It’s Easy to Start a NICA Team!
Almost anyone can start a NICA team. You just need a passion for riding and the desire to pass that passion on to kids. You don’t have to be an accomplished mountain biker or have prior coaching experience. Our coach licensing program will equip you with the tools and skills needed to successfully lead your team. We’ll help you get started in five easy steps:
- Register with the League.
- Get your coach license.
- Organize your team.
- Plan your season.
- RIDE!
See if there is a team in your area.
If there is a team in your area, use the contact information listed in our team map to reach out to the team directly or reach out to the league.
Step 1: Register with the League
Email us at info@texasmtb.org to get started in our registration system, Pit Zone. We’ll need your full name and email address. Pit Zone is the NICA registration platform where all teams, coaches, student-athletes, and team volunteers register. Coaches and student-athletes use Pit Zone to pay fees and complete training.
One of the first steps to registering is determining what type of team you will have. Your team can be directly tied to a school with only athletes from that school, or you can host athletes from a specific geographical area, regardless of what schools they attend. You can also include athletes from grades 5-12. You can decide if you want to include all grades or limit your team to only high school or only middle school.
School-based team
School-based teams are a great way to open doors for lots of new riders. Having a team affiliated with a school allows students to be part of the school community and helps the team recruit within the school. Many schools also allow their students to earn PE credits for participation on school-based teams.
Location-based (Composite) Team
Composite teams include middle and high school riders within a geographic area regardless of where they attend school. Many teams start as composite teams and then transition to school-based teams as they grow. This is the best option if you do not have enough students from one school to make a team (5 or more).
Step 2: Get Your Coach License
Within Pit Zone, you will find the NICA Education Center. It is designed to give you the knowledge and skills you need to become a great NICA coach.
Pit Zone features an easy-to-follow checklist with the requirements for each coaching level and shows your progress in real-time.
There are three coach levels in NICA. A level 3 coach has the most training, experience, and certification. A new team only needs one coach with a level 1 license in its first season. We will assign a coach mentor to help you with the rest. All requirements to become a level 1 coach can be completed online in a few hours! This process is smooth and easy to follow.
RESOURCES: NICA Coach education requirements | Quick-start guide to navigating coach courses, resources, & benefits
Step 3: Organize Your Team
What resources will your team need to be successful?
New teams only need a few things to be successful: Dedicated leaders, eager student-athletes, safe bikes and equipment, and a funding plan. If you want to dive into all the nitty-gritty details, you can view NICA’s comprehensive guide to starting a team.
Dedicated Leaders
There are three core roles required for NICA teams. These roles should be filled by licensed coaches and can all be completed by one person or can be spilt among many people. These roles include:
Head Coach
The head coach is responsible for leading, organizing, and coordinating practices and team events. The Head Coach can also fulfill the duties of Team Director.
Team Director
The team director handles communications with parents and athletes and manages the team’s Pit Zone.
Designated Reporter
The Designated Reporter tracks coach/rider participation and reports any injuries to NICA.
Additional Roles
As teams grow, the need for additional leaders becomes more and more important. Getting parents involved is one of the easiest ways to fill team roles and share the load. Parent volunteers can help as ride sweeps, plan parties, coordinate resources, and more. To ride with the team, parent volunteers should complete the level 1 coach licensing. This is a great option for parents who may not want to take the lead but want to get involved and get out on the trail with the kids.
Funding Plans
Every NICA team has to plan for three categories of expenses: Registration fees, Coach licensing expenses, and team jerseys. Some teams have the funds to cover additional expenses like equipment and travel, but that is not required to get started. There are multiple ways to cover these expenses. You can set up a team fee and collect funds from all athletes to help cover these expenses (each athlete will still have to join NICA and pay the NICA fees), you can fundraise and get sponsorships from local businesses, or you can cover the funds out of a school or community activities budget.
2025 fee structure and fundraising resources coming soon.
Scholarships
Scholarships are available for teams, students and coaches in need to help cover participation in the league. Reach out to info@texasmtb.org, and we will work with you to make sure every kid can participate.
Additional scholarships from our partners are featured throughout the year to help us get #morekidsonbikes!
Student Athletes
Now it’s time to bring new riders and volunteers into your team community. There are a lot of ways to recruit, and lots of resources to help.
- Access team recruitment and team management resources in the NICA Education Center (enter via Pit Zone)
- Use passive recruitment strategies like hanging flyers, posting on social media, and putting out yard signs.
