Is your bike team chasing podiums, or is it chasing progress? This month’s feature Trailhead article explores the benefits of “mastery climates” and the pitfalls of the alternative.

As coaches, we help protect that space. One meaningful way to do that is by making sure our teams feel genuinely welcoming to LGBTQ+ student-athletes.

Learn how to play Red Light, Green Light on bikes, a fun NICA team activity that helps student-athletes practice braking, bike-body separation, and track stands while building confidence and supporting teammates.

Whether it’s through a tight section of singletrack or along a narrow log skinny, riding a consistent line is an important ability out on the trails. The Between the Lines game builds that skill, while allowing you to control the challenge and ramp up the fun!

In the fall of 2025, NICA student-athletes had the opportunity to participate with young people around the country in a study of youth sports. The National Youth Athlete Survey, conducted by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative, polled almost 4,000 kids and teens age 10-17 about their experiences and attitudes […]

What happens when girls are not just included, but centered? When a team is built around their experience, their voices, and their growth? The result is something powerful.

Preseason is the perfect time to get coaches together and begin building camaraderie, team culture, instruction skills, and a focus on fun. Are coach group rides the best way to do so, though, or do we take a page from athlete practice plans and apply it to ourselves?

Looking for a simple way to welcome new riders to your team this season? Try It Out events are now called Give It a Go events, and we’re introducing a new GRiT Give It a Go event designed to help more girls feel comfortable trying mountain biking for the first […]

Inspired by a fast-paced rodeo event, the flag racing game tests student-athletes’ timing and coordination as they race to place flags in a series of cones or buckets. Don’t be surprised to hear a YEE-HAW or two from riders cheering their teammates to the finish line.