Happy November, coaches! Is there a way for student-athletes on your teams to provide feedback about their team experience? Whether it is a quick reflection at the end of practice, or a formal survey to wrap up your season - gathering feedback is invaluable for your team development and coaching practice. This month, we’re asking for your feedback! We are exploring ways to improve the NICA Coaches News for 2023, and we’d love to know - what do YOU want to see? What is the best way for you to receive content from our coach education team?
Your response to our brief NICA Coaches News survey would be greatly appreciated. It will take less than 3 minutes.
Thanks for your time on this - we want to ensure we are delivering the best NICA coaching updates, strategies, and tools in the most useful format possible. Thanks so much for being part of the NICA community! - Em & the NICA coach education team |
|
|
Game of the Month: Knee Tag |
TrueSport Symposium: Mental Wellness & the Student-Athlete |
Online Leaders' Summits: 2023 dates |
| Adventure Spotlight: Pennsylvania celebrates the season |
COEUS: FREE Basecamp training |
|
|
This quick, inclusive, and easy-to-explain off-the-bike game gets teams moving and laughing together. Knee tag is a great activity for the start of the season, as student-athletes get to know one another. It's also perfect for a warm up for a ride, for days that trails are closed, or for any time when you need to get student-athletes and coaches smiling! |
|
|
Photo: Wisconsin Adventure training Where: Open space Objective: I can have fun, I can laugh with my teammates Setup: A defined boundary within an open space (use cones, helmets, gloves - anything you have on hand to mark a boundary!) |
|
|
|
How to play: This is an “everybody's it” tag game, but in order to “tag” someone, you have to tap their knee. If a student-athlete gets tagged, they immediately go down to one knee and extend a hand. They re-enter the game after a teammate gives them a “five” with their hand. Student-athletes are immune from getting tagged whenever they are standing still with their hands covering their knees. Student-athletes may only have hands on knees for five seconds, then they have to move. Student-athletes may not move or run with hands on their knees.
Options or progressions: Instead of getting a high-five when tagged, do an exercise. Have the coach pause the game, and provide a time period when no one can “cover” their knees for a few minutes - whoever has the most fun, wins! Reflection: What would you do differently next time? How can you work together in this game? |
|
|
| Join TrueSport TOMORROW, November 16, for a free, online symposium for NICA CEU credit!
Be a part of positive change! TrueSport Talks: Mental Wellness and the Student-Athlete will feature leading industry experts and elite athletes who will address common mental health challenges faced by our youth and provide viable solutions for a path forward. |
|
|
Coaches can earn 1 CEU per hour - attend as much of the symposium as you can, and simply email Betsy Douglas at TrueSport for a completion certificate to upload to Pit Zone. |
|
|
| 2023 Online Leaders' Summit registration is LIVE! |
WHAT: Join NICA’s coach education staff and coaches from across the country in five unique, 1-hour zoom sessions
WHO: Open to NICA coaches looking for Level 3 licensure or CEUs WHEN: Summits are offered in five, one-hour sessions on weekdays; times vary. Each week consists of the five core required Leaders Summit sessions. You can mix-and-match which sessions you attend over several weeks, but all five sessions must be completed to fulfill Level 3 licensing requirements. Current Level 2 and 3 coaches can also complete individual sessions for 1 CEU each. |
|
|
GRiT Coach CEU - Coming Soon! Want to get more involved with GRiT but not sure where to start? We’re excited to share that we are launching an online GRiT coach course early in 2023!
This optional coach education will be available to all licensed coaches, for CEU credit, and is designed to give you the knowledge and tools you need to get more girls and women on bikes on your team. This course is for male and female coaches–we invite all in our community to be part of GRiT and to help get #moregirlsonbikes!
|
|
|
How did the Pennsylvania league end an amazing season?
With an event dedicated to building community and fun!
This PICL adventure isn’t about timing, place, or podiums. It’s about riding with friends. It’s about the joy of being with your teammates on bikes.
This final season event brought teams together to collect checkpoints around the venue as a group. Teams could opt into one of four objectives; a mild ride to collect 5 checkpoints, a medium ride to collect 10 checkpoints, a spicy ride to collect 20 checkpoints, or a "muy caliente" ride where they collected all 30 checkpoints! Teams chose their challenge and designed their route for a day of fun and adventure. The event ended with a season wrap-up celebration and awards under the night sky at Raystown Lake beach.
How have your teams celebrated with adventure this year?
Let us know! |
|
|
Looking for a previous edition of the NICA Coaches' News? Check out the entire collection in the archives! |
|
|
|
