Reminders for Coaches

As you head into your season, please take a moment to check your NICA Pit Zone profile and make sure your NICA coach 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!

Here are several resources you can use to navigate, review, and troubleshoot your coach license requirements:

• NICA Coach Education overview (training required for all levels)
• Navigating your NICA Pit Zone, coach education, resources, & benefits
• Troubleshooting a NICA course completion issue

How do you know if your license requirements are fulfilled?

If you have a red exclamation mark next to your name in the Pit Zone, you are missing at least one of the requirements for level 1 certification and you cannot coach OR ride with student-athletes. 

The minimum requirements to work with NICA student-athletes can be accessed in Pit Zone and the NICA Education Center. Please ensure that you have completed all of the following items:

Pit Zone Registration
Annual registration in the NICA Pit Zone includes:

• Signing the participation waiver electronically
• Completing a background check 
• Paying your annual NICA membership fee

NICA Education Center
Within Pit Zone, you can access the NICA Education Center to complete the following courses:

• CDC Heads Up Concussion Course (required annually)
• Athlete Abuse Prevention Training (required every 2 years)
• NICA Philosophy, Safety, and Risk Management (required annually)
• NICA Coach Licensing Level 1 or above (required every 2 years)

Ready to Level Up?

Level 2

If you are interested in becoming a level 2 for the first time you will need to attend an On-the-Bike Skills 101 clinic, take a first aid and CPR certification, report a minimum of 20 hours of field work, and complete the NICA Coach Licensing Level 2 Course.

Level 3

If you are interested in becoming a level 3 coach for the first time you will need to attend a NICA Leaders Summit (online or in person), take a NICA Approved First aid course or Wilderness First Aid course, report a minimum of 80 field work hours, and complete the NICA Coach Licensing Level 3 Course.

If you have any questions about coach licensing requirements, please reach out via the NICA Coach Help Desk

Special thanks to CANYON, a NICA silver level partner.

NICA Partners are enabling NICA to reinvent youth sports and engage families in a thriving cycling community, for life.

Our partners’ commitment to NICA’s mission has a huge impact on our student-athletes, their families and communities across the nation. NICA partners are changing the world by getting #MoreKidsOnBikes!