Training Day 6

Our scheduled time at the gym today was from 11:00-1:00 so everyone got to sleep in a little later this morning. The day started out really cool and cloudy but was warm and sunny by noon. The speed climbers had the speed wall today for 2 hours. They are getting so fast! Many posted their best personal times on the 15 meter speed wall today. John Brosler ran a 7.05. (crazy fast!) Michael Retoff was given recognition for being the most consistent on the speed wall throughout training. Overall all have improved with mental preparation, establishing a routine and consistency on the wall. Coaches expect the speed climbers will do even better when they are in their competition mode.

Those competing in sport continued working on the different stations that the coaches set up for them. Everyone is giving it their all these last few days of training. The coaches are pleased with their increased endurance, power and strength. It appears that all of the climbers, both speed and sport, have become acclimated to the climate here. The coaches have been stressing  the importance of remembering to focus on their breathing when they are climbing as it helps them to stay relaxed both physically and mentally and not become pumped as quickly.

Lunch was picnic style by the gym again today. It was catered by "The Red Barn Deli and Market" providing sandwich trays (homemade bread, locally made cheese, fresh veggies and meat), meat and cheese trays and fresh fruit trays. The Red Barn Deli is just about 10 minutes from the gym. I would highly recommend parents check it out when you are here for the competition. The Canadian Team had speed practice immediately after our team. Several of our team members watched the first part of their practice after lunch. The news media presence is growing daily at the gym. Michaela and Josh were both interviewed by local television media today.

After lunch the climbers all wanted to go back to the dorm for some down time. Today was the third day in a row of climbing. So, after our daily stop at Safeway we headed back to the dorms. Several people took the opportunity to do laundry. A big group played ultimate Frisbee. Our climbers played the Canadian Team in a game of Ultimate Frisbee last night, sadly our team lost. However they want it to be known that they only had 14 players and the Canadian Team had 26 players. I think a rematch is probably in the works. One strategy being discussed is to have all 49 of our team show up to play against their 26.

The dorm building we are staying in is completely ours. This is a GOOD THING as the athletes have completely taken over. There is a large common room in the basement where several watch movies every night. The dorm pranks and tricks have started, all in good fun. I am little surprised it took a week before they began.

Tonight we are going on A Ghostly Tour of Victoria. It is an hour and a half walking tour of the reported haunted places of Victoria.  The Canadian Team went recently and highly recommended it. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

REMINDER: There will be a parent meeting here at the University of Victoria on Wednesday night from 5:30 -6:15 for those who are in town and want to attend. We will meet in the courtyard next to the dorm. The address is :

          3800 Finnerty 

          Building and Room Number SS 2013

          University of Victoria

          Craigdarroch Office Building

          Parking Lot #5, off Sinclair Road

          Victoria, B.C.

          V8P 5C2
Please be aware that you need to pay for parking. There is a kiosk in the lot where you can pay.

We said goodbye to Chloe Masseant today as she was just here for training camp. For those of you who do not personally know Chloe she is a youth C climber from Oklahoma City. She quickly became a favorite with the athletes and staff. If there was any activity going on you could bet that Chloe would be part of it. She initially started camp not feeling very comfortable with lead climbing but quickly became very efficient and confident with it. I have a feeling that this will not be Chloe's last world training camp and more than likely she will be competing for the USA team one day.

We welcomed Krista Dorsten, USA Climbing director of membership and marketing camp today. So glad to have her here for the remainder of camp and the competition.

Last but not least we all want to wish Coach Chelsea a very Happy Birthday! Thanks for spending your birthday with the team.

Day 5 of Training

• Tonight I asked Shane Messer to give me some input for the blog. He went above and beyond and wrote an entire post for us. Hope you enjoy his insight and perspective as a coach.

  

                             
                               Shane with speed climbers Thomas Petzel and John Brosler
  

  Hello parents, climbers, and followers. My name is Shane Messer and I am one of the coaches on staff here assisting with the preparations of the US climbing team for the Youth World Championship in 5 days. I arrived to Victoria, BC yesterday psyched and ready to work. I arrived late because I recently had a baby boy and the staff at USA Climbing was gracious enough to let me join the kids a little later in the week so that I could spend a little time with my wife and newly born son. So I'd like to say thank you to USA Climbing for that.

