David Mason on Fatherhood and Climbing 

Trying to push your athletic performance isn’t easy and being a parent isn’t easy. Yet, for me, becoming a parent seems to have gone hand in hand with an improvement in my climbing performance. I’m definitely not the strongest I’ve ever been and I have much less time than previous me but without a doubt I’m enjoying my climbing the most I ever have and this is resulting in a higher level of performance.

I think there are three main areas that, as a direct result of becoming a parent, have changed my climbing life.

Firstly, the relative importance of climbing for me now that I am a father. I actually don’t think climbing means any less to me, in fact it maybe means more (I hope my children find something that they love in life as much as I love climbing) but it is usurped by Isaac and Lily. They love me unconditionally for being their father, nothing else, full stop. Yes Isaac may cheer me on at the crag or say well done when I top out but then he’s back to pretending to be a farmer or building or one of the other hundred things that pass through his head every hour. If I have a great day at the crag, they don’t care, if I have a rubbish day at the crag they don’t care either. I come home and they still smile, cry, ask me to play or need a nappy change. This for me was so liberating and allowed me to enjoy my climbing more than ever before. Yes I still want to perform and yes I think about moves on a boulder a lot but as soon as I’m with them it becomes secondary. Nothing can get me out of a funk faster than Isaac, and I’m sure it will become the same with Lily.

This leads nicely onto the second reason for my performance improvement; that liberation has allowed me to try harder climbs than I previously would have. I don’t need to ‘tick’ every time I go out and therefore successes can be much smaller parts to a puzzle that will eventually lead to a larger improvement in my ability. It seems some have the ability to do the above from an early age and don’t need a life changing moment in order for it to happen. I’m always in awe of this ability when I see it. During my 20’s and early 30’s I wasn’t like this; I felt I needed to prove myself. I’m not really sure to whom and when I look back it makes me feel quite ashamed and a little bit sorry for my young self. If I’d just given myself a break I’d probably have had much more fun and actually achieved more because of it! That’s all ok, I’m happy with where I am now (and I still had a great time in my younger years) but I really don’t want Isaac and Lily, and other youngsters to feel like I did because it’s a lot of hard work! Being able to discuss this type of thing with clients no matter what their age is the thing I love most about being a coach.

The third area of change is an obvious one, and one that happens as you get older whether you have children or not and that is having less time. This lack of time in adult life means being efficient with the time you do have. You simply can’t do everything and so working out what is the most important is key. In

order to work this out I find goal setting really important both from a process and outcome focus. Work out the outcome goal and then breakdown what you need to do in order to have the best chance of achieving it. Then use these as process goals along the way. This could be physical training goals, technical kills to master or improve on and ways to test this skill development in high stress situations along the way. This last point will improve your psychological and tactical skills, which will definitely be tested when you come to do battle with that final outcome goal. Don’t neglect the mental and tactical side in favour of one more pull-up or hang. When having a big outcome goal I have found it really useful to make a list of climbs that will contribute to the improvement needed to achieve this, whether it’s the style of movement or the number of moves. Being able to work on these can be seen as training but also build confidence.

Since Isaac was born in 2021 I have only been on holiday in the UK or to Font and always in our van. Van life is brilliant and we have loved watching Isaac grow when on the campsite but it’s not conducive to sending your hardest climbs. Instead I’ve used these trips to test out other attributes that are useful when projecting back home. This includes execution within a certain time, climbing in less than ideal conditions or trying to not to lose focus when being distracted, or being ok with it if I do!

Since Isaac was born I have also had two fairly major injuries and these have meant I had to be even more time efficient and prescriptive with what I have done/what I am doing. Injuries, like children, teach us to be patient but also help us learn that there is nearly always light at the end of the tunnel if you put in the graft.

There is a lot here, I hope some of it is useful but if not then writing it is at least a good way of reminding myself of all the ways that becoming a father has had a positive effect on my climbing, even though I have much less time. Becoming a father is wonderful and humbling and exciting and tiring and a constant battle. It can feel the most natural thing in the world and yet next minute be the most challenging. Above all else it’s a learning experience and teaches us so much about ourselves and the others around us. I’m loving this learning and self development but I also get to watch that take place in Mina, and Isaac and Lily.

I’m not sure this blog quite went where I intended but I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it.