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GAME OF THE MONTH:

Flag racing!

Where: Open field

Objective: I can build timing, coordination, pressure control, and steering skills. I can have fun.

101 skills: Braking, Bike/Body Separation

201 skills: Trackstand

Materials: One to three handheld flags (could be as simple as PVC pipe); two to six tall traffic cones or 5-gallon buckets filled with dirt; stopwatch or stopwatch app.

Setup: Set up two, four, or six tall cones or 5-gallon buckets in an open area, spaced at least 15’ apart. Place a flag in half of them, and leave the other half empty. Line up athletes behind a start/finish line.

Rules: As quickly as they can, one athlete at a time rides to a bucket (or cone) with a flag in it, grabs the flag, rides to an empty bucket, and places a flag in it. They repeat this process with each set of buckets, moving the remaining flags to the empty locations. Once done, they sprint back to the finish, and their time stops. Dropped flags or putting a foot down incurs a time penalty (5 sec). Fastest time wins!

Options/variations:

  • Relay race – Put multiple athletes on each team and have them each move one flag, race back, and tag a teammate, who then does the same.
  • Head-to-head race – Set up two separate sets of buckets and flags in similar layouts, and have two athletes start at the same time and race side-by-side.

Progressions: Using traffic cones instead of buckets makes placing the flags more difficult. You can also vary the cone/bucket layout, distances, number.

Reflection question: What part of the game turned out to be more challenging than you expected?

Did you know…
This post is intentionally simple in its design so that it is easy to print and take to your next NICA practice!

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Click to see more NICA games at The Trailhead!

In addition to our growing library of games here on The Trailhead, NICA’s entire collection of on- and off-the-bike games are available in full PDF form in the NICA Coach Resources. To access the coach resources, log into Pit Zone and click the “Courses, Resources, & Benefits” button. Use the resource links on the dashboard, or the search function at the top of the screen.