Skip to content

Coach game night: A winning way to build culture from the top

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?

Photo by the Wisconsin League

Culture is cultivated in the preseason

A strong team starts with a strong group of coaches, and building that strong group of coaches should start early, prior to the season.

Showing up for the first day of practice with coaches who haven’t had a chance to meaningfully connect—or in some cases even meet—can start an entire program off on its back foot. It’s far easier to build team culture among student-athletes if the coaches have already begun to develop it in advance among themselves.

Which is why it’s important for coaches to get together at least a couple of times before practices kick off. There are various ways to do so—orientation nights, mock practices, planning sessions around the table, or group rides, for example—and a mix of two or three can be very effective in preparing coaches and giving them time to coalesce.

Coach rides are good; not always great

A lot of teams love preseason coach group rides, and for good reason. They’re an opportunity to ride together without the responsibilities and constraints of riding with student-athletes. They’re great for familiarizing new coaches with the trails (or all coaches with new trails). Plus, they can be just plain fun—it’s riding bikes!

Yeah, coach rides definitely have their benefits. They’ve got their downsides, though, particularly when it comes to that crucial goal of building culture and camaraderie preseason.

  • Not all coaches share the same fitness and ability levels. Chances are slim that every coach could do a ride in a single group without some struggling to keep up and others wishing for a faster pace and fewer stops.
  • Splitting up into mild and spicy groups solves the above problem, but it keeps everyone from getting to connect with everyone else. It’s hard to get to know each other this way, and instead of building a cohesive whole and bringing coaches together, it could cause cliques to form and highlight differences.
  • Anxiety about not being able to keep up might prevent some coaches from attending. A bad experience from winding up in the wrong group might turn off a new coach altogether and keep them from returning.

You wouldn’t combine all of your student-athletes into a single ride group as a team building activity; why would you do so with all of your coaches?

Game on! Why should kids have all the fun?

When you want to get all of your student-athletes interacting, learning, and bonding together, regardless of age or ability, often it’s through a game. Foot down, rock dodge, face the cookie, and so on—games can hone skills, encourage socialization, create culture, and build confidence among kids.

But not just kids. Adults, too! In fact, there are all kinds of benefits to playing games as coaches (besides just being a whole lot of fun):

  • Everyone can participate together. There’s no need to separate by ability or speed and spend the time in separate groups.
  • Facing the same small challenges and spending time together at the edges of everyone’s comfort level spark team building and camaraderie.
  • Coaches learn games they can play with their athletes later in the season, and they see how to best teach and lead those games.
  • For coaches who aren’t sold on the benefit of certain games or just games in general, playing them can be a real eye-opener and potentially make them better, more well-rounded coaches.
  • A night of laughing and “playing bikes” is an incredible way to recruit new coach prospects to the team.

All of which are why a coach game night could be the perfect preseason activity for your team’s ride leaders.

How to put on a rad coach game night

Organizing a game night for your coaches is easy and shouldn’t be much more of a task than putting a group ride together. Get a couple of other people to help out to really make it a breeze and follow these suggested steps:

Obviously, you’re going to need some games to play. In case you don’t already know, the NICA Education Center has two guides full of game ideas: On-the-Bike Games and Off-the-Bike Games for Team Building.

You can choose some games that you and your coaches know and love. If they’re games that get played a lot by the team during the season because athletes like them, they’ll be easy to jump into with minimal instruction. The downside is that they might feel a little repetitive, and coaches will already have their minds made up whether they like them or not.

Definitely take a chance on some new games, too. That way, everyone’s a newbie and on fairly equal footing. This also allows the lead coach to model teaching a new game—a useful skill to have once practices begin. Plus, you get to test out new games and add popular ones to the team repertoire.

Plan to spend 10-15 minutes at most per game, to allow for variety and keep things flowing, and come up with a mix of both on-the-bike and off-the-bike options. Select a couple more than time will allow, so you can shift course if a game doesn’t go over well and still have plenty to do.

Some favorite games proven to go over well with coaches: Cardboard slide relay; foot down/circle of death; Bear, salmon, mosquito; Knee tag; and bike soccer.

It’s not a true NICA activity without some review and reflection at the end, and what better way to review and reflect than with refreshments to put a little gas back in the tank. Once the games are complete, get some pizzas delivered, have coaches volunteer to bring snacks or desserts, or fire up the grill tailgate-style (TRAILgate?).

Giving everyone a reason to hang out after games creates a chance to bond further and bask in the game night afterglow. A little planning for the upcoming season is okay, but keep it light. Avoid letting people break into small friend-groups, too, by creating a large circle of chairs or pulling picnic tables together, if available, to facilitate whole-group socialization.

By the way, some coaches will balk at the idea of playing games instead of going for a ride. It’s perfectly acceptable to bribe them with food and drink.

Tips for coach game night success

  1. Find a good venue – Plan for a location with a large open space suitable for the games you’ll be playing—bonus if there are picnic tables or a fire pit for gathering after. Don’t worry about access to trails — save the ride for another day.
  2. Prepare a supply list – Think about what you’ll need, based on the planned games (cones, pool noodles, cardboard, soccer balls) and choice of food and drink (cups, utensils, plates, napkins). If coaches need to bring their own chairs or beverages, let them know.
  3. Challenge by choice – If a coach feels uncomfortable about playing a particular game, be ready with other ways for them to participate. They can still be in the mix as a referee, cardboard resetter, limbo pole holder, or cheerleader.
  4. Use it as a recruiting tool – While you wouldn’t want to open it up to the general public, consider inviting those whom you’ve identified as a good fit to your team and are on the fence about volunteering. Experiencing the NICA coach vibe firsthand may give them that little extra push to sign up.
  5. Get the OK from your league – Teams are limited in the number of preseason activities they can hold. Seek approval from your league director in advance.
  6. Everyone signs a waiver – Participants who aren’t registered in Pit Zone yet will need to sign NICA’s one-time coach/volunteer waiver. Supply a device or print out a QR code to make it easy for them to do so.

This content was authored by NICA’s coach education team. NICA’s comprehensive coach education program provides new and existing coaches with the high-quality training and resources they need to be confident, competent, and empowered leaders on their youth mountain bike teams. NICA coaches not only create amazing experiences for student-athletes, they create a foundation for building healthy mountain bike communities. NICA coaches change lives! 

COACH EDUCATION  |  PIT ZONE LOGIN  |  COACH REQUIREMENTS  |  COACH HELP DESK

Special thanks to SPECIALIZED, a NICA platinum level partner.

NICA partners help kids gain access to a thriving and engaged cycling community.

Special thanks to SPECIALIZED, a NICA platinum level partner.

NICA partners help kids gain access to a thriving and engaged cycling community.

MORE ARTICLES FOR COACHES…

MORE ARTICLES FOR COACHES…

Flag Racing

Inspired by a fast-paced rodeo event, the flag racing game tests student-athletes’ timing and coordination as they race to place […]