  Having missed the opportunity to help the kids climb on the sport wall, the time that I have spent with the climbers has been spent in the small bouldering area. The bouldering area at the gym is small and a little outdated compared to their new addition to the climbing area (the wall that the competition will be held on). However what it lacks in size, it makes up for in the variety of angles that it has. Its got everything from a steep ramp to a slab and from about 20 degrees to 50 degrees. I don't want to be to specific about what we have been doing for training but I can give you a rough idea. We have had multiple stations that the climbers rotate to. The stations have consisted of power, power endurance, and endurance. Each one of these climbers has been working so hard that it gives me goosebumps to think about it. At each station we have seen countless efforts to succeed and to push one hold farther. I literally can't think of one slacker kid that's a part of this camp. It's amazing!

  Each night we have had a team meeting after our post climbing activity and before dinner. The meetings I feel are one of the most important parts of the training day. This is our one opportunity as coaches to help the kids understand what they can do to better them as a united organization. I guess I would call it group constructive criticism. Claudiu speaks first and talks about what he see's as a head coach then passes the speaking on to the individual station coaches to allow us to talk about what was positive and what was negative at each station. Of all the meetings I have been to so far, I can say that there is a lot more positive than negative going out to the climbers. Mainly because the whole team is pushing themselves as far as they can and trying to make the best out of each attempt.

  One last thing I'd like to share my opinion about is the level of coaching and medical care I have seen here at this camp. This year instead of the normal head coach and 3 assistants, USA Climbing sent 1 head coach, 2 assistant coaches, 3 apprentice coaches, and 1 medical personnel. I have worked with Claudiu and Chelsea at past events but this is my first time working with Dave, Alex, Meghan, and Mark. So far this is one of the most involved coaching staffs I have seen yet. They are really on top of their game providing accurate and positive feedback to the climbers. I feel like each day every climber learns something from these coaches. These are some of the best coaches in the nation and hopefully all of the feedback they are giving to the climbers will show itself this weekend. This is also the first time we have had a medical staff at this event. Mark (who's birthday is today) has been amazing. He's super easy to work with and only wants the best for the climbers. He is constantly checking with the kids to make sure everyone is feeling good. I think everyone is really warming up to the idea of having a medical person on staff and I hope that Mark continues to participate in USA climbing events for years to come.

  Everyone please make sure to thank Kim for her constant updating. She has been working pretty hard to capture the moments when we are working the hardest and when we are having the most fun (which is pretty much the whole time). So I'd like to say thank you to her for being the best parent liaison we have ever had! THANK YOU!!!!!

  I look forward to seeing everyone here in a few days!!!! See you soon!

  
  

  Shane Messer

  
  

  P.S The originally planned activities for the afternoon had to be switched to plan B secondary to a major road construction/repair on the highway that goes from the dorm to the gym, The group consensus was to go back to the beach. When we arrived there was a festival going on. They had the most amazing sand sculptures. The time at the beach was pretty chill for all.

  Kim

  

  
  

  
  

Training Day 4

The day started out rainy and cool but by afternoon was warm and sunny.  We met the route setters for the competition as we were unloading the vans at the gym  this morning. They were amazed at the size of our team, jokingly asking if we added new categories because we have so many climbers. The Russian Team and Slovakian Team were also at the gym training today. Rita impressed us all with her ability to fluently speak Russian. She has made a strong connection with the Russian team since the world competition last year helping to connect the youth climbers of the world a little more. Today's training took a different format as the lead wall is closed so the route setters can set for the competition.The kids climbed in the bouldering area of the gym from 10:00 - 2:00 today. By the time lunch came they were all super hungry.

When we had finished lunch we loaded up in the vans and headed to a new park for afternoon activities. In addition to basketball there was soccer, Frisbee and climber style gymnastics on the playground structures. I have to say these guys were impressive with how fast they could pick up skills on the "parallel bars" and the "high bar". Margo and Coach Dave , both former gymnasts, provided coaching and demonstration of various stunts. The strength our climbers have becomes even more apparent when you see them master other sport maneuvers so easily.

The group voted to go to a local fruit market today instead of our usual run to Safeway. The employees there commented that they had never seen so many people come in at once. I am sure there sales for the afternoon went up significantly with our visit. For those of you coming up for the comp there are many fresh fruit and vegetable markets and farms where you can pick your own produce around Victoria.

Back at the dorms we had team meeting, dinner and then a couple of hours of free time. Dr. Mark provided post workout care to those with minor muscle strains and soreness. More of the climbers are seeking out his services as they become aware of what he has to offer them. Having a dedicated medical staff available to our team is invaluable.

The Canadian Climbing Team checked into the dorms today. Their coach suggested the teams have a soccer or Frisbee game against each other. Hopefully both of the teams schedules will have time for this.

