CWA Blog Archive-A Common Misconception Of Coaching

A Common Misconception Of Coaching

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This article debunks a pervasive myth that discourages capable people from coaching youth climbing: the belief that you have to be a strong climber to coach. Drawing on nearly a decade of coaching and hiring coaches, the author reports a very common refrain when feeling out candidates: I'm not strong enough. As the sport's popularity grows, facilities struggle to supply enough instructors and mentors, and this misconception actively shrinks the pool. The author's argument is empirical and direct: prior experience, skill, and climbing strength aren't as critical to good coaching as we might think. While some teams are lucky enough to have a battery of pre-qualified coaches, most must actively pursue prospects they believe could fit. There's inevitable trial and error, not everyone suspected to be capable hits the mark, but a personable, direct approach lets gyms debunk the myth that you need to be a V13 climber to instruct the next generation. The core problem is self-selection: many potential applicants never even apply because they believe they're unqualified. The interest is there, and crucially, the author argues interest goes a long way toward making a good coach, but the misconception stops people from ever entertaining the idea. By initiating the conversation, actively reaching out to promising prospects rather than waiting for applications, gyms can recruit capable coaches who would otherwise never step forward. The throughline is that climbing ability and coaching ability are different things, and conflating them costs gyms good coaches. The people who'd make excellent mentors, patient, communicative, genuinely interested in developing kids, often assume they're disqualified by not being elite climbers, so they never apply. The solution is proactive recruitment: initiate the conversation, tell promising people you see their potential, and debunk the strength myth directly. For gyms scrambling to staff growing youth programs, the article reframes coach recruitment around interest and interpersonal fit rather than climbing grade.

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This piece debunks the myth that you must be a strong climber to coach youth. Drawing on a decade of hiring, the author argues interest and interpersonal fit matter more than climbing grade, yet many capable people never apply, believing they're unqualified. The fix: proactively recruit and debunk the strength misconception directly.