Coaches

Season XII Leader Summit, Texas NICA Coaches

Skilled and dedicated NICA coaches are the most important aspect of the Texas Interscholastic School Mountain Bike League. A NICA coach puts the safety and overall well-being of their student-athletes as the first priority.  NICA coaches are role models and teachers who are open to learning the best practices of youth mountain bike coaching and actively working to hone their leadership skills.

The path to becoming a Texas NICA coach generally begins with volunteering for your local team, or attending a Leaders’ Summit in your region.


Coach Licensing

The League recognizes coaches as the most essential component of successful mountain bike teams and we have many resources that can help you organize your team.

The NICA Coaches Licensing Program was introduced to ensure that all League student-athletes have adult leaders familiar with the best coaching practices. Licensed coaches have been trained in topics that include risk management, team management, ride management, and youth sports psychology.

The Coaches Licensing Program includes Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Ride Leaders and General Volunteer Licenses. All license holders are covered by comprehensive liability insurance provided by the League for the duration of the season.

The online registration system requires your head coach to “invite” you onto the team.  Head Coaches who are not registered in the system should contact the League Director.  Coaches that are not associated with teams can also contact the league director to get a license.  All adults riding with NICA youth must hold a current license to be insured during these sanctioned activities.

Training Opportunities

CPR and First Aid Providers

AdventureMed – AdventureMed has a new, local trainer who has provided medical support at NICA races and can offer a hybridized course that consists of a learn-at-your-own-pace, online education to deliver the theory and traditional lecture-based portion of class, and then a subsequent in-person class to practice the skills. The trainer is willing to you for the cost of the course and travel expenses. For now, your team or a group of teams can set up private classes. We plan to offer scheduled courses in 2023. If you would like to set up a training, please reach out to nigel@adventuremed.com and sharon@barclayfamily.org for more details.

Expedition School – The team at the Expedition School have been long-time partners of Texas NICA and continue to offer NICA First Aid, CPR, Wilderness First Aid and more. You can attend one of their public courses or work with them to schedule a private session for the coaches on your team or in your area. Click here to find their course schedule. 

National CPR Foundation – There are many options to complete your CPR training, but the National CPR Foundation has an easy to access and inexpensive CPR course that fulfills NICA CPR requirements. 

Wilderness First Aid – Any formal wilderness first aid class that includes in-person sills assessment can be used for the wilderness first aid requirement.  Some popular courses include, REI Wilderness First AidTexasPremierCPRBoy Scouts of America.


Level 3 Coach Helmets

Trek is proud to offer a product discount program to licensed NICA coaches and student-athletes once again in 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: The updated program begins Jan. 1, 2023. Coaches should reference the 2022 discount program until that date.

For Level 3 coaches, we are excited to offer an additional token of our gratitude for your serious commitment to NICA. We are offering all Level 3 coaches a complimentary, custom NICA Blaze WaveCel helmet!

This is an on-going offer with no ‘redeem by’ date.

Coach Communication

League Newsletter

Important information about things like coach benefits, team sponsor deals, rule changes and race information are communicated via the Coaches eNews, an email newsletter. This newsletter is the primary and most important source of League communications. Important League updates, race schedules, rule updates and clarifications, standings, etc. will all be communicated in the newsletter first.  

TeamSnap

New for the 2023 season, the league will have a TeamSnap app to facilitate faster communications with teams and coaches via a mobile app. As a member of the League, all teams have access to a team dashboard and the highest level of subscription benefits available. The Texas League is please to be able to provide this benefit to all team. If you have questions about your teams app, please contact info@texasmtb.


Student Recruitment

There are countless ways to recruit for your Texas NICA team. Whether you’re a long-time coach, or just getting started, we’ve put together a few of our favorite ways to get #morekidsonbikes.

Yard Sign mockup

Yard Sign Template

Get the word out about your team! Coordinate with your local trails, bike shops and schools for permission to place signs in populated areas.

Customize Your Template

Business Card Templates for Coaches

Business Cards

Add your team name and team’s contact information to business cards that can be stashed in your riding pack or your car – that way you’re always ready to share with any riders you come across!

Coach Business Card Template

Team Flyer Template

Team Flyer

Printed flyers are a lost art, but can be useful if placed at bike shops and restaurants. Send PDF versions to local cycling club’s via email and post to social media!

Start Advertising for your Team


Pre-Season

Get your team ready for Season XII with these handy links.

Category Placement Petition

Petitions to upgrade categories must be submitted at least two weeks before race-day.

Submit your Placement Petition

Bluff Creek Ranch Warda Mountain Bike Race

Rule Exception Petition

Petitions should be filed during the pre-season.

Fill out the Petition

Texas Mountain Biking

2023 Category Placement Table

The category placement table indicates student-athletes’ placement for 2023.

Review the Category Placement Table

GRiT Together

Scholarship Form

We are committed to making our races and camps accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.

Complete the Scholarship Form


Race Day Communications

ROCKY TALKIE logo

Official race day communications will be on hand-held radios. All teams should have at least one Rocky Talkie radio to receive real-time updates from race officials. While we do our best to provide updates on TeamSnap and through PA announcements, those methods are not always available. Our partners at Talkie offer a 25% discount for all teams. Contact JJ for the discount code.

If your team has a financial hardship and cannot purchase a radio, contact the league director at jj@texasmtb.org.

Team Radio Channels

The league has pre-assigned radio channels to teams across the Texas league in an effort to reduce as much cross-communication. The listed channels are by no means a requirement. They are a recommendation to avoid having 3 teams sharing a single channel. Please reach out to Mr. Communications (Mike) if your team feels an alternative channel may work better for you. 

Assigned Team Radio Channels

Channel           Team Name

6 (6)                 Texas League

16 (16)*           A&M Consolidated High School

18 (41, 32)       Alamo Heights Mules Cycling

20 (20)             Amarillo Interscholastic

2 (2)             Boerne 9ers (TWO10) Composite

4 (4)                 Bulldog HS Composite

4 (4)                 Bulldog HS Composite

4 (4)                 Bulldog MS Composite

15 (30)             Camacho Activity Center Composite

16 (16)*           College Station Composite

16 (16)*           College Station Composite Middle School

7 (14)               Dripping Springs Composite Mountain Bike Team MS

1 (1)                 East Texas Fresh Composite

8 (17)               Fort Worth Composite Middle School

21 (21)             Hays County Composite

3 (1)*               Heart of Texas Composite HS

3 (1)*               Heart of Texas Composite MS

22 (15)             Highland Park Scots Cycling

22 (22)             Houston Composite

                        Jesuit HS

15 (15)*           Lake Travis High School

15 (15)*           Lake Travis Middle Schools

4 (8)*               Laredo Comp MS

4 (8)*               Laredo Composite

                        Lopez Middle School

                        Midway High School

5 (2)*               North Austin Composite HS

5 (2)*               North Austin Composite MS

7                      North Texas NICA Cycling

2 (10)*             Reagan TWO10 HS

Other               San Marcos High School

17 (17)             South Metro Composite

17 (?)*             Steiner Ranch Composite HS

17 (?)*             Steiner Ranch Composite MS

1 (33)               Stephen F. Austin Mountain Bike Team

2 (10)*             TWO10 Comp MS

2 (10)*             TWO10 MTB Racing

5 (5)                 Vandegrift High School

18 (?)               West Houston Composite (Coyotes)

19 (19)*           Westlake High School Composite

19 (19)*           Westlake MS Composite