Sport & Age Group:​ Climbing, high school age (13-16), 8 athletes

Coaches:​ Tyler Gadigian, Danny Hickey

Date/Time​: Friday, October 11th, 6:00-8:30
Location: ​The cliffs climbing and fitness, Valhalla NY
Season​: Bouldering pre-competition Season, practice #4
Objective​: Teach and provide time to practice footwork basics and heel/toe hook techniques on
both steep and slab terrain
Groups: ​2 groups of 4, 1 captain with each group, grouped based on skill level
Equipment:
- Laser Pointer
- Chalk bag
- Clip board + printed practice plan
- Coaches climbing shoes + chalk
- Pull-up bar
- 2 Pre-set heel hook 1-move climb (45 and slab)
- 2 Pre-set toe hook 1-move climb (45 and slab)
- 2 bad foot traverses (slab + steep)

6:00-6:30 (30) Warm-up:

● Coach Roles: ​calling team start, telling captains to
start the team warm-up, watching to ensure proper
form and participation.
● 6:00-6:05 (5) Heart rate & blood flow​: 5
rounds 10 jumping jacks 5 burpees. The goal is
to elevate the heart rate and increase blood flow
● 6:05-6:15 (10) Full Body Basic Mobility:
(also announcements and objectives)
Dynamic stretching (use cue of “good posture”
to reinforce safe positioning). The goal is to
maintain blood flow and begin mobilizing necessary ranges of motion.
○ Upper Body
■ 10 I-swings
■ 10 T-swings
■ Arm circles 10 forward 10 back
○ Lower Body
■ 10 Frankensteins
■ 10 Butt kicks
■ 10 side hip swings
■ 10 heel kicks (hip flexor stretch)
● 6:15-6:30 (15) Progressing climbing specific: ​1 boulder problem per grade up to
2-grades below max. The goal is to progressively increase climbing specific intensity to
prepare for the upcoming drills.

1
6:30-6:45 (15): Foot Placement
Coach Danny takes group 1 to Slab #1 wall to
discuss the basics of foot placement on lab walls
while Coach Tyler takes group 2 to 45 wall to
discuss basics of foot placement on steep walls.
Station #1 6:30-6:37 (7.5)
Slab #1: Slab Foot Placement
cues​:
● Tips Only​ (only the very front of the
foot)
● Step down​ (press weight up, not out)
● Smooth landing​ (precise placement,
efficient speed)
● No kickstart​ (don't drag foot down the wall, only touch the hold
Station #2 6:37-6:45 (7.5)
45: steep foot placement
cues​:
● Hook in (​dig the toes behind the hold)
● Hips in (​use the feet to suck the hips into the wall)
● Smooth landing​ (precise placement, efficient speed)
● No kickstart​ (don't drag foot down the wall, only touch the hold
● Stay Engaged ​(don't let the hips swing all the way out, keep a bend in the knee)

6:45-7:00 (15): Heel Hooks

Station #1: 6:45-6:52
Station #2: 6:52-7:00
Each group of six goes to different area to meet
coach (Tyler at 45, Danny at slab). Using the
laser pointer, point out the holds used to
demonstrate a 1-move heel hook climb.
Demonstrate (or have experienced group member
demonstrate) the desired move.
cues​:
● Hips in​ (keep your hips close to the wall
with your butt engaged)
● Turn out​ (keep hip externally rotated to
avoid hamstring strain)
● Toes down​ (keep toes pointed to engage calf and increase toe scum on wall)
● Locked knee​ (imagine squeezing your knee closed and don't let it open)
Have each athlete in group of four try the move at least twice on each climb. If an athlete cannot
complete the move, offer ​modification:​ either closer holds, larger starting hold, or give power
spot.

2
7:00-7:15 (15): Toe Hooks
Station #1: 7:00-7:07
Station #2: 7:08-7:15
Each group of four to original area to meet coach
(Tyler at 45, Danny at slab). Using the laser
pointer, point out the holds used to demonstrate a
1-move toe hook climb. Demonstrate (or have
experienced group member demonstrate) the
desired move. Explain what toe hooking is (using
the top of the foot and shoe rubber on a hold),
when it is used (when there is a surface that your
foot can hook on and need to control your body
from barn dooring), and how to do it properly.
Cues:
● Hips High ​(keep your hips close to the wall with your back engaged. Focus on
lengthening up rather than pulling in)
● Toes Flexed​ (keep foot dorsiflexed and toes flexed back, might feel cramp in shin)
● Straight Leg (​keep quad flexed)
Have each athlete in group of four try the move at least three times on each climb. If an athlete
cannot complete the move, offer ​modification:​ either closer holds, larger starting hold, or give
power spot.

7:15-7:30 (15): Bad Foot Traverse

Traverse on the warm up traverse wall, just like during the
warm up, with the rule that the climbers are only allowed to
use the smallest feet they can find. Each climber goes twice
in each direction. Emphasis placed on ​quiet, precise foot
placement. ​If climbers are feeling and looking confident with
their foot placement, have them start to pay attention to their
hip placement​ in relation to the foot (​hip over toes).

7:30-7:50 (20): Slab/Steep Climbs

Each group of four gets ten minutes to try harder
climbs on any of the steep or slab walls. They
must start on either slab or steep, and after ten
minutes switch to the other. This helps to
develop versatility and the ability to adapt to
different terrain rapidly. The climbers get to
choose their own walls and climbs amongst
themselves because friday practices are “fun”
days.

3
7:50-8:00 (10) Conditioning circuit:
6 out of the 8 athletes go to a station
while the remaining 2 get water. Each
station lasts for 1 minute, then
everyone rotates one station over.
After 4 rotations, everyone takes a 1
minute water break. The exercises at
the stations are:
- Push ups
- Pull ups
- Squat jumps
- Burpees
- Leg lifts
- Bicycle crunches

8:05-8:15 (10): Cool Down/Flexibility

Static Stretching (15 seconds per stretch) with “good
posture” cue. The goal is to increase flexibility and
speed up recovery from the damage done during the
high-demand skills earlier in the practice. Cues remain
the same from the earlier stretching opportunities.
Upper Body
- Downward dog
- Cobra arch
- Back bridge
- Arm over head
Lower Body
- Split progression
- Lunge
- Elbows to heel
- Reach back quad
- Straight front leg chin to toes
- Slide down
- Straddle progression
- 5 side lifts with 5 second isometric hold on 5th
- 1 leg out no support hold
- Chest to floor straddle
- Both legs no support max depth

8:15-8:30 (15): Projecting Free Time

Friday practices are ended with time for the climbers to work on their individual projects, or use
the time to climb something they think is fun. This is essentially time that the climbers get to use
as they see fit to reward their hard work throughout that weeks practices. Coaches are available

4
to help with projects and generally join in on the fun, making sure that everyone is enjoying
themselves and being safe.