 Shane Messer joined the team today. We are so glad he is still able to be here and help coach the team after the arrival of his first child Eli. Congratulations to Shane and Melanie!

Tomorrow's schedule will be much like today's. The coaches have some new and fun team building activities on the agenda for tomorrow. Check back tomorrow to hear all about it :-)

                                                                        REST DAY

Yesterday was the team's first rest day.  Everyone got to sleep in late, which was much needed and appreciated. First stop of the day was The Royal British Columbia Museum. The museum has many awesome exhibits. If you have time when you are in Victoria it is definitely worth checking out. After the museum we all went across the street to The Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. The restaurant did a great job of serving the group of 49 (we did have reservations, thanks to Chelsea for setting this up).  After lunch we returned to the dorm so everyone could change and get ready to go the beach.

The beach had a park and tennis courts right by it. The kids found a variety of ways to entertain themselves. There were handstand contests, frisbee, burying others in the sand, swinging, trying to master "The Mexican Stick Trick" that Josh introduced everyone to, exploring the beach and posing to see who could look the coolest in a pair of USA sunglasses. Joe, Claire and Hannah spotted a seal out in the water. Several waded in the water but there was no swimming since there were no lifeguards on duty. (Plus the water was really chilly).

After the beach we returned to the dorm for team meeting followed by dinner. After dinner the sport climbers had another meeting lead by Dave to go over further IFSC rules and scoring. Understanding these will help our climbers score those extra critical points in the competition.

Shout out to Coach Stan for leading our speed climbers the last few days. Stan left last night but will be back for the comp next week. Tomorrow Shane Messer joins the group of coaches! The team is looking stronger everyday and are so psyched for the competition next week.

Note to parents: WIFI has been very sketchy at the dorm the last couple of days. I know many of the kids were trying to contact home last night but having trouble. Wifi was working this morning.

Training Camp: Day 3

Day 3 of training got off to an early start. We were on the road to the gym by 7:45. Claudiu runs a tight schedule. It is impressive how well he can pull 50 people together to be at the designated meeting place on time!

Sport climbers had an awesome day. Coaches were impressed with how much more relaxed and determined they all climbed. They onsighted a few routes the first part of the morning. The coaches complimented them on improvements in breathing, pace and rhythm, clipping, reading the route both during preview and while climbing and resting on good holds. By the end of the training session today each climber had been on every route currently set on the wall. They all know this wall well which is expected to give them an edge over their competitors, with both beta and confidence.

Speed climbers had their best day of training thus far. Each one of them had more consistent runs. Consistency has been the number one goal with both Stan and Claudiu. Stan is pleased with how hard everyone has worked including fighting through some tough mental challenges. Guys were consistently running in the 8-10 second range and the girls in the 10-12 range. All the speed climbers had fewer falls on the speed wall, improved beta and fierce determination along with strong competitive drive in training today. Training speed for 4-5 hrs straight takes so much energy. They never complained about fatigue and kept a positive attitude throughout these last 3 days of training.

Lunch was picnic style again at the wall. After lunch the coaches and several climbers played basketball. Alex Fritz won the game of PIG (HORSE was too long for the number of players). A big group of climbers played another game of EXTREME (yes, extreme - ultimate is not descriptive enough) FRISBEE on the field in front of the wall. The bees didn't even deter these guys. A few bee stings did not interrupt the game.

The afternoon ended with a trip to Safeway where everyone stocked up on drinks and snacks.  Back to the dorms for debriefing followed by dinner. The sport climbers had another meeting after dinner to review IFSC rules on the simplified scoring system and how they are allowed to set routes with Dave and the rest of the coaches followed by Guitar Hero, playing cards, practicing dance moves and general shenanigans.  Dr. Mark Pitcher finishes the night off by working on the kids minor aches and pains from the previous training session, preparing them for the days to come!

New skill acquisition for the day for climbers and coaches was picking the door locks to the rooms as the university staff locked several of us out of our rooms!

                                           Brandon's Birthday Party, cupcake wars included.

Training Camp: Day 2

Day 2 of training camp was intense. Josh Levin and Joe Gifford joined the group today having just returned from competing at the World Games in Columbia last week. Several began the day running with Coach Meghan before breakfast. We got an earlier start today and arrived at the gym by 8:30. All the climbers literally walked in looking confident and determined this morning.

