house, and the nearest large commercial gym is an hour away. So outside of a few wintertime visits to this gym, we train exclusively on our home walls….my wife and I and the boys. I do have well-planned and periodized training programs for them (and me), so we follow a fairly fixed schedule that prepares us for our outdoor trips. But the boys also do 2 or 3 football workouts per week–these are lifting workouts that train the pushing muscles and legs for strength and speed. These sessions work well as antagonist training for climbing, so I believe there’s a double payoff to these workouts. We also do outdoor football drills a couple days per week–passing and catching–since Cameron is the starting QB on his team.
What would be your advice to the parents of kids with a talent for climbing?
Hire a good coach! There are good and bad coaches out there, so they must do
their research…and determine not only the track record of success of the coach, but also whether any of the coaches youth climbers have been injured (growth plate, etc)…since this is a warning sign they might be using inappropriate exercise…or overtraining the kids.
If you had to say, how much of one’s performance is due to sheer talent,
and how much to training and determination?
Genetics and mental disposition certainly play a role in performance, however proper training, discipline and desire play a huge role too! In terms of becoming an elite climber (say 5.13), I think that’s mostly a matter of proper practice, training, discipline, etc. However, become one of the very best–in any physical endeavor–demands you have the right genetic traits. Whether it’s being "the best" basketball player, sprinter, or climber, you must have everything line up right to get there….
