🌳 August Coaches Newsletter 🚴♂️
Dear Coaches,
The 2024 Season has officially kicked off! 🤘
So excited to have the season rolling and to see the constant chatter around practices and more kids on bikes! Below are a few topics that are top of mind for me as we move into the season.
Teen Trail Corps Update
Communication Expectations
5th Grade Survey and Resources
Regional Race Points Clarification
Heat/Weather Information
Race Clinic Sign Ups
Teen Trail Corps (TTC) Update:
Coaches,
I trust this message finds you well. As the Coach Director, I am reaching out to discuss an issue close to our hearts – the Teen Trail Corps (TTC) policies.
We all share a common goal: to get #morekidsonbikes, with no tryouts and no benches. It’s a mission that unites us, and it’s a mission that requires our collective commitment. While we highly value the TTC and the positive impact it can have on our athletes and communities, it’s crucial to remember that participation in the TTC and the completion of the recommended 10 hours is not a mandatory requirement.
Making TTC mandatory, or even the implication of mandatory volunteerism, could inadvertently create a barrier for those wishing to join a team, contradicting the very essence of our mission. We need to ensure that our language and approach reflect this policy. It’s not just about the words we use, but the spirit in which we use them.
I urge you to take the time to communicate this policy to your teams and adjust your approach and verbiage accordingly. Let’s ensure that our actions and words are in harmony with our mission. Together, we can continue to make a positive impact on the lives of our young athletes. Remember, we want to inspire them to give back through TTC initiatives and understand the why, and not require them.
Thank you for your understanding, your cooperation, and most importantly, your unwavering dedication to our mission.
Communication Expectations:
As leaders of your teams, know that you are the main voice that not only your riders will hear, but also their parents.
Please do your best early on in the season to set up clear communication channels with your parents and student athletes. Everything that you hear from us, your AR NICA Leadership team, will need to be shared with your parents and athletes. So, find the messages for your team, distill them into the important pieces for your people, and communicate!
This does a few things:
- Decreases stress. When everyone knows the plans and expectations, we worry less.
- Increases participation. When everyone knows the plan, they know where they fit in, and they want to be involved.
- Increase Stoke! When we are ready to engage, we are eager to bring others along with us!
- And don’t be afraid to ask for help. Our volunteer coaches give so much of their time, it’s ok to ask families to help support the team in other ways outside of physically coaching.
Regional Championship Points Clarification
We wanted to clarify some questions regarding regional points on the most recent coach call. Attached is an excerpt from the Arkansas exceptions. Since we have moved to 2 split regions and added a true state championship at the end of the season the regional champion will be based off total points of the 3 regional races. The Mid-season classic athletes will be scored overall as they finished in their region. Callups will be based off total points as well. No dropping of races for callups. Special exceptions may petition per the handbook.
6.11.B. OVERALL INDIVIDUAL SERIES SCORING
6.11.B.1 Overall Regional Series scoring for individuals is based on the finishes for Races 1 through 3 to determine the regional champions.
No dropping of finishes.
For more information: NICA Handbook.7.1.24 (nationalmtb.org)
5th Grade Survey and Resources:
We are thrilled to have 5th grade being piloted in AR NICA! For all the teams who are braving this new world of 5th grade NICA, thank you!
Here are some great resources to help you lead practices well:
5th Grade Resources and Practice Plans
Please help us make sure we capture your team and fill out the survey below.
5th Grade Inclusion Survey
Heat/Weather Information:
As you plan practices and are struggling to make decisions on what the right plans for practice would be, remember that there are very clear guidelines from NICA National and we should adhere to them at all times!
Weather Reference & Assessment Process for NICA Coaches & Staff
Student Athlete Race Clinic Sign Ups:
As we gear up for our event weekends throughout the year, we want to ensure that we prep our student athletes for what racing is truly like. To that end, we are offering a Race Clinic for new riders! And for us to make sure we go through a number of topics to increase confidence in our athletes. This clinic is geared toward student athletes who are new to RACING not new to riding. We will work on competition specific skills not 101 or even 201 level skills.
This race clinic will cover the following topics:
Feed Zone
Nutrition
Bumping/Passing
Race Starts
Staging
And we need your help!
Please sign up below to help lead the sessions below and check out the resources linked in the sign-up sheet to help enhance your practices!
Vittoria Tires Arkansas NICA Discount
Vittoria is once again offering some discounts to help lower the cost of having high quality racing tires on NICA bikes at an affordable price with their discounts. Please see the discount code below and share with your teams and submit bulk orders for your team.
NICA24AR
- The code is valid once per customer. For the discount to apply, each head coach must create an account with pitzone email and be logged in.
- Discount is 40% off.
- Can’t be combined with other offers, discounts or codes
- Limited edition and new products are excluded
Best,—
Josh Foster
Coach Director
josh@arkansasmtb.org