Those climbing sport had much harder routes today, think semi-finals day at Divisionals or Nationals and that's what it was like. They all had mock comps again for the first 3 routes. The time limit on today's routes was 8 minutes. There were several flashes in the group. The coaches goal was to have them more familiar with the gym overall and climb on all sections of the wall. Believe me when I tell you this is no small feat. By the end of the day I think all would agree the goal was met.

The speed climbers had a good day of training. Each of them were faster than yesterday. Coach Stan is doing a great job motivating them while continually pushing them harder in the most laid back manner. The guys posted several times in the 7-8 second range. Stan says he is pretty sure John and Michael would have had sub 7 second times had the timer worked correctly on on a couple of their runs. The girls ran faster too. Many of the girls are consistently getting 11's and 12's, with all speed climbers consistently setting new personal records. The goal for today in speed was to for them to be more intense and give it all they had for 4 runs. At the end of the speed session, Stan split the kids into two teams, "Team USA" and "Team Russia", making a competition between the two groups. Naturally, Team Russia won!

I have to tell you that we have such a strong team of coaches this year. Meghan runs with them, coaches all day, then is out playing ultimate frisbee before and after dinner with several of the climbers. Claudiu is leading the coaches and climbers keeping everyone focused and following the plan for the day while still giving feedback to the kids individually. Dave provides feedback, guiding on utilizing the allotted time on the route efficiently and provides great insight to the IFSC rules. Alex gives the climbers a unique prospective for preparing for the upcoming competition having just transitioned from a competitor at last years WYC to a coach this year. ( And may I add doing an awesome job!) Stan greets us each morning with new USA apparel; yesterday he wore American flag shoes and today he sported American flag shorts. He has helped all the kids climbing speed to get FASTER! And last but certainly not least Chelsea has manages arranging delicious meals for 50, prepares schedules, plans our free day activities just to name a few and still coaches the kids. When you see these guys at the competition please give them a BIG THANK YOU. They put in long days, starting at 7:00 a.m. or earlier and ending after 10:00 p.m. before they have a minute of free time to themselves.

AND we all want to end the day by wishing Brandon Lieuw  a Happy 15th Birthday. We celebrated with cupcakes for all.

Training Camp: Day 1

TRAINING DAY 1

The day started early with some of the kids running at 7:00 with Coach Meghan. Breakfast in the dinning hall offered a big variety of menu choices. Everyone was loaded up in their assigned vans and  off to The Boulders Climbing Gym. After fighting traffic delays and navigating our way to the gym we arrived around 9:00. This gym is amazing! A huge wall literally surrounded by a sports field in the front, a field of giant sunflowers on one side and a field of corn on the other side. The gym had the routes up that were used at the Canadian National Championship. The kids had a mock comp, on-sighting 3 routes each. The speed climbers had several runs on the 15 meter speed wall, posting some impressive times in the 8-9 second range for the guys and the 10-11 second range for the girls. Many kids were setting unofficial personal records right off the bat! The new larger Speed holds surprised many of the kids, but they adjusted quickly. The coaches were really pleased with how hard everyone climbed and said overall it was a "great first day".  It was a beautiful day with clear skies and plenty of sunshine. In fact it was a little warm today.

Lunch was catered by a local restaurant, Adriana's The Whole Enchilada. The people working there were incredibly friendly. On short notice they made 48 burritos, offering veggie - chicken-beef options, freshly made salsa and tortilla chips. The food was amazing. We ate lunch on a shaded patio next to the wall. These athletes are so impressive. After climbing from 9:00-2:00 they still had the energy to play ultimate frisbee after lunch!

Chelsea and I took Kayla and Michaela to the airport in hopes of recovering their lost luggage. Kayla's had already been delivered to the dorm and we are crossing our fingers that Michaela's arrives tonight. The rest of the coaches and staff took the rest of the group to Super Wal-Mart to buy snacks and other needed items.

Back to the dorms in time for a quick debriefing with the coaches followed by dinner. After dinner the kids had free time. Video games, more ultimate frisbee, running and just hanging out were activities of the evening.

Big "Thank You" to Dr. Mark Pitcher who helped with skinned knees and sore shoulders during practice and this evening.  No serious injuries, just typical climber aches and pains. Be ASSURED nothing short of a life threatening injury is going to stop our climbers!

Believe me when I say our team looks strong, fast and motivated. Training camp is off to a great start and is definitely going to be a huge benefit to each of our climbers. Be ready to be impressed and see the best USA Climbing Team we have ever had at the competition!

The comp wall

Climbers at your marks!

Speed laps and onsight practice!