As coaches, we know that people learn in different ways. For those visual learners among us, we want to highlight two key illustrations that have been foundational in the way we teach athlete-centered coaching at NICA.
Great leaders (and coaches) know that they should be thinking about their successor long before they plan to leave their role.
When the time comes to pass the torch, transitioning leadership thoughtfully can be a complex process! It can be tough for a coach who has built and grown successful teams to hand it off, and for new leadership to feel empowered and ready to jump in. There’s also a LOT that goes into coaching and planning, it can be overwhelming to think about all of the info that’s needed to pass along!
2024 dates are now available and registration is OPEN for Leaders’ Summits through December 2024. The NICA Coach Education team will offer nine full workshops covering the four core sessions of NICA’s Leaders’ Summit.
As you head into your season, please take a moment to check your NICA Pit Zone profile and make sure your NICA license status is at a minimum level 1 before you begin participating in activities with your student-athletes. If you plan to lead any athletes on-trail, ensure that you are license level 2 or 3 before hitting the singletrack.
As coaches, we dedicate a lot of our time to preseason events that are focused on student-athletes. Don’t forget that coaches are a key part of our team communities, and that more than 90 percent of an athlete’s time is spent with coaches in team-level practices and events. It’s important to ensure your coaching team feels confident, connected, and prepared as a new season begins! Hosting coach-only practices and events can help everyone get on the same page, build stoke for the adults within your community, and ensure that everyone feels empowered and ready to jump into team activities.
As we welcome our spring leagues back to their preseason, we wanted to do a little resource round-up to highlight our newest templates, tricks, tips, and links for our amazing coaches. Our goal in the NICA coach education department is to help our volunteer coaches with everything they need to be successful, competent, and confident coaches! These new resources and tips are especially relevant for our team leadership (team directors, head coaches, etc.). We hope you can share these resources with your teams so you can do less admin work and more rad coaching and riding.
Get ready for the races! This month we’re covering everything you need to know to create a great event experience for your NICA team.
As our spring leagues start planning for their upcoming season, and our fall leagues begin racing, we’re sharing ways to create amazing race-weekend experiences for your entire NICA community – from riders to families to coaches!
We all have that one thoughtful, crafty, or creative friend who knows how to level-up any occasion. Maybe that person is YOU! We want to share a few team-level ideas for how to elevate your next race weekend and turn up the FUN-o-meter to eleven. And beyond!
Mountain bike racing is awesome! And there are a lot of elements that may feel complicated if athletes don’t get your help navigating them in a manageable way. To help athletes feel ready – mentally, emotionally and physically – coaches can (need) help them prepare by including practice activities that mimic what they will experience on race day.
We all know that NICA events are exciting, full of energy, and just plain fun. But how do we share this stoke with people we know who may not be familiar with mountain biking?