Taj McMann climbs in Spain. Photo self-submitted.
Taj McMann, a sophomore at Watauga High School, is pursuing his climbing journey over 4,000 miles away from his hometown of Boone, North Carolina. He has been climbing his whole life and has always been talented. Throughout the years, he has gotten more serious with his climbing goals.
“I first heard of this school called The Climbing Academy (TCA) when I was on a small island called Kalymnos Greece in late Spring 2022. I was in Kalymnos with my family for climbing,” McMann said. “We were at the climbing area one day when we met The Climbing Academy and heard about how incredible of a program it is. Two years later, my parents and I decided to apply for this school. I made it in and was able to attend for the 2023 fall semester.”
McMann aims to climb professionally and is surrounded by a circle of support. He has grown up with climbing ingrained in his family.
“My dad has always been my biggest supporter in climbing and has always made trips to wherever I wanted to go to climb, but my first climbing coach, Jeph, was who got me into climbing,” said McMann. “He showed me climbing was more than just an activity you can do every once in a while.”
One of McMann’s closest friends, sophomore Santino Wood, has also been one of his most meaningful sources of encouragement and inspiration.
“Throughout my climbing, I have always climbed with ‘Tino,’” said McMann. “He has been one of my main climbing partners since I was super young. He’s always pushed me to become a better climber and person.”
McMann’s aspirations have begun to materialize on his journey to Spain. It’s the perfect location for him to grow and one he’s dreamed of visiting for many years.
“Spain has always been a bucket list climbing country for me,” said McMann. “It’s so diverse in the types of climbing it has; it is a dream land for a climber. Once I saw that Spain was booked for TCA to go to the upcoming semester, I got super excited. Since I was 8 years old, I’ve been watching videos of the best climbers in the world climbing on those walls. It felt surreal to get the experience of climbing in such a magical country.”
McMann is working hard at his school in Spain. He now has to balance new friends, a new school, and all the new climbing.
“Throughout my time in Spain, I have gained so much, from my climbing tactics to learning how to manage my time with school better,” McMann said. “The school at TCA is hard and it can be difficult to get everything done, but having this time pressure really helped me learn to use my time better. I learned so much from the teachers and the locals of the towns I was staying at. My Spanish abilities got better and my climbing went to a higher level than before I left.”
One of the main lessons McMann has learned is the definition of success. As an excellent climber, he often conquers the routes he attempts. His time in Spain, however, has offered challenges that expand his growth mindset and force him to accept different forms of victory.
“In Spain, I was trying a route named ‘Via Del Quim.’ This route was perfect. It was harder than any route I had ever been on,” McMann said. “Throughout the 3 weeks I spent on this route, I was able to get very close, but not do it, due to bad conditions. Being able to accept failure was the biggest accomplishment from Spain I feel.”
Although Spain brought its many exciting physical challenges, it brought some draining mental and emotional challenges as well.
“The hardest thing about leaving the States for me was leaving my friends and family,” said McMann. “Throughout my entire life, I have hardly been away from my family, so it felt difficult to leave them for 6 weeks. Even though this was hard, meditation and mind-calming helped me get past these thoughts and get the most of my time in Spain.”
McMann has been shaped as a person and an athlete through this life changing opportunity. He has grown in his climbing abilities and mental strength while being across the country. He has been greatly missed by his family and friends, but they are ecstatic to see him achieving his climbing dreams.
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