
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 Aid, TexasPremierCPR, Boy 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 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.

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!

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!
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.

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

Scholarship Form
We are committed to making our races and camps accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial situation.
Race Day Communications

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