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The A-Team
This page was updated on Dec. 16, 2024.
Winter/Spring 2025 Registration is now live! See below for more information and links on how to register.
The A-Team is for anyone ages 6-18 who is interested in pursuing the sport of climbing for pleasure and/or competition. A-Team climbers will be introduced to various climbing skills, terminology, and training protocols. We will also introduce our youth team climbers to the greater climbing community.
ASCEND believes that all people can climb and we strive to create an open and inclusive environment where all of our A-Team climbers can explore this wonderful sport within the structured setting of a youth climbing team.
Throughout each season the coaches will work with our youth athletes on identifying areas where growth can occur and to facilitate consistent improvement in the ability and mentality of each climber. Coaches will work directly with each climber to identify and progress toward individualized goals; whether that be to enjoy climbing with friends, climbing for fitness, or climbing competitively. Our climbing team is a fun place to explore limits, gain confidence, and learn life-long skills. Kids love to climb, grow, and spend time with their friends, and what better place to do that than at a climbing gym!
Participation on the A-Team is a privilege and not a right. We expect a certain level of commitment and proper behavior from our A-Team climbers and reserve the right to remove any participant from the A-Team roster if there are continued issues with commitment, ability to follow rules, and/or lack or respect shown to other team members, staff, or the gym community.
A-Team
Table Of Contents
A-Team
Structure
Fall (17 weeks)
Starts Week of: September 9, 2024
Break Weeks of: December 23, 2024-January 5, 2025
Ends week of: January 13, 2025
Winter/Spring (17 weeks)
Open Evaluations for New Athletes--If you have previously participated in youth climbing at a different gym, have extensive climbing experience, or feel that you are ready to skip the REC Team level. Please register below for a 30 min evaluation with our coaching team in order to ensure proper team levels for all athletes:
Starts Week of: February 3, 2025
Break Week of: April 14, 2025-April 20, 2025
Ends Week of: June 2, 2025
Summer (9 weeks)
Starts Week of: June 23, 2025
Break Week of: June 30, 2025
Ends Week of: August 25, 2025
Our two main climbing seasons are the Fall and the Winter/Spring. These two seasons most closely align with the Pittsburgh Public School schedule. While we encourage our climbers to climb as much and as often as they can, we do recognize that taking some time off from climbing for other activities, camps, family vacations, etc. can be a good way to clear the head. For this reason we will continue to offer our Summer A-Team season for those climbers who want to continue climbing within the structured setting of the team over the summer, but it will be a shorter season than our Fall and Winter/Spring offerings.
During each season, our coaches will work with our team climbers to subdivide the teams into working groups based on age, ability level, and commitment to climbing and training. We will then focus on the core concepts of climbing, training, strength, and mobility to help each climber grow as a person and develop as a climber. We offer the opportunity to climb with the A-Team once, twice, or thrice per week. Each A-Team ticket comes with a membership and rental gear for access to all Ascend facilities. We encourage all of our A-Teamers to climb as much they want outside of practice!
We highly encourage our climbers to come to every session as the A-Team is designed as a progressive program that builds week by week. As climbing coaches we will ask all of our climbers to push themselves to the edge of their comfort zone and beyond. It is imperative that climbers trust their coaches in order to explore this edge. We have found that when our youth athletes are unable to make their normal A-Team session, coming in for a make-up session is not conducive for that student to continue on their upward trajectory and it requires our coaching team to adjust practice plans in order to integrate the new climber. If a climber is unable to make a session (we get it, life happens), you are welcome to take advantage of your membership to come to any facility outside of practice time to ensure your child does not fall behind their fellow A-Team climbers. Please let your coaches know the week before if you can so that they can give the climber some activities to pursue on their own.
All About The
REC (RECREATION) TEAM
The REC Team is our introductory-level climbing team at ASCEND. The focus of this level is to learn the language, geometry, and technique of climbing. Our coaches will facilitate an exploration of the sport and work with our climbers to grow a sense of curiosity and excitement for climbing. We will explore the basics of climbing, community, and mentality through 1.5 hr structured climbing sessions run by our superb coaching team. We value the climbing community just as much as the sport itself at ASCEND and our coaches hope to foster a similar sense of community and camaraderie to our youth climbers. This means that along with learning the basics of climbing, we will also focus on team-building skills, and group dynamics. We climbers love to support each other when sending our projects! Our goal with the REC Team is to provide a base from which our climbers can progress into our next level: the INT Team.
Prerequisites: In order to join the REC Team, we ask that our athletes have participated in either an ASCEND Summer Camp, Youth 101, or Family 101. Check out our Youth + Family Introductory Classes.
