Career Profile:

Job Summary:

Coaching can be done on a freelance basis or as part of a position within a climbing centre. Your role will involve helping your customers to improve their climbing skills. You should have an eye for seeing how to improve the performance of your clients, good communication skills and organisational skills.

Job Tasks:

The role involves preparing for, running and evaluating coaching sessions for climbers on a 1:1 or group basis. You will help work out the problems your client is experiencing, identifying their goal and working with them to help them achieve their goal, which usually involves some degree of improving climbing performance and/or technical skills.

As a freelance climbing coach, you are unlikely to make a living from coaching alone and are more likely to undertake a mixture of instructing and coaching, or to fit your coaching in around other types of work as part of a portfolio career. Your role may involve travelling to different venues to suit your clients.

As a coach at a climbing wall, you may undertake a range of activities as a member of the team, alongside your duties as a coach. For example, some wall managers and other staff will deliver coaching sessions as a part of their role.

Skills needed for this Job:

You will have good knowledge of climbing skills and techniques, with the ability to coach others in an organised and systematic way. Your communication skills will be excellent and you will be able to develop rapport with your clients, to build up their confidence and skills to become better climbers. You may create training plans for your clients.

Working Hours:

Your working hours will vary and may include working evenings and weekends. Successful coaches are flexible to meet requirements of clients and climbing walls. The flexibility works both ways and as freelancer, you will have the flexibility to make your work fit around other aspects of your life.

Income:

Incomes in this role vary considerably depending on your experience,  your reputation and where in the country you coach.  Your hourly rate could range from £15 to £150 per hour, however the top earnings are usually only achieved by professional climbers.  The average rates will sit within the £15-£40 per hour range.

You will usually work self-employed, charging clients per session and submitting a tax return annually. You will be responsible for paying your own tax and national insurance contributions if you are self-employed.

Training & Qualifications:

Training to become a coach usually involves developing your own climbing practice, followed by developing the skills, experience and qualifications to enable you to support and develop others.  In climbing, the qualifications available to support your progression are:

• Climbing Wall Award – CWA
• Climbing Wall Leaders Award – CWLA
• BMC FUNdamentals
• Coaching qualifications: Foundation Coach, Development Coach, Performance Coach
• First Aid

You can find out more about the coaching scheme on the Mountain Training website.

Mentors/ Industry information:

Indoor climbing is becoming increasingly popular, with growing numbers attending climbing walls in the UK. However, work as a climbing coach is not likely to provide a full time income for large numbers of people, so if you are considering this as a career, then building up additional skills, qualifications and experience may be sensible.

Other Relevant Information

Self-employment Advice from Citizen’s Advice Bureau.