Who is De Klimcoach?
Gidion van Doorn
Hi! I'm Gidion. You might know me from Sterk or as a former competition climber who occasionally participates in local contests. Climbing has been my passion for quite some time. I started at the age of 9 at Klimcentrum Nijmegen (now Klimhal Stadsmuur). Despite my fear of heights, I was completely hooked and, a year later, joined the ED+ competition team. I quickly found myself eagerly anticipating each new competition, and the results followed.
Highlights (competitions)
NJK boulder: 2013 (3e); 2017 (2e); 2018 (2e)
NJK Lead: 2016 (3e)
NSK boulder: 2019 (3e)
In 2017, I wanted to change things up. I realized that I had grown to enjoy bouldering much more and wanted to focus more on this aspect of climbing. That year, I started coaching myself, reading training books (including ‘The Rock Climber’s Exercise Guide’ and ‘Gimme Kraft’), and it was time to train hard. This passion for training has stayed with me, but my focus has shifted more towards outdoor bouldering. My climbing trips have become increasingly serious, with the highlight being my first 8a’s in Albarracín (Spain).
Highlights (outdoor)
Fontainebleau: Eclipse (7c), Bérézina-Carnage (Assis) 8a
Albarracín: Orion (8a), Zombie Nation (8a) en Helicopters on Beaches (stand) (8a)
By now, De Klimcoach has been around for a while, and I’ve had the opportunity to further develop myself as a coach. I’m involved as a trainer with both TOC (Talent Opleiding Centrum) in Utrecht and Noord-Holland. At the TOC’s, I train talented youth with competitive aspirations. Additionally, I have completed the SKT-2 (Sport Climbing Trainer) course and have started the SKT-3 course.
The training I received during my early climbing years undoubtedly shaped me into a better climber. More and more people are starting climbing at a later age, often without any form of support or training. Supporting climbers in taking the next step is the reason I started De Klimcoach.
See you at the gym!
Sophie Meijers
At one point her friends even gave her a time limit on how long she was allowed to talk about bouldering—that really says it all. Coaching, training hard herself, setting boulders, and guiding youth climbers during competitions: Sophie lives climbing.
She’s not only a top-level coach, but also a creative route setter at Energiehaven, Zuidhaven, and Kunststof/Krachtstof. What she enjoys most is the process: building, testing, and fine-tuning together with the team until a boulder has that little bit extra.
In addition to setting and climbing, she coaches youth teams at Zuidhaven, School of Rock, and TOC Utrecht.
With her background in movement sciences, she translates her knowledge of motor development, sports psychology, and training into practice, with one goal: helping climbers grow in a way that stays fun.
Menno Berg
This climbing coach—with the perfect surname—is no stranger to Sterk. He has been coaching (youth) athletes for quite some time and recently also became assistant head coach at TOC Utrecht, the climbing selection team of the province of Utrecht.
With his background in psychology, Menno is particularly interested in addressing the mental and tactical aspects of bouldering.
Besides climbing, Menno works as a project leader at SportUtrecht. There, he organizes cycling lessons for refugees and children. His goal is to get Utrecht moving.
As you can tell, Menno is involved with sport day in, day out, and is very much looking forward to helping climbers in Utrecht reach the next level.
