Too structured and peak training: Kids at risk

Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra are the best rock climbers in the history of climbing and they certainly did not follow any structured training program. Instead, they just climbed wild and crazy and in fact, some old coaches said that their new techniques were not optimal. Surely, structured training fits some youngsters and if they have active coaches that follow their athletes' progress on a daily basis and do not just send over training programs, it can be equally good. The dilemma is of course that most kids just want to climb wild and crazy and for these guys a structured program may be the contrary of productive. The most important skill in climbing that never can be trained properly once being an adult is the intuition, especially in onsight climbing. The third best climber in the world Alex Megos did have and still has some active coaches with a holistic approach. In fact, his coaches actively hold him back when it comes to his training in order not to let him peak at a very young age. No doubt that in the short run structured and peak training will make the kids perform better at early ages but this may possibly be counter-productive for the kids motivation and technical skills.