TEAM SOLO
ELITE YOUTH TEAM
I am excited to announce a new branch of my coaching career: Team Solo: a training program comprised of four cycles over 24 weeks for young climbers. I am not necessarily looking for the top-performers, but for individuals who strive towards their personal best—both at practice and USAC comps.
Members of Team Solo will be hands-on with their goals and proactive about communication. Together, athletes and I will collaborate on templates provided by me for each training cycle. Templates and Google Docs will be incorporated into athlete’s profiles, which will be maintained and updated methodically throughout the season. Each practice will be met with a clear goal and vision.
The most important aspect of Team Solo is having athletes who are supportive of one another, who share in one another’s successes. Members are honest, understanding, and motivated. However, motivation does not mean losing sleep and enduring unbearable stress in efforts to balance climbing, homework, and chores. I want athletes to feel comfortable missing practice if they need to put self-care first.
At most, there will only be two to three athletes from each eight gender-age categories on Team Solo This limitation is set to reduce internal competition among teammates which will help the athlete focus on their training needs.
I will not be taking on 1st year C or D climbers. Given the requirements of Team Solo athletes (i.e. directing their own training program), I believe pre-teen climbers would struggle in meeting expectations.
My goal is to connect with all athletes through each step of the 24-week program, and vice versa (athletes are expected to connect with me, as well).
Evaluations will take place twice per season, and will be designed to formulate game plans for success. We will review comp videos and discuss levels of progress.
If I had to sum up the salient characteristics of Team Solo, they would be; the importance of positive/driven attitudes over performance, the fostering of a supportive environment, the customized training program created by athletes, and developmental growth of each athlete.
Looking forward to exploring this new team structure with all who are involved. Tryouts are planed for the evening of August 24th. Please email with questions or to sign up for tryouts at justen@climbingsensei.com
Justen Sjong
ANNOUNCEMENT LETTER
Monday. 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Tuesday 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Wednesday Rest Day
Thursday 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Friday Light optional Practice
Saturday Possible Captains Practice
Sunday Rest Day
Athletes are encouraged to arrive early for warming up at 4:30.
WEEKLY PRACTICE
Please print the PDF below and post for reference each week.
SCS SEASON CALENDAR
The goal is to keep everyone on task and provide steady feedback.
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Weekly Reflection
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Practice Dates & Times
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Weekly Expectations
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Competition Details
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Needed Google Forms
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Any Topics of Discussion
WEEKLY EMAILS
PROGRAM COST
Pricing will be structured by how many athletes are in the program for the current season.
All athletes have a goal that is set and tracked by a coach. We have baseline achievements then over time you will reach a point where you can make your own with coaches approval. Athlete & coach set a start date for these initial goals and you can possibly do more then one at a time. After you reach a goal we will stop tracking these specific goals. If coaches start to see a decrease you will be asked to repeat that Baseline Goal.
HOW WE DO THINGS...
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Intro & End of Day connection 80% 8 of 10 practices
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Set a RPE # 80% 8 of 10 practices
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Complete the Daily Routine 90% 9 of 10 practices
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Warm Up like a Pro 70% 7 of 10 practices
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Mindfulness Practice 70% 7 of 10 practices
BASELINE GOALS
Your job is to be approachable and take the high road plus YOU should take the 1st step forward. Especially to the young motivated youth because one of your jobs as a top level athlete is to inspire the next generation of climbers.
We introduce and/or acknowledge others who we know or see regularly in our training environment.
DETAILS
You should be expressing appreciation to them and that they matter! Additionally a huge plus if you can share something positive about someone else, can you be detailed about what you saw or felt from their effort? Top athletes naturally are self centered but the great ones can see beyond themselves.
End of each practice say ‘Good Bye’ to team members & coaches.
Rate of Perceived Effort is a number between 1-10. 1 = terrible day and can be based on anything and 10 = an amazing day.
Update coach on your day with a RPE.
The intensity level for the day does not always need to be high to be the most effective training. BUT, it’s very important to be completing the tasks for the day to the best of your ability.
Complete the daily routine.
Every team member needs to regularly warm up with the intension of bringing their A Game to practice or an event. By making that happen you will learn how to deliver that same behavior on important days. The warm up should look like you have a purposeful routine with every action you decide to make happen. Know when and where to be social and that is part of warming up. Learn how and when to ask for help. This is more of an art which can always improve over time.
Warm-Up like a Pro!
We all can see when a person is enjoying what they are doing or see the reason for the task. Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non judgmentally, as if your life is dependent on it.
Appear Mindful & Aware with everything you do as an athlete.