Eyes aimed at the rocks ahead of her, with a route mapped out clearly in her mind, Tanisha Grover, a freshman at DVHS takes her passion of rock climbing to the next level. Climbing for as long as she can remember, Grover recalls the moments leading up to her becoming a part of The Peak, a competitive team based out of Fremont.
“I begged my parents for a few years to take me climbing, but they never really knew that I was that passionate about it. So then they finally took me when I was like, maybe about 11 or so.”
Rock climbing can be broken down into three types of competitions: bouldering, lead, and speed. For Grover, one sticks out – bouldering. Without having any rope to support her, the only safety precaution for Grover is a thick pad on the floor. For most this would be terrifying, yet for Grover the feeling is unlike anything she has experienced before. Described as “therapeutic,” her sport has been an outlet for her despite her busy schedule.
There is this stark line between professionalism and a hobby. Due to her support, Grover feels like she has started to actually see a difference in her skill and feels like she isn’t alone. Grover’s coach, Dylan Callen, has been with her since the start of her professional career.
“Tanisha is one of the most driven kids I have coached, and I have no doubt she will be anything but an incredible person and climber,” Callen stated.
With only more advancements ahead for her laid out for Grover to continue. Nationals are her next dream, with hopes of making a lasting impact. But with the academic pressures, there is a challenge of balancing academics and her sport.
“I prioritize climbing over school. If I can’t study for the test, I won’t, and I’ll just have to wing it,” she states. “Since there is a lot of work at DV, and there’s a lot of pressure to do well, sometimes you feel like you can’t keep up with both.” “I’m going to either let my grades drop, or I’m going to slack off in my training. So I’ll let my grades drop.” — Tanisha Grover
Grover’s mindset on sports may not be typical for a DV student. The all-or-nothing attitude is associated with many of the academically pressured students at DV as well. Whether that pressure is applied by themselves, a parent, or even some external source, it is undoubtedly present. While Grover’s case is different, coach Callen speaks on what he sees regarding her attitude.
“Tanisha’s biggest challenge is simply resting. Climbing is unfortunately extremely taxing on the body and it requires lots of rest,” Callen stated. “Tanisha, being so driven by climbing, has no issues with not having enough rest in between hard climbing sessions.”
While the sport is something she does outside the school, Grover hopes to bring her passion of rock climbing to others at school. In the future, she hopes to start a climbing club at DV to help make the sport more well-known and share the experience with other students.
“Get to the top, get the climb, and get something out of it.”
