Meet Sean Keirns: Golden High School Demons climbing coach
GOLDEN, Colo. —聽“I hope to leave a legacy of having built a welcoming and dedicated community of rock climbers who continue to climb and remain friends long after high school. I would be happier to run into a group of former GHS athletes climbing together outside a local crag than I would to have state championships hanging in a display”. – Sean Keirns
For the 2022/23 season, Golden High School Demons Climbing had their highest number of state championship qualifiers ever: three boys and three girls from varsity, and another four boys and four girls from JV. The team has been coached by Sean Keirns, a GHS French teacher, since 2018.
鈥淥ur team ranges from very beginners to highly skilled competitors, so we focus on keeping climbing fun and teaching climbers to be safe, strong, and passionate about the sport,鈥� Coach Keirns says. 鈥淲inning is secondary to learning self-confidence and the skills necessary to enjoy climbing indoors and outdoors鈥撯�揻or a lifetime.鈥�
Coach Keirns began rock climbing in 2008 at Gonzaga University. 鈥淚 have not competed much myself but have loved seeing the balance of competition and camaraderie that our high school league has struck,鈥� he says. Keirns began coaching in the American Scholastic Climbing League in 2013 and became the director of the Denver Northwest Region in 2019.
鈥淚 hope my students discover an inner strength, which is one power of rock climbing. I鈥檝e seen many brand new climbers fall in love with the sport because of the problem solving and clear feeling of accomplishment,鈥� he says.
A difficult bouldering problem tackled recently by one of his athletes provided a proud coaching moment for Keirns. 鈥淭he problem was very popular, and athletes from many different schools were attempting it. All gave up except my climber,鈥� says Keirns. 鈥淎 crowd grew around her to watch her acrobatic attempts. She came up with different ways to approach the hardest portions, and when she finally finished the problem, the gym erupted in applause for her determination and strength.鈥�
On the flip side of winning is losing, of course. To help his athletes recover from a disappointing performance, Coach Keirns tries to prevent dismay from spiraling into a negative self-view. He helps his athletes compartmentalize disappointment so it doesn鈥檛 taint all the progress made over time.
Coach Keirns also delegates appropriate responsibilities to help his athletes grow to become effective leaders, and he recognizes the value provided by Demons Climbing staff. 鈥淲e鈥檙e lucky to have four coaches (the team’s assistant coaches are GHS teachers Casey DuVall and Christy DeMeyer and parent Kathy Jordan), so we can have lots going on. Our focus on fun can mean intense power and endurance training for some, and for others it can mean rocking climbing games like 鈥渁dd on,鈥� similar to H.O.R.S.E in basketball.
鈥淲e listen to what our athletes want and need and build on that,鈥� Coach Keirns concludes.
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