    
Name:
Tyson Schoene
Age:
30
Years climbing:
Long, long time
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Sponsors:
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Tyson is the engine that keeps Team
Vertical World running. He is what motivates/frustrates the kids on the team to
make them better. As you can read in his interview below, while he really wasn't
planning on making a career out of coaching when he first got started, he is a
big part of what has made this team the power house in the USAC that it is now.
What is you name, and how old are you?
Tyson
Schoene and I'm 30.
How did you get involved in coaching in this sport? How
long have you been doing it?
I was working at the gym for a while and they needed a
coach. I said I would do it for a couple months till they found someone else.
I really wanted to make sure that it wasn’t getting in the way of my climbing
and the like. I used to travel a lot to go climbing and now it seems that I
only travel to go to comps. I've been doing this for about 5 years.
What part of the job of
coaching inspires you, and what part frustrates you?
Working
with the kids and seeing their progress really stokes me. I love it when I
start to see things working and clicking in their climbing. Seeing the climbing
really translate into their everyday lives makes me happy too.
A lot
about this frustrates me of course too. Wasted talent frustrates me more than
anything. You see athletes that are gods gift to climbing and they don’t want to
work. They don’t want to put the extra time in to become great. Teenagers
frustrate me. I remember what it was like.
Lack
of commitment frustrates me. Anything half ass frustrates me. The way I look at
it, is if you are going to do something, do it well and do it full force. You
can do many things, and you can do them well, you just have to commit and not
get distracted.
I see
all these things when coaching. The good and the bad.
What
kind of rock climbing do you do, and what is your favorite?
I've
been doing this rock climbing my whole life. Since I was about 5 years old I was
on the rock. I have done a lot of it so it is hard to say what is my favorite.
Where have you had the
opportunity to climb at, and what was your favorite?
I've
been many places. My favorite was either Ceuse or Fountainbleu. I like Bishop
too. Leavenworth is good.
What other activities
are you involved in, and why?
I do too many other
activities, but it is necessary to keep me psyched. Working and living climbing
makes me hate it often. So I do many other sports.
I play
on a Soccer Team with games once a week. I play Squash about 3 days a week.
During winter I got back into Snowboarding, and I do that once a week unless the
snow is good and then I will go a couple times. When it is dry I go to the Skate
Park a bit. When I'm in San Diego I surf with my homey Bennett. And of course I
climb a lot.
After coaching our
children for as long as you have, will you ever have children of your own?
You never know. But I
really would never want to emotionally go through what it is like living with
teenagers. The heartbreak and frustration I think would kill me. But I'm sure
it would be wonderful too.
Anything else you would
like us to know about you?
No,
however, the next time you are eating a Hamburger or Chicken Wings, please think
about the pain and suffering of the creatures that they are coming from. The
food industry in the US is disgusting and is what is killing our youth and our
future, let alone the animals. If animals could talk, we would all be Vegans.
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