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Coach Director/League Director Note Hello Coaches, And just like that we are 1 month into the 2023 NICA Season. We are seeing so many of you out there working hard for your teams and community youth that it well, just makes us so happy. We want to provide all the tools and knowledge for you to be successful and raise the bar for all of our coaches. We say it all the time. Coaches are our most valuable asset. The month of August is all about preparation and fun. Teams are working on their fundamentals and creating a team culture in the process. Athletes are connecting with one another and having fun. We hope you are learning what your athletes’ goals and expectations of their season are, in addition to setting your team expectations. We have a few events on tap that we are excited for in August. GRIT/Practice Race Clinics August 12th (one day only) is a GRiT/Beginner Athlete Race Day Clinic. This was formerly just for GRiT Athletes, but we realized there are a lot of beginner athletes, not just females that need a little extra “lift” to help them be successful before their first event. This event will include clinics on how to start, nutrition, proximity drills and a preview of the racecourse for the upcoming Time Trial on August 27th. The Race Clinics will begin at 8 am and end around 12 noon. We need teams to ensure that parents do not just drop off their kids and leave. Additionally, we need teams to manage their own coach ratios (1:6 /2:8). The clinics will be separated so the female and male athletes can learn in their own safe environments. Race flyer is HERE for more details. Prelude Time Trial August 26/27th. The Time Trial will be at a new location this August and we are looking forward to a new venue and community. Harrison will host the 2023 Prelude Time Trial and this will be the first competitive event for their new team. A course that was built with NICA in mind, expect to see some great views of the race from all over, a new and fun course. some climbing and lots of passing room. The link to the Time Trial Race flyer is HERE This Wednesday’s Coaches call will have a pretty loose agenda and go over the Race Flyer’s for the upcoming events. If you have topics you want to discuss, please send them to me at terry@arkansasmtb.org. Thanks for being great humans! Terry and the Arkansas NICA Team |
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Coaches Call on Wednesday, August 2nd at 8pm Our next coaches call is scheduled for 8pm on Wednesday, August 2nd. All coaches are invited to join this Zoom video conference call. Here is the agenda. Please let us know if there are any topics you would like to discuss. The Zoom link is in the agenda also and HERE Practice Ready in NICA PitZone Please ensure that all coaches and student-athletes participating in practice activities are “Practice Ready’“ in NICA PitZone. Custom Race Plates The deadline has passed. We extended it 1 week over but have to get the number plates ordered anyone registering after this past Friday will not have a customer number plate. But they will still have a ton of fun. 8-Hour NICA First Aid Training We have ONE remaining date for 8-hour NICA First Aid training in Little Rock on August 6th. The registration page can be found here. We DO NOT anticipate adding more first aid training classes this year. Check your PitZone license status to see when your previous first aid training is scheduled to expire. Loaner Bike Fees I will be emailing some of you and parents to try and capture the loaner bike fees. We have put out over 80 loaner bikes and have only been paid for 25 of them to cover the maintenance Please Click HERE to pay or forward to the parents of loaner bikes. OTB 101 Conway Arkansas August 19. One of the last chances for a 101 OTB event. Click HERE to register. If you have other requests/needs please let us know or complete the request attached HERE Vittoria Tires Partnership We have come to an agreement with Vittoria Tires to get athletes and coaches significant discounts on Vittoria merchandise for the 2023 Season. The orders will need to be in bulk however. Coaches can submit the order and use the codes assigned to your teams. Discounts will be 40-50%. In order to redeem the code, they need to have an account with Vittoria and be logged in. Each code can only be used once. Click HERE to see the codes assigned to your teams. We only have so many of these codes to spread around the league so make sure you are asking athletes and coaches if they need anything from Vittoria before submitting a small order. Looking for a good coaching podcast? I have been listening to John Sullivan and Dr Jerry of the “Way of the Champions” podcast. They are fun to listen to and have some amazing guests on their podcast and while it’s not directly related to mountain biking, it’s youth sports and development and all the same things that we have to deal with on a daily basis. They seem to help me stay grounded on my direction as a coach and keep me on task. I had to opportunity to meet them both and in a quick conversation. Dr. Jerry commented to me to “Never let anyone change your why”. Which to this day I still go back to from time to time and play over in my mind. Click HERE to listen |
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