Register
Key info

Min. age for training: 18
Min. age for assessment: 18
Training: 2 days
Assessment: 4 hours

Average time from training to passing assessment: 3.1 years

Ideal for: climbing coaches who coach groups of climbers over a series of structured sessions, such as people from climbing clubs, schools and youth groups, or coaches who work with individuals keen to improve.

Entry requirements



To register
  • You must be at least 18 years old
  • You must have at least 12 months personal climbing experience
  • You must have completed Foundation Coach training, or been granted direct entry to Development Coach through the Accredited Prior Learning (APL) process with Mountain Training UK & Ireland
  • You must log in to your account and register for the Development Coach qualification (cost: £65)
To book a training course
  • You must be registered on the Development Coach qualification
  • You must have attended the FUNdamentals of Climbing 1 and 2 workshops. Many people find attendance on the Physical Training for Climbing and the FUNdamentals of Climbing 3 workshops help them get more from the course.
  • You must be appropriately experienced and qualified to supervise safe sessions in the environment in which you choose to coach e.g. a site-specific sign-off by a technical advisor for bouldering; a Climbing Wall Instructor for roped climbing; Climbing Wall Development Instructor for coaching lead climbing and Rock Climbing Instructor to coach on single pitch crags etc.

To book an assessment course
  • You must have completed a Development Coach training course or have Accredited Prior Learning approved by Mountain Training UK & Ireland
  • You must be familiar with the syllabus.
  • You must have completed DLOG with your climbing coaching experience to include a minimum of 40 coaching sessions since attending training.
  • You must have added reflective comments* for at least 10 of these coaching sessions in the ‘description’ tab.
  • You must have prepared a series of progressive lesson plans for your long-term students which can be reviewed.
  • You must have completed a home paper.
  • You must have completed a Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport module.
Courses

Training and assessment courses are delivered by our approved providers in public and private climbing walls across the UK or Ireland. A variety of cost packages are available, depending on what's included (food, accommodation etc) so you can choose one that's right for you.

 

Training

Development Coach training lasts for two days and will cover:

  • The Development Coach syllabus
  • What to expect at assessment
  • Feedback and areas to focus on prior to assessment

 

Syllabus

  • Coaching behaviours
  • Planning
  • Preparing and concluding
  • Managing
  • Sporting values
  • Movement skills
  • Physiology
  • Psychology
  • Tactical
  • Motor learning
  • Long term climber development
  • Giving feedback
  • Evaluating
  • Personal climbing

 

Consolidation

The provider who delivered your training will be able to give you feedback and a personalised action plan for your consolidation period. Use the candidate handbook to identify syllabus areas you need to practise.

Variety really is the spice of life when it comes to developing coaching skills. Every opportunity should be taken to encourage exploration and ideally practise, the skills learned during training as soon after the training course as possible.

The standard at assessment is high and coaches need plenty of targeted experience to consolidate their learning.

There is currently no time limit on the validity of a training course and some candidates may take several years to complete the qualification.



Our membership association (Mountain Training Association) offers peer-led learning opportunities and formal workshops on a range of topics, from navigation to leadership skills, to help you during this phase.


Join our association

 

Assessment

The Development Coach assessment will involve a minimum of four hours contact time and will include two coaching sessions; one with your own long term climbers and one with unknown climbers.

Assessments are usually bespoke and you should contact a provider about arranging your assessment. As a result there may not be many assessment courses listed on the course finder.

 You will be assessed against the syllabus competencies in the candidate handbook. At the end of the assessment you will receive one of two results:

  • Pass
  • Defer (requires reassessment)
Resources

Candidate handbook last updated: May 2024

Development Coach candidate handbook
Meet a coach

Other qualifications

Doesn't sound like the right qualification for you? Consider the following:

Foundation Coach

Indoor Climbing Assistant

Climbing Wall Instructor

Rock Climbing Instructor

Which qualification is is right for me?

Find a course
Join our association
FUNdamentals of Climbing

Find out more about FUNdamental workshops