Head Climbing Coach

Job Description

Job Description

Head Coach + Routesetter (Hybrid Role)

The Front Climbing Club – Ogden

Build Lifelong Climbers in Ogden

A season on a climbing team teaches kids to climb hard, show up week after week, fall and try again, handle nerves on comp day and cheer on their teammates. At The Front, competitive climbing is how we develop strong athletes and how we teach lessons that carry into school, work and life. Our goal is to build lifelong climbers who are better people for the time they spend on the wall.

Come lead The Front Ogden's youth climbing teams. This role is for a coach who cares about results and about the kid behind them, and who wants to build a program families keep coming back to. Setting is part of the week too, so you'll get to build the moves your athletes are projecting.

About The Front

The Front Climbing Club is basecamp for Utah's climbing community. We opened in the '80s as The Body Shop, Utah's first indoor climbing gym, and we've been bringing climbers together ever since. Today we have three gyms along the Wasatch Front, and every one of them runs on the same promise: come as you are, and we'll send you home stronger. Stronger can mean a first top-out, a project you've been chipping away at for months or just a better day than the one you walked in with.

Our youth teams are a big part of that. Competitive climbing gives kids hard goals to chase, and our coaches use the training, the setbacks and the comp days to develop them as athletes and as people. We want them to leave stronger in both, and to keep climbing for the rest of their lives.

About the Role

This is a full-time, hourly, hybrid role based at our Ogden gym, paying $20–$27/hour depending on experience. Most of your time goes to Ogden's youth climbing programs. You'll be head coach for the Recreational, Intermediate and Competition Teams and run day-to-day youth programming. You'll also join the routesetting crew, setting boulders and routes for our members, competitions and programs. You'll report to our Chief of Staff and work closely with the Competitive Team Head Coach in SLC, the Ogden Programs Lead and the Head Routesetter.

What You'll Do

Coaching & Youth Programs:

• Lead the Ogden Recreational, Intermediate and Competition Teams. You'll set season goals, build training cycles and practice plans, and coach weekly practices.
• Keep training standards and competition calendars aligned with our SLC and South Main programs.
• Travel with athletes to local, regional, divisional and national competitions, including overnight trips.
• Be the go-to voice for team families through monthly newsletters, GroupMe, email updates and answers about training and schedules.
• Advanced understanding of USA Climbing's competition structure, rules, regulations, and policies, with demonstrated experience interpreting and applying these standards across multiple levels of competition.
• Run tryouts, onboard new athletes and keep rosters, attendance and billing accurate in RGP and SharePoint.
• Coordinate Send School, summer camp, youth clinics and private coaching, with lesson plans matched to each group's level and needs.
• Manage the youth programming calendar and staff schedule, and act as point person for program questions.
• Keep Ogden's youth curriculum current, and suggest new offerings based on registration data and participant feedback.
• Plan team dinners, outings and other team-building events.

Leading the Crew:

• Hire, onboard, train, mentor and support Ogden's youth programming coaches and instructors.
• Hold regular staff meetings and run belay audits for coaches and athletes.
• Track and report attendance, retention and other program KPIs.
• Keep the programming closet organized and stocked, and coordinate equipment inspections with our Risk Manager.

On the Wall (Routesetting):

• Set and forerun creative, safe boulder problems and routes across a range of heights and wall angles.
• Set movement that's fun and progressive for climbers of every body type and skill level.
• Set for comps, youth programs and adaptive sessions.
• Join forerunning and feedback sessions to keep improving route quality.
• Pitch in on hold washing, inventory, hardware replacement and keeping the setting space organized.
• Operate rope access and work-at-height systems safely.

What You Bring

You might be a great fit if you have:

• At least 5 years of climbing instruction experience, including leading and teaching lead climbing
• At least 3 years coaching competitive youth climbers (head or lead coach experience is a plus)
• Leadership, mentoring or supervisory experience
• A knack for building trust with athletes and families, plus clear, warm communication with parents
• USA Climbing Coach Level 1 certification (Level 2 preferred), and SafeSport certification before your start date
• First Aid/CPR certification before your start date, and CWI certification within 90 days of hire (we'll provide the training)
• Comfort with climbing-specific tools and rope-access techniques, and working at heights up to 70 feet
• Commercial routesetting experience, CWA Work at Height certification and USAC Level 1 Route Setter certification are all a bonus
• Bonus points for experience with adaptive climbing systems or trauma-/fear-informed instruction
• Proficiency with RGP and Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Excel, SharePoint)
• The ability to give and receive constructive feedback
• A love for checklists, systems and keeping things running smoothly
• The physical ability to stay on your feet, work overhead for long stretches and lift up to 50 lbs
• Availability for evenings, weekends and competition travel

Perks & Benefits

• Full medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability, plus accident coverage
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Free gym membership
• PTO
• Discounts on food and merchandise
• A crew that feels like a climbing partner, not just coworkers

Join Us!

If you're ready to coach, mentor and set in Ogden, we want to hear from you. Apply today and let's get you on the crew.

We're an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and strives to create an inclusive environment for all.