If you have previous climbing experience, please reach out to [email protected] in order to learn more about our Open Athlete Evaluations
Minimum Age Requirement: 6 years old
ASCEND South Side - REC Team - Current Offerings
Tuesday Nights 5-6:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Thursday Nights 5-6:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Afternoons 12-1:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Sunday Mornings 9-10:30a - Current Class Size: 0/15
ASCEND Point Breeze - REC Team - Current Offerings
Monday Nights 5-6:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Wednesday Nights 5-6:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Mornings 9-10:30a - Current Class Size: 0/15
Sunday Mornings 11a-12:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
ASCEND Erie - REC Team - Current Offerings
Wednesday Nights 5-6:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Afternoons 3-4:30p - Current Class Size: 0/15
As we are still building our Erie A-Team, we are pleased to offer prorated A-Team Tickets in order to join at any point throughout the season. Please email [email protected] for more information.
All About The
INT (INTERMEDIATE) TEAM
Our INT Team will continue with the topics covered on the REC Team, as well as an introduction to the next set of higher level concepts around climbing and community. The INT Team is also the team where our climbers can explore what it means to them to be a climber. The INT Team is the “bridge” team of youth climbing at Ascend. Climbers on the INT Team are encouraged to try all aspects of climbing, including outdoor climbing and competitions. Our INT Team climbers must have a strong base in the physical and mental aspects of climbing on a team. They must also demonstrate the necessary level of commitment required to progress in this more goal-oriented environment. On this team, climbers will work with coaches to determine specific, attainable goals for each season. Our coaches will then work directly with each climber to achieve those goals.
Along with the technical aspects of climbing, we will continue to foster and grow the supportive community of the A-Team. On our INT Team, we will work with our climbers to help create “good sending energy” for themselves and everyone else on the team. This will be facilitated by careful monitoring of our climbers by the coaching staff, ensuring that our training groups are appropriately organized by age, ability, and level of commitment. We will ask more of our INT Team climbers in terms of finding intrinsic motivation and ownership of their participation in the climbing team. This ownership over one’s growth and development we hope fosters a lifelong love of climbing and the community surrounding it.
Prerequisites: In order to join the INT Team, we ask that our athletes have participated in at least 1 season on the REC Team.
Minimum Age Requirement: 8 years old
ASCEND South Side - INT Team - Current Offerings
Tuesday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Thursday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Afternoons 12-2p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Sunday Mornings 9-11a - Current Class Size: 0/15
ASCEND Point Breeze - INT Team - Current Offerings
Monday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Wednesday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Mornings 9-11a - Current Class Size: 0/15
Sunday Mornings 11a-1p - Current Class Size: 0/15
ASCEND Erie - INT Team - Current Offerings
Wednesday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Saturday Afternoons 3-5p - Current Class Size: 0/15
As we are still building our Erie A-Team, we are please to offer prorated A-Team Tickets in order to join at any point throughout the season. Please email [email protected] for more information.
All About The
ADV (ADVANCED) TEAM
The ADV Team is dedicated to our youth climbers who are interested in training hard and improving their climbing skills, but are not interested in the competitive side of climbing. While the commitment level is slightly lower than that of the COMP Team with practice sessions remaining at 2 hours per session, there is still an expectation that members of the ADV Team are excited by the idea of training and working hard on their climbing. We generally recommend at least 2 sessions/week for our ADV Team climbers and encourage them to climb on their own outside of practice as well. In addition to the climbing focus of the ADV Team, our coaching team will work with the team to begin to explore the broader climbing community on their own time outside of the team structure. We believe in providing our youth climbers with a platform to have a lifelong sport to pursue no matter where they end up in life.
Prerequisites: In order to join the ADV Team it is by invite of the A-Team coaching staff. For any additional questions, comments, or to express interest in more information please reach out directly to [email protected].
Minimum Age Requirement: 10 years old
ASCEND South Side - ADV Team - Current Offerings
Monday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Wednesday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
ASCEND Point Breeze - ADV Team - Current Offerings
Tuesday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
Thursday Nights 5-7p - Current Class Size: 0/15
All About The
COMP (COMPETITION) TEAM
The COMP Team is heavily focused on training for and competing in the USA Climbing (USAC) Youth Series throughout the year. This team requires the highest level of commitment to attending team practices and competitions throughout the season. This includes three 3 hour climbing sessions each week, and a commitment to attend enough competitions to qualify for regional rankings. The COMP Team will roughly follow the same A-Team season schedule; with specialized training for those athletes competing in Divisional and/or National level USAC competitive events. As such this team is only open to athletes who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to climbing and training and have been invited by the COMP Team coaching staff. Along with higher levels of climbing training, there will be more emphasis on pushing limits and practicing mental resilience strategies that support competition at the highest level.
