Building foundation skills
Another fantastic youth focused mountain biking initiative is the KidsTechnics programme offered in both South East Queensland and the ACT by renowned coaching company RideTechnics. RideTechnics owner and head coach Dylan Cooper says he’s seen a number of drastic changes in their junior programmes in the last year alone.
‘Our youth programmes are changing rapidly in two main ways. One is that we’re seeing more entry level riders, riders whose parents don’t necessarily ride. The bikes are lower end or borrowed, and they may not have ridden off road much at all. The second is the sheer demand for programmes, I’d say it’s a 250 percent increase in the last year.’
With lots of new riders entering the sport whose parents may not be mountain bikers, Dylan says it’s important to make sure the kids have the appropriate equipment to ride off road in a safe and enjoyable way.
‘We do a lot of vetting during the sign-up process. If it sounds like a child might not have the right equipment, we’re able to talk to the parents and help set them up properly to make sure they can participate and have a good time.’
Despite some riders not having mountain bikers as parents, Dylan says almost all of the kids attending their programmes are motivated to improve. ‘We’re fortunate in mountain biking in that kids who do mountain biking really want to do it.
It’s not like other mainstream sports where the parents have often forced them to do it. It’s not a ‘default sport’ so the kids have really chosen it for themselves.’
Dylan says that regardless of whether the kids have competitive ambitions or purely recreational ones, the progress they make within the KidsTechnics courses never ceases to amaze him and his fellow coaches.
‘With kids you’re starting with a clean slate, they don’t have bad habits that have formed over many years. If you demonstrate things well, they’ll see what you’re doing and mimic it. It’s amazing what these kids do straight up. Over the years we’ve refined how we word things so that the kids understand exactly what we’re asking them to do. We also do less reps, instead of doing say 8-10 goes, these days it’s 3-4. At the end of every programme, we’re amazed by the progress.’
Despite the huge increase in demand, Dylan says KidsTechnics will be limited to the ACT and SEQ for the time being, as ensuring the quality of coaches and professional delivery of the programmes is paramount.
‘We’d rather keep to where we are and focus on doing that well. We’ve invested a lot in formulating the programme that we run in 3 days of two-hour sessions, which we feel is the optimal for improvement. You can pack a lot into three days. Especially for the kids under 11. A day here or there isn’t enough.’
In terms of kids that are interested in racing versus those riding for enjoyment, Dylan says the shift amongst children mirrors the adult riding population.
‘The numbers in terms of kids wanting to race is quite similar to adults these days, about five percent are interested in racing. Five years ago, it was more like 80 percent. I think this is because you used to have to race to get into the sport and meet other riders, but that’s not the case anymore.’
Overall, it’s clear there’s plenty of progression in the space of mountain biking programmes for young riders. The old school method of juniors being pushed into racing is evolving with the sport in the direction of inclusivity and letting kids ride their way. With organisations like those we’ve spoken to in this article onboard, the future is full of opportunity for the young riders of Australia.