NEIL GRESHAM'S MASTERCLASS COACHING TEAM

At climbing walls in London

Neil Gresham is widely regarded as the pioneer of performance coaching for climbing in the UK. He is the regular coach to the British competition team but most notably, he has more experience in helping mid-grade climbers to improve than any other coach. His unique and highly effective coaching programme in London involves a 1:1 assessment with Neil, followed by the option of regular training sessions with two highly accomplished coaches, Steve Golley and Szymon Dziukiewicz, who use exactly the same methods as Neil, to make sure that you continue improving.

"What sets Neil apart from other climbing coaches is that he has a track record. He doesn't just coach 8a climbers, but rather guys like me, climbing 6b but who aspire to 7a. I genuinely did follow his advice, and predictably I progressed up the grades. If you train the same, you stay the same. Neil sees the gaps in your climbing routines and tells you exactly what to do to fix them. You will not come across a nicer, more down to earth, effective coach. I cannot recommend him highly enough."
Pete Harrison, 1:1 client 2006 (who now climbs 7b)

 
Click here to view more information about our coaches

 

Contacting us

Please send all enquiries to neil@climbingmasterclass.com

 

Payment for 1:1s or small group sessions

You will need to pay your standard entry fee at reception at the climbing wall, but please do not attempt to pay the wall for your coaching session. Please pay your coach at the end of the session with cash or cheque. Also, please do not attempt to pay us in advance via the website. Note that no deposit is required but please see our cancellation policy below.

 

Payment for Vouchers or gifts.

If you wish to purchase a coaching session as a gift for a friend then please choose your preferred coach (Neil, Steve or Szymon) and send payment for the appropriate number of hours (see rates) to Neil Gresham, 147 Sutton Court, Fauconberg Road, Chiswick, London W4 3EF. Please make the cheque payable to the name of the relevant coach. We will send you a gift voucher and also email you some questions about the proposed client.

 

Coaching Venues

We prefer to run the majority of our coaching at the Westway Climbing Centre, 1 Crowthorne Rd, White City, W10 6RP (from Latimer Road Tube Station on the Hammersmith and City line, turn right and walk for 2 mins). The centre has a cheap and secure underground car park, but please note that it is in the congestion zone. We are also available to coach at Mile End, The Arch, The Castle, The Reach and Craggy Island (Guildford and Sutton) as well as other walls in close proximity to London. If you require us to travel outside London then please note our travel rates.

 

Required standard

Please note that we do not teach complete beginners. You need to be able to lead F5 indoors and / or boulder UK 4c/5a. If you are not able to do this then we would recommend booking on to an appropriate starter course first and then getting in touch with us at a later date. The Westway offer an excellent starter programme: www.westway.org..

 

Best Times

Neil is only available for coaching mid week, during the day (before 6.30pm) as it is only possible to conduct assessment sessions when the wall is quiet. Our other coaches are potentially available for coaching sessions at all times.

 

Rates

Neil Gresham

(1:1) £70 per hour
(1:2) £90 per hour
(1:3 or 4) £110 per hour

Steve Golley and Szymon Dziukiewicz

(1:1) £55 per hour (or £90 for 90 mins)
(1:2) £70 per hour (or £110 for 90 mins)
(1:3 or 4) £90 per hour

Travel rates (for walls outside London)

We are able to travel to climbing walls within approximately 50 miles from London, and please note that we will charge £1 per mile for this.

 

Cancellation policy

There is no charge for cancellation if you let us know up to 2 hours before the arranged start time. The best way to do this is by text (we will give you our mobile numbers after you make contact). If you are unable to notify us in time then there is a cancellation fee of half the total price of the session.

 

Wall entry and meeting up

If you are not a member of the Westway, you may wish to join (for a fee of approx£5) and if so, please allow time to take the belay test (approx 15 minutes). An alternative is for your coach to sign you in as a guest. Let your coach know which you would prefer and he can meet you in reception. Otherwise you will find your coach either by the main bouldering cave or in the café area.

 

Session content

Assessment sessions with Neil

A typical assessment session with Neil will consist of a warm-up, followed by a technique assessment, which includes general movement (such as footwork, balance & body position) along with specific techniques for overhangs. This is followed either by a detailed focus on bouldering or leading (for example, route-reading, clipping & resting). Video analysis is normally used for this. Note that if your first session was focused on bouldering then it is usually worth booking a second session to focus on leading (or v.v). The session finishes with Q&A, goal setting and training advice. You will usually receive a simple training plan to take away, but a more detailed training programme can be arranged for an additional charge.

Coaching / training sessions with Steve and Szymon

Your assessment session with Neil is the starting point, but in order to maintain long-term improvements, it helps to have a trainer to make sure you are continuing to use the wall to the best effect. We are all prone to doing the same old routines, but Steve and Szymon are experts in spicing things up in order to maximize your strength and endurance. They will ensure that you train at the correct level, and with the correct amount of rest in order to keep the improvement curve as steep and straight as possible. If you have never used the leading wall for interval training or if you are unsure how to use the strength training apparatus then you are missing out on so much of your potential. Not only will training with Steve or Szymon make you fitter, but it will increase your enjoyment too!

Coaching packages and future sessions

It is absolutely fine just to do 1 or 2 sessions with us, but the ideal combination is to see Neil for 'check-up' assessment sessions (for example, quarterly or bi-annually) and then to see Steve and Szymon more regularly for training. We understand that every climber is different and that time and budgets are also a constraint, so we are determined to come up with a coaching package that is affordable and that works for you.

Should you warm-up before the session?

Please do not warm-up before your first session with us, as we will need to go through the warm-up with you. It is fine for you to warm-up yourself prior to subsequent sessions.

 

Information we require from you

Please let us know the following details about your climbing in order to save time at the start of the session. If you are unable to do this then we can sit down and have a brief chat before commencing:

Name:
Telephone number:
Age:
Town of residence:
Year you started climbing:
Brief climbing synopsis including personal bests:
Current onsight grade indoors:
Current bouldering grade indoors:
Perceived strengths & weaknesses:
Future goals:
Do you have any current injuries?
Regular climbing wall:
Current average number of climbing / training sessions per week:
Do you have a fingerboard at home?
What you would most like to get from the session?
Any other relevant info:

Please be assured that we hold all personal information in the strictest confidence and never pass any information to 3rd parties.