Interested in being a youth mountain bike coach?
Here’s the way Independence Youth Cycling and our chapter teams look at it.
There are 3 basic “coaching” roles — Ride Supporter, Ride Leader & Skills Instructor.
Ride Supporter
Participation as a coach starts at the Ride Support level. This role supports other senior coaches and consists of keeping kids in order at the beginning and end of practice, as well as managing during instruction sessions. During trail rides, Ride Supporters ride in with the pack to keep the group controlled and/or sweep the group. Ride Support requires a NICA Level 1 Certification. You do NOT need mountain biking experience to be a Level 1 coach. We’ll help you learn what you need to be successful!
Ride Leader
Ride Leader is next. Ride Leader role is responsible for leading a successful group of athletes and coaches during a ride. There’s a group ride protocol we follow, which is geared toward safety. This coach role requires a Level 2 NICA coach certification, mostly for knowledge on how to teach basic skills (NICA “OTB 101”), First Aid certification, and NICA Risk Management.
Skills Instructor
Skills Instructor comes next. This is a senior coach who is comfortable getting up in front of the student athletes to do skills instruction. We have a really great skills development program provided to us by National Interscholastic Cycling Association and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Mountain Biking league. The Skills Instructor role requires a NICA Level 2 or 3 certification
Above that are different senior level roles that make the organization run.
The other part of leading a team is finding a spot where you as a person, can shine. Teams do their best to find roles where people can bring their individual strengths to the table. CFO types help with finances more than instruction. Comms people help with social media and email newsletters vs hammering with the fast kids. You get the idea.
Interested in learning more about coaching! Contact us today! We need YOU to make our program a success! E-mail us for more info at sendit@indiemtb.org or use the Connect With Us link here.