- Use targeted or individual recruitment strategies like presenting at school activity fairs, hand out cards or stickers at local trails, engage local bike shops and businesses.
- Make sure that all of your recruitment activities collect the names and email addresses of the parents / caregivers. Once you have the contact information, invite them to register in Pit Zone immediately!
Equipment
Team Jerseys
Teams are required to wear matching jerseys. Most teams have custom jerseys made with their team name and mascot. However, this is not a requirement. An inexpensive, matching athletic shirt for everyone on the team works just as well.
Bikes and Riding Gear
Each student-athlete needs access to a trail-worthy bike, a proper helmet, a way to transport the bike, and water bottles or a hydration pack. Most teams ask the students to come to practice with these items. However, other teams choose to provide some or all of these items. If you have an interested student that does not have access to the needed equipment, let us know and we will help them get what they need.
Coaches Pack
As a coach, your number one job is the safety of your student-athletes and coaches. Carrying a pack equipped with basic first-aid, bike repair, and nutrition supplies will ensure you are prepared to meet needs that may come up on the trail.
New to mountain biking?
Step 4: Plan Your Season
Off-season
May-August
Ideal time to plan for your season, fundraise and recruit.
Pre-season
September-October
Team Registration opens September 1. The annual coaches summit is held in September or October. Athlete Registration opens October 15.
Teams can hold up to six activities with students in the pre-season. These activities often include recruitment events, information sessions, equipment checks and try-it-out rides.
Practice-season
November- January
Teams can begin holding regular practices for all athletes fully registered in Pit Zone.
Race-season
January-May
The first race is in early February. The six race series wraps up in late April or early May.
Kick-off Meeting
Get your team started with a few kick-off meetings! Start by meeting with a small group of your most interested coaches and parents. From there, you can coordinate and schedule your first team kick-off meeting for interested parents and students. Pro-tip: Collaborate with your local bike shop, as they are often excited to host NICA kick-off meetings!
Step 5: Start Riding!
Practices
Schedule your practices and communicate these to your team! Remember that our main goal is to instill a life-long love of a healthy sport. Focus on skill fundamentals early in the season (this includes your most advanced athletes!), start adding and building fitness through December/January, and then let the motivation of racing drive your student’s excitement throughout the rest of the year!
Skills/Fun
All you really need is a park with sufficient grass and a few of our Adventure tools (cones, pool noodles, cardboard) to have a great time!
Single Track
Remember to make sure your athletes have basic skills down before hitting the single track. Ensure you have an appropriate coach-to-student ratio, and double-check that your trails are at an appropriate skill level for your athletes.
Fitness and Rain
We get rainy, cold days sometimes and it can be good to have a backup plan to your regular practice! Some good alternatives include strength/yoga training, local spin classes, indoor trainers, or bike maintenance lessons.
Races
Race weekends are so special for the League! This is when everyone’s hard work pays off. Most importantly, it’s when everyone comes together as a mountain bike community to cheer our athletes on and have fun. While our races are competitive, the spirit is 100% collaborative. You’ll find all of the race-day information on our race event pages on the website.
As a coach, your main responsibilities will be:
- Ensure your students are ‘race-ready’ in PitZone by the deadlines.
- Help coordinate any camping/lodging with your families.
- Pick up your team’s race plates at the first race. Race plates are used throughout the season. We recommend enacting a “turn your race plate in after you race” policy with your team. All plates can then be kept in one place and athletes don’t leave the venue and lose their plates. At the next race, coaches can hand out race plates and not worry about missing plates and ensuing chaos.
- Make sure your students are at the start line on time, ready to race – with helmets, tools, hydration, and healthy bikes!
- Lead by example with a positive sporting attitude!
Beyond Racing
The Teen Trail Corps Program teaches student-athletes to give back to their sport by helping to maintain trails and develop relationships with land owners. Athletes can earn badges for stewarding or advocating for mountain biking in different ways.
NICA Adventure programming helps students discover the joy of biking and outdoor adventures. We use games and experiential education to help students challenge themselves at their own pace and develop a lifelong love of cycling.
Girls Riding Together, a.k.a GRiT Texas is an outreach program focused on recruiting, developing, and retaining female athletes, coaches, ride leaders, and volunteers. GRiT Texas is part of the NICA National GRiT outreach program.
