Canadian Youth Climbing Coaches
The Banff Centre Banff, AB, Canada

Be sure to take a look at a new addition to climbing research by Nani at: http://theses.ucalgary.ca//ucalgary_2013_Woollings_Kaikana

Dave MacLeod going through a coaching session with the conference participants.

Another GREAT Climbing and Coaching Conference in Banff earlier in October. Many thanks to all the presenters and participants who traveled from close and afar to share their passion about climbing and coaching!

This is an awesome summary of how sleep and recovery should be taken at each stage of the Long-Term Athletic Development model. It was produced by Dr. Charles Samuels who presented at our coaching conference last year and who will hopefully be back again this year. I can almost guarantee, if you look at all your athletes, that barely any of them meet the recommended amount of hours for sleep each night... http://canadiansportforlife.ca//resou/Sleep_Recovery_0.pdf

It's been too long since we added anything to this! Hope we can do better in the future... Thought I would put this up to see what everyone thought about this young phenom in the US. The video is really interesting, and as climbing starts moving towards the development of its Long-Term Athletic Development plan as required by Sport Canada, questions on the ages of competitors and what they should be doing for training at young ages will certainly come up. Would love to here y...our your thoughts! http://www.outsideonline.com//ashima-shiraishi-interview.h

There is a lot of great material out there on mental training and imagery/visualisation exercises (see Oct. 12 post). Here a document on imagery to help get you and your team started! http://www.scottmharrison.com/downloads/Imagery.pdf

Looking for some ideas for strengthening the core while have some fun? Take a look at these sample explanations for core strength exercises using bosu balls, stability balls, and resistance bands. http://www.scottmharrison.com/dow/CoreStrengthExercises.pdf

Do you take a multifaceted approach to coaching? This was the theme of our 2009 conference. Check out this pdf of the brainstorming session that kicked off that year's event. http://www.scottmharrison.com//CoachingPerformanceCategori

Here is a link to Suspension Training exercises that may help you come up with appropriate exercises for your climbers. http://www.scottmharrison.com/downlo/SuspensionTraining.pdf

Is anyone interested in pursuing a graduate degree in Exercise Science? For more information to study under the supervision of Dr. Phil Watts (Northern Michigan University), presenter at the 2011 conference, click on this link: http://www.scottmharrison.com/dow/ExerciseScienceMaster.pdf

Great to meet all the Coaches who attended the 2011 conference! Here is a link to a bibliography on Mental Training. I haven't updated it recently but feel free to share any other relevant resources. http://www.scottmharrison.com/dow/BibliogMentalTraining.doc

2011 Banff Climbing Conference Early registration passed yesterday with 18 coaches already registered - we need more to make this a success! Register today and please spread the word!

Interesting article on climbers who get strong at a young age - worth a read! http://www.outsideonline.com//why-are-kids-so-good-at-clim