A commitment to the COMP Team is a commitment to intensive training on a consistent basis. We want our COMP Team climbers to make that commitment to repeated intensive training. In order to facilitate this, we ask that climbing takes a front and center role in terms of after school activities. We recognize that many kids participate in a variety of after school activities; however in order to be a COMP Team member we ask that the commitment to climbing over the course of each season takes a prominent role in the lives of each climber.
Prerequisites: In order to join the COMP Team, please reach out to [email protected] to express interest. Priority will be given to those who have previously qualified for the USAC Regional Finals.
Please email [email protected] for additional information and for Registration Instructions.
A-Team
Additional Information
In order to get the most out of each session, we really encourage all of our families to ensure they arrive on time for the team. If you arrive early, please remember that our coaching staff will be working on planning that day's practice and as such, your kids are your responsibility until the official start of the team. We understand Pittsburgh traffic can be crazy in the afternoons with all the construction, schools letting out, and people getting off work, and if you show up late, you are always welcome to jump in with the team. Please let the coaches know you have arrived and they will work you into the session.
We encourage all climbers to bring a water bottle and snack for practice. We also have plenty of drinks and snacks at the front desk if you want to attach a credit card to your climbers account so that they can keep themselves hydrated and fueled up during practice.
Climbing shoes are the most important piece of gear needed for rock climbing. Rental gear is included with your A-Team Membership, however we strongly recommend purchasing your own pair of climbing shoes. In order to encourage this, we are also pleased to continue our partnership with Evolv allowing us to offer an Add-on ticket to purchase a pair of Evolv Defy or Evolv Defy LV climbing shoes. This add-on to our A-Team membership is perfect for young climbers that have been using rental shoes during their time at ASCEND. We believe in the value of having your own climbing shoes to get the most of your climbing journey and time on ASCEND's A-Team.
These shoes will be special ordered at the beginning of the season with a 30% off of MSRP for A-Team members. Please try on the shoes in the gym beforehand to ensure proper sizing. As these are special orders, payment will be required up front and there will be no refunds or returns. Come in and try on different sizes at any Ascend facility before you buy (based on availability)!
Evolv Defy: $76.30 + tax, available in sizes 5 - 16
Evolv Defy LV: $76.30 + tax, available in sizes 4 - 10
If you have any questions, suggestions, interest in joining the team, interest in competitive level training, or for more information, send us a message.
A-Team
Pricing
Fall ‘24-’25 and Winter/Spring ‘25
Once Per Week (17 coached sessions) = $595
Twice Per Week (34 coached sessions) = $1020
Thrice Per Week (51 coached sessions) = $1275
COMP Thrice Per Week (51 - 3 hour coached sessions) = $1,530
participation in USAC Divisional and National competitions may incur additional fees
Summer ‘25
Once Per Week (9 coached sessions) = $315
Twice Per Week (18 coached sessions) = $540
Thrice Per Week (27 coached sessions) = $675
COMP Team athletes who have qualified for further competitions over the summer will have opportunities for more focussed training sessions.
Additional training sessions may incur additional costs
NOTE: Our 2025 season schedule improves on last year's by expanding the length of the fall and winter/spring seasons (from 15 to 17 weeks) and shortening the summer season (from 15 to 9 weeks). Season prices have been adjusted accordingly. These seasons now better align with school seasons and the USA Climbing competition schedule.
We understand that the sport of climbing can be a financial commitment and we seek to minimize as many obstacles to participation as we can. To that end, we have an Equity + Outreach Fund that can be utilized to financially support A-Team climbers. To learn more, please visit the Financial Assistance page of our website.
A-Team
Registration Process
We offer three different tiers of A-Team Membership: “Once per Week,” “Twice per Week,” and “Thrice per Week.” Each of these tickets provides you with a full membership to ASCEND and entry to all ASCEND Climbing Gyms. It also provides you with access to either one, two, or three nights of practice with the A-Team per week. Each participant is required to purchase either a “Once Per Week,” “Twice Per Week,” or “Thrice Per Week” ticket, which will last the whole season. When you purchase the ticket, please be sure to assign this ticket to the A-TEAM climber, NOT the parent/guardian making the purchase.
The ticket purchase triggers THREE emails, one of which is a Registration Form. It is imperative to fill out the Registration Form that you receive by the indicated deadline. This is where you are able to pick in which session(s) your climber will participate. All of our registration is on a first-come first-serve basis. Once a team session gets filled, that session will be closed to registration for the duration of the season. Current team participants will be given advanced notice to register before the general public. So, get your slots early!
For our REC/INT Team climbers we recommend climbing once or twice per week.
For ADV Team we recommend twice or thrice per week.
ASCEND South Side
ASCEND Point Breeze
ASCEND Erie
For Registration Links for the Winter/Spring USAC Rope Season Competitive Team, please email Marston Leff directly: [email protected]