Samuel Watson’s Coach

Samuel Watson is one of America's most renowned rock climbers, specializing in speed climbing. He is originally from Texas and currently resides in Southlake, Texas. He began climbing at the age of five and represented the United States at the IFSC Climbing World Cups. He loves to spend time playing chess and Mario Kart. Watson is known to admire Manu Ginobili, an Argentine former professional basketball player.

Watson currently holds the world record for the discipline at 4.798 seconds which he achieved in the 2024 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Wujiang. Watson is the youngest climber to have won a gold medal in speed climbing at the 2022 IFSC Climbing World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the same year, he also won his first US National Speed Climbing Championship. In 2023, Watson set US and Pan American speed climbing records of 5.02 seconds at the 2023 IFSC Climbing World Cup in Seoul, Korea. This record is believed to be his personal best time in speed climbing. He loves to spend time playing chess and Mario Kart. Samuel is known to admire Manu Ginobili, an Argentine former professional basketball player.

Samuel's evolutionary event occurred when he qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after securing gold in the 2023 Pan American Games.

Who is Samuel Watson’s Coach?

Samuel Watson is supervised by Albert OK. Infamously styled “Professor OK” is a man who is hard to define. As a former skilled 110m hurdler, he also holds a national rank in Guitar playing and chess teaching professions.

In his free time, he decided to pursue speed climbing and mastered the craft which served him on the list of speed climbing national experts, he’s even famous on YouTube on his channel “Professor OK”.

Albert Ok's coaching career

Albert Ok started his coaching career as a talented 110m hurdler with a burning passion for solving problems and teaching. His coaching abilities gradually developed from his natural athletic talent. The way he chose an unusual method by exploring AI, and mathematics, among others, and deciding to learn Persian as well, helped him to stand out as he tackled the complexities of his subject in climbing.

He was given the facetious nickname 'Professor Ok' since his YouTube videos were devoted to analyzing World Cup beta, attracting huge numbers of views. It was that background that set the grounds for his coaching. Switching the current process of beta analysis for giving coaching is a natural development because Albert's dedication and readiness for sharing knowledge have already led to the 50-strong team of speed climbers and their operations worldwide.

Climbing has been a big part of the development of his coaching philosophy. In fact, from being a beginner climber, who has aspired to be a professional climber to being a coach of elite climbers, he can bridge that gap and foster a culture of support and insights for his athletes.

It is hands-down the dedication to his athlete that you see but never notice, he fits his schedule to give his trainees the required both face-to-face and remote coaching they need for true accessibility. Heniz’ effect goes beyond the figure of individual mountain climbers because he continues to accept new borders in terms of speed climbing and brings the community inside of the sport.

Impact of Albert OK’s coaching on Samuel Watson.

As a motivating factor, Albert Ok's coaching had a significant role in training Sam Watson, one of his best competitors. Albert not only had a role in developing but also in Sam's experienced significant growth and development in his speed-climbing career.

One of the reasons that Albert is the best speed climber in the world is that he pays attention to every intricate detail from the beta sequences to movement nuances. Sam can benefit a lot from the knowledge that Albert has. Albert, who had a different way of looking at things due to his experience in statistics, computer programming, and classic mechanics, helped Sam learn from his mistakes and work on the mistakes in his techniques and training routine.

An interesting aspect of the relationship between Albert, Sam's coach, and Sam was revealed as the two complemented each other and not in a competitive way. Albert, being the coach was the smartest and had many things sorted out, while Sam, on the other hand, stuck to what he knew best, which was hard work and determination. Along the way, they faced shortcomings, victories, and also the inner fire to always do better and progress.

With the passing experience the record-breaking feats and achievement of other new personal bests by Sam and the fact that Albert's philosophy can always be seen in his attitude, mindset, and performances on the walls. Besides Albert equipping Sam with the required skill, he also earned him the heart for climbing that has kept him a professional for a long time.

Image of Albert OK and Samuel Watson.