I wondered if anyone has suggestions on teaching setting? The mechanics of it are easy enough, but what do you recommend as far as getting new setters going? How do you critique routes?
Teaching setting
(6 posts) (5 voices)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Joe,
I am probably one of the least qualified people to answer this but i will give my opinion anyway.
I would say the top 3 things I tell my new setters are:1) Set well within your onsight limit.
I have found that often new setters try to set routes that they cannot quite climb themselves. A new setter is not going to be able to tell how well a route flows if they cannot smoothly climb it themselves. This can often lead to awkward/choppy movement.2) Dont overthink it.
I have seen a new setter spend 4 hours on a 25 foot route trying to force 2 heel hooks that when when they finished the route, nobody used any of them. The setter felt defeated. Tell them not to get too fixated on a particular move. Which leads me to -3) Dont get fixated on a specifice move or difficulty.
I tell them just set moves that to you feel casual, fun, and fluid.and for a bonus - 4) Advise them that it will be their tendency to set moves that extend THEIR frame. If they are above average height, that can present a problem for the shorter climbers on their route. Make sure they are mindful of the reaches between holds, and if needed add intermediates and/or extra footholds.
hope that helps and I look forward to reading more suggestions!
-Clayton
Posted 1 year ago # -
FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET :)
I Would have them set easy routes... easy. I have setters come in and say they want to set, I say ok when you come in to set set some thing in the 6 to 8 range. most of the time this works and their route turns out OK and can be tweaked to be ok routes. But then you have the climbers who come in and set ( I'm not full time) and think because they are a strong climber they can skip that rule and set what they want. And that is when we always end up with reachy, badly set routes.
So i would have them set well below there limit and also on a very easy wall to set on. I think this is something that is over looked, Setters always want to set on big over hangs and use the cool features of the gym. Setting them can be hard even with experience, so if they don't have to worry about how hard it is to move around the wall they can spend more time on the moves of the route.
P.s. Once they get going give them enough holds for a route, a wall to set it on and a grade you want, then see if you did and good job and if they can come up with a route at that grade with the holds and location you provided.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Clayton,
Thanks for your suggestions. I think overthinking things is a common mistake among new setters. I think good routes tend to be more instinctual. I've watched setters (and have likely done it myself) think routes/moves to death. Mechanics aside, setting is still more art then science. I agree as well that working within your limits is also a good place to start. As far as judging the distance between holds, I like the elbow to elbow rule (although for very tall climbers it can still be somewhat problematic)jus728,
Footwork can make or break a route. There seems to be no easy way to teach good foot placement. That may be something a setter has to learn by trial and error. To me, a route should fit together as a whole, and the footwork is essential to that.I appreciate your time and suggestions. I learned how to set mainly by doing and by making mistakes (and I'm sure I made many), so I appreciate other perspectives and ideas a great deal. Keep them coming folks!
Posted 1 year ago # -
One of the best teaching tools is focused, direct criticism of the new setter's freshly set route.
Find out what the idea was behind the sequence and what types of moves the setter was trying to create. After talking with the setter, climb the route and work WITH them to tweak the route to make it better. Explain WHY that hold should be spun a few degrees, WHY an extra foot is needed, WHY that hold should be changed with something smaller, etc.
Not only will you end up with a better route on the wall but the setter will learn through the experience and will retain ownership of their work, as opposed to you tweaking the route then later telling them why.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I must agree with you all and would like to add:
Along with folks over-thinking to get that favorite move in a climb that doesn't need it, folks do the same thing with their favorite hold. This slows them to a crawl setting-wise and the route frequently ends up being a one-move-wonder.
If that spiffy 2-finger pocket doesn't work into the sequence after a few minutes of gandering it, they need to learn to drop it and pull a different hold or just rethink the sequence.
The best routes tend to go up reasonably quick with a minor tweak here or there after upsighting it or after the test-climb. They are made to test-climb it, right? ;-)
Posted 1 year ago #
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