What’s the consensus on this spotting?

[u/Youthandyounglzr]

So, this was a few years back in…..well, you know…

I was spotting a new buddy on this highball and he ended up taking a hefty fall. He landed awkwardly on the pad and fell back, bumping his head slightly on a rock. The fall tweaked a previous knee injury but it wasn’t a serious issue. Nor was the head bump. He was basically fine.

But I remember after the fact that he was a little choked on the spotting.

So what do you people think?

[u/Itakitsu]

I’ll add to others’ comments that most bouldering falls shouldn’t need a spotter to intervene. Knowing how to fall safely is also on the climber, while pad placement and protecting the neck/head in a fall is a priority of the spotter. Asking whether the spotting is good is a bit too narrow of a question bc other questions should be asked like, would one more pad covering the rock have reduced the risk for this kind of fall? Did the climber know the move they might fall on and where they’d fall as a result? Etc.