Alexa Nazarian
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| 2013 Youth Nationals / Photo: Bob Lockhart |
Team: Zero Gravity
Age: 18
You could say that Alexa Nazarian has been climbing her whole life."Before I discovered rock climbing, I climbed everything in my house I found climbable," said Alexa. "By the time I was one, my parents had given up on using play yards, because I would just scramble over the honeycomb sides, and crash-land my way to freedom. When I was six, I had my first experience in a climbing gym at my older brother’s birthday party."
Right away, Alexa knew she had found her sport, but she had to do some convincing with her parents first. “It took three full years of nagging my parents before I was allowed to join a team. My brothers and I kept my mom busy with tennis clinics and soccer practices, so she resisted adding a third sport,” said Alexa. “I volunteered to phase out tennis for the opportunity to climb. I haven’t been able to stop ever since."
Breaking Through
Alexa, now 18, broke through to a third-place finish at the talent-packed 2013 SCS Nationals in the Female Junior category. That third-place finish also earned Alexa a coveted spot on the USA National team. But the journey to making the podium at Nationals wasn't easy. Alexa's first official competition was at the USA Climbing Northern California’s Regionals in 2008. In 2009, she joined Zero Gravity. From 2009-2012, Alexa experienced a mixture of success and frustration. Along the way, she learned the importance of perseverance. "Ever since I started competing, I had a goal of making it to Nationals for sport climbing, but every year, I would miss the cut by two or three places," said Alexa. "Although I was often disappointed with my placement after critical competitions, I used my failures only as motivation to become stronger. When I went to practice with Zero Gravity, I always made sure to put my absolute effort into all the training routines. My coach, Scot Jenerik, always told the team 'you get what you put into it,' and I took it to heart."
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| 2013 World Championships/Photo Tom Condie |
Alexa came to understand the importance of mental attitude, especially in big competitions. She realized she had to believe in herself and trust what her Zero Gravity coaches and teammates were saying about her abilities.
"I confess that I tended to have low confidence in my climbing abilities, especially after not doing as well as I’d liked at the bigger competitions," she said. "After a while of letting the results get me down, I decided to use them to motivate me. What was the most vital during this past 2013 SCS season, however, was that my coaches helped me realize that I was stronger than I thought. I respected them so much, I believed them. I found myself climbing with more confidence at comps. Another thing my coach, Scot, helped me discover is speed climbing. At first, I thought I didn’t like it, but I ended up doing pretty well in that, too. I know I couldn’t have gone as far as I did this past year, without the pep talks from my coaches and the encouragement from my teammates, and the USA NorCal Climbing Community."
The Turning Point
The turning point for Alexa came at the 2012 SCS Divisionals in Tigard, OR.
"The 2012 SCS Divisionals completely changed my perspective on climbing and competing," said Alexa. "It was after this competition that I learned to value defeat. During the final route of the competition, I messed up near the beginning of the climb, which ended my season sooner than I wanted. This route had me up most of the night, replaying my fall. The next day, my disappointment was replaced by determination. I wanted to climb the final route to prove to myself that I could do it.”
“When the director arrived in the morning to open the gym, he waived all fees and offered to belay me. He said it was the first time he’d seen a competitor return to climb the day after a competition. Like my previous attempt, the beginning proved deceptively effortless, but then I came to the hold that ended my dream for Nationals. With no one to impress but myself, I persisted and got to a hold that would have placed me second the previous day."
"Within twelve hours of feeling I’d failed at Divisionals, I discovered I have a passion that cannot be measured solely by podium finishes. I no longer needed approval from an audience, nor even my coaches, because at that moment I learned that every strenuous minute, every bead of sweat, and every triumph or disappointment has been an important part of who I am. As ribbons fade and medals get misplaced, nothing can surpass the feeling I get when I succeed at a difficult route."
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| 2012 SCS Divisionals, Tigard, OR/Photo Bob Lockhart |
"I do most of my training through climbing, but I sometimes do cardio and run to help with my endurance and keep me in shape," said Alexa. "Also, I have been doing a conditioning routine since I joined Zero Gravity, and that builds my upper body and core strength."
Alexa emphasizes the benefits of training are not measured solely by competition results. "Hard work really does pay off," she said of her third-place finish at Nationals. "It, however, did not beat the feeling of actually training for the competition and seeing myself get stronger week by week. Climbing on Zero Gravity was great, because we pushed and encouraged each other. It was easy to motivate yourself to train hard, when you saw that your teammates were also training hard. Now that I live in Irvine, and am far from my team, I have to train individually. I find it a lot harder to push myself, but I often remind myself of my goals, and that keeps me motivated."
Inspired by Coaches and Teammates
When asked who has inspired her in climbing, Alexa pointed to her teammates and coaches.
"I am fortunate to have had devoted coaches at Zero Gravity who know our individual abilities and
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| Finals 2013 SCS Nationals/Photo Bob Lockhart |
Participation in USA Climbing
Alexa points to her participation in USA Climbing as a key factor in her continued interest in climbing.
"Participating in USA Climbing for years has been a privilege," she said. "I don’t know if I would still be climbing, if I hadn’t been a part of this tight-knit community. I hear that in some sports, competitors don’t always get along well. They might want each other to fail, and may even sabotage one another’s performances. In USA Climbing, however, I have witnessed the complete opposite and have learned the value of good sportsmanship. Competitors cheer on one another. They want one another to succeed, even if they, themselves, don’t. It actually is like a family. We all have friends from different teams, and many of us climb together between competitions."
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| Third-place at Nationals/Photo Bob Lockhart |
Josh Levin, Alexa's longtime teammate on Zero Gravity and winner of a record 18 Youth National titles had this to say:
"Alexa Nazarian is a BEAST. She consistently trains harder than most athletes I've trained with, and it shows in her performance at competitions. At first glance, Alexa may appear small and meek, but beware: I've seen her power through moves many grown men cannot do. She can also be known to crack a mysterious smile on occasion, but don't let that fool you. She only does so before simultaneously destroying both your project and your ego. Don't worry though, because as soon as she does so, she always makes sure to stick around to encourage you and make sure you send too."
Advice for Younger Climbers
"It is okay to fail," says Alexa. "Don’t be too hard on yourself, if you didn’t do as well as you wanted to in a competition. Sometimes, the only route to succeeding is failing a few times. That’s when you can learn a lot about yourself. It may take five years, like it did for me, or it may take shorter…or longer. Don’t give up. If you want it badly enough, you will get there. Learn from your mistakes and listen to your coaches. They want you to succeed and know what you need to get better. Sometimes, the biggest obstacle is what’s in your head."
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| Early competition/Photo courtesy Alexa Nazarian |
"I love biology and math, which led to my decision to major in biomedical engineering. I also love competitive games like ping pong, chess, and other board games, all of which I play with my very competitive brothers. Our latest obsession has been a game called, “The Settlers of Catan.”
Goals
"I want to keep up my training the best I can while I’m in college. My specific goals for the 2013-14 season are to make finals in SCS Adult Nationals, and make the 2014 US Youth team for sport climbing, and after experiencing Red River Gorge this past summer, I know I want to do more outdoor climbing. It will be difficult to fit in the time, but I am determined to find a way."
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| Climbing at Red River Gorge, Kentucky/Photo Michaela Kiersch |
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