2 minute read
Climbing the ranks: Hurst finds passion after injury
Senior James Hurst warms up on a bouldering route while climbing at Dayton Pocket in Tennessee. “(It was) beautiful, the scenery was amazing. The sound of the river and smell of it was awesome,” Hurst said.
Photo by Eduardo Andrade
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By Javier Garcia, Sports Editor
Senior James Hurst dabbled in athletics in middle school, playing common sports like baseball and basketball. For a time, basketball stuck around and Hurst committed to playing it even in high school, until fate cruelly intervened.
“[Basketball] took over my life for a while until I tore a ligament in my ankle sophomore year,” Hurst said. “That ligament is kind of what led me to watching a lot of climbing videos on YouTube.”
Suffering through the injury, Hurst remedied it with one of the most influential web searches of his high school career.
“I just kind of Googled it one day,” Hurst said. “I was always interested in the idea of climbing but I never knew how gymnastics/athletic it can be until I just walked in.”
Through discovering this new passion, Hurst reignited old ones. With no places to climb in south Florida outside of playgrounds and “Mount Trashmore,” Hurst joined his family on frequent out-of-state camping, hiking and overall wilderness exploration, main- taining a connection to Earth’s natural creations.
“I pretty much always thought climbing would be just like another thing to do so I tried it out,” Hurst said. “Once I climbed, I realized it perfectly embodied what I love, athletics and outdoors. Soon after I just fell in love with how it feels to flow on the wall. That feeling of just using every muscle in your body in sync was addicting.”
After six months of training at projectRock, a bouldering and rock climbing gym, Hurst got a position as a staff member and, eventually, a competitor for the gym.
Starting in 2019 Hurst went through a series of competitions, progressively landing higher and higher placements, until in December, he found himself competing against 40 athletes in regionals. He placed 17th, not high enough to move on to nationals.
This year, he landed first overall for his age group in the qualifiers.
Improving results and stiffer competition are the cause and effect of Hurst’s extensive workouts. On top of regular gym visits and climbing practice four days a week, he also works on climbing-specific workouts five days a week, using weights, pull-up bars, calisthenics or minute fingertip grip strength.
Hurst will be going to Birmingham, Alabama, on June 18 for the regional competition where the top four of each age group qualify for nationals. Based on results from the qualifiers, Hurst is currently ranked third in the region in his age group.
Hurst would like to move somewhere that has more rock or nature overall for him to immerse himself in and will be attending FSU next year, where he will be closer to areas of Alabama and Tennessee where he frequently climbs outdoors. He plans on finding a job that will allow him to continue to develop. Hurst has engaged with some climbing gear brands about an eventual sponsorship as he continues to climb up the ranks and is a sponsored athlete for the ClimbIT Chalk brand.
As a senior, Hurst is well aware of the future decisions fast approaching, but a year and a half into this newfound passion, Hurst is running with it and molding the future around this life.
“I know (it) sounds dramatic but it’s seriously what makes me happy and is now a huge part of my identity,” Hurst said.
