Late autumn and early spring are our sport’s “shoulder seasons.”

Not too far from winter, they can be unpredictable when it comes to weather. Every coach expects to have to cancel practice now and then, but when early snow or ice closes the trails for a week or two, cabin fever sets in. When that happens, we might need to get creative with alternate practice plans to keep athletes engaged.

If your team can’t get outside and onto the trails, here are some ideas to keep the fun rolling:

CROSS TRAIN

They may not be as fun, but there’s a whole bevy of fitness activities out there beyond mountain biking. Approaching local gyms and exercise studios could open up opportunities for cross training indoors when your team can’t work up a sweat outside. See if the crossfit box down the road would lead your team through a beginner-friendly workout of the day. Ask a yoga instructor friend if they’d host a class. Look into spinning or mobility, or just reserve some gym space and have ChatGPT come up with a no-equipment conditioning workout.

GET TO KNOW YOUR BIKES

You go through the ABCDE checklist at the beginning of practices, but do your athletes know how to maintain their bikes at home? If they have a mechanical during their next race, will they know how to fix it? A lousy day outside is a perfect day to stay inside and learn basic bike maintenance and repair. Your local bike shop might be willing to host, or you may have a coach or athlete on your team who knows their stuff and is willing to teach the group. Think basic here, and have some supplies for hands-on learning,

LEARN FROM A LOCAL EXPERT

As a NICA coach, you have a lot of knowledge and experience to share, but having a bonafide expert educate your team on a particular topic can put things in a new light for your athletes. Invite a sports nutritionist to talk about fueling for races. Bring in a sports psychologist to help with goal setting. Have someone from your local trail organization discuss trail etiquette and stewardship. Even former athletes are a great source of very relevant information Think about who you know in the community who would be willing to speak to your team and answer questions.

TEAMBUILD WITH OFF-THE-BIKE GAMES

Bikes aren’t a requirement for building team culture and helping athletes get to know each other. The NICA Education Center has oh, so many off-the-bike ways to promote bonding and positivity, all while having a lot of fun and staying in out of the cold. Take a look at the GRiT Team Building Games and Off The Bike Games- team building – 2025 resources for dozens of options.

SHARE SOME SCREEN TIME

Typically, one of our big goals is pulling kids away from their various screens, but TV, movies, and video aren’t always incompatible with our mission. Take a look at most pro sports teams and athletes, in fact, who use reviewing “game tapes” to further develop their skills and strategies. You can do the same by watching pro mountain biking videos, while breaking down and discussing techniques used by the riders. Instead of focusing on skills or racing, you could just build some amazing stoke, too, by watching a bike touring documentary.

PLAY MAKE-BELIEVE

Do you have access to a large gymnasium or other empty indoor space? You can still work on bike skills without actually riding bikes. It just takes a little creativity. Plan a practice where you do your typical team activities, but do them while just pretending to be on bikes. Set up some cone runways and imitate OTB skills like ready position and cornering. Play bike limbo as just plain old limbo. Set up a short course and practice passing and bottle hand-ups. It’ll feel silly at first, but don’t be surprised if your athletes and coaches are laughing and quickly tearing around the room on their imaginary bikes.

Remember, when the weather doesn’t cooperate with your season plans, you don’t always have to cancel practice. Sometimes, you can just explore other options to get together, get fit, build your team, and have a blast!

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! 

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