Start Today!
Most mountain bike teams start small and grow quickly; it’s a tremendous challenge but highly rewarding! The first step for many successful coaches is attending our fall coaches conference, AKA the Leaders Summit. If you missed the fall Summit and want to coach this year, you can register as a general volunteer. You will need to attend the conference next fall.
Who
Administrators, teaches, parents, students and/or community members can start a cycling club at their local middle or high school. While it is not necessary that the person who initiates the club to be a school “insider” (teacher or administrator), this can be very useful. A teacher, administrator or school volunteer within the school possesses certain advantages, such as knowledge of the school community, bureaucratic systems and channels, and how to access potential teen cyclists. Extensive cycling experience is not necessary. One should simply have the desire to introduce kids to the sport of mountain biking. Once you have decided to create a team, the League can help educate you and provide you with all the tools necessary to be an excellent coach.
What
A Texas League mountain bike team can be any size, but the amount of racers a given team can bring to a race is capped at 30. Teams are broken into Division 1 and Division 2 categories based on their team size (and not their school size). Please see the rulebook (PDF) for more info on Division specifics.
When
Registration for Texas League teams happens mid-October. At this time anyone who intends to coach a team should register with the League so that they are covered under our insurance. League teams are limited to the number of weeks they can have pre-season practice. In addition, teams are not insured outside of these limits. Teams can commence limited pre-season activities on October 15th. Allowable pre-season activities are bike checks, fun rides, mechanical workshops or skills clinics. Between October 15 and November 31st, teams are allowed to have up to 6 scheduled pre-season activities. Regular training practice (3-4 times a week) can commence on December 1st. All team rides or other training activities must end within two weeks of the final League race. A more detailed description can be found in the rulebook (PDF).
NICA Coaches License Program
Coaches on new teams need only obtain a NICA General Volunteer License, but the Team Director does need to take steps toward obtaining a NICA Head Coach License. Please contact your league director at info@texasmtb.org if you have more questions.
