Nica/high school mtn bike

[Levi]

This spring my boy wanted to join his high school mountain bike team. He's done alot of different sports and activities over the years and never really enjoyed them. My boy and me ride when we have the opportunity together. But my time is very limited for free time. So we don't get to ride as much as we want.

The team started this spring/summer with practice 3 times a week. Than when school started and the races started. They have a few more races coming up. He loves riding with the team and has made some new friends. He looks up to one of the jr riders amd he seams to be a good kid. The coach and ride leaders are good with the kids. It would be good to see the coach push the kids a little more though.

Going to the races is fun and also boring waiting till he races. Helped volunteering for things here and there and makes some of the time go by. He has his ups and downs racing but having fun doing it.

The nica league is a great organization. It includes all kids, boys, girls, and all skill levels. There's more boys than girls in our league than girls. It's awesome to see the girls can ride and be equal too and be just as good.

The season ends soon and he's excited to race again next year. See how it goes. Anyone else kids ride with nica or kids that ride as well here?

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

That has to be the coolest school sport I've hear of...I never even knew it was a sport in school.

Always good to do new things and meet new people, his long-life friend could be on the team; ya never know

[Levi]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

That has to be the coolest school sport I've hear of...I never even knew it was a sport in school.

Always good to do new things and meet new people, his long-life friend could be on the team; ya never know

I think so too. It's a awesome sport. Something different than the usual football, baseball, etc. It originally started out in 2001 and has formed into what it is now nica and still growing. They say there is over 60,000 students that are registered with the league. I wish there would of been something like this when I was in high school.

It's not like your usual team sports where you get transported by bus to another school and play and than return back to school. Everyone is on there own to get to practices and races. There is alot of volunteering that goes on in the teams and even at the races. There is some paid positions with the league. It's awesome to see how many are on a team when your walking though pitzone. Our team is somewhat on the smaller side with about 40 kids. Some of the larger teams have over 200 kids.

[hpiguy]

I too think it's great that this exists nowadays. I wish it had existed when I was in school, perhaps I would have made some healthier choices earlier in life. It's a great way to get a college scholarship, and literally get paid to ride some of the best trails in the country. Best of luck for next season Levi!

[Fricker08]

I think it’s great that Kids have these options now, I played football as a freshman.. just wasn’t my thing. Same with most traditional sports. I picked up mountain biking as a sophomore but did most of my riding on my own. Saturdays we would get a group together through the local bike shop.
Fast forward a few years after I graduated found out they started a team at my high school. I believe it’s still going, would be about 10 years now.
I think it’s a great alternative to the traditional sports and good to hear your kid is loving it.


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[high plains drifter]

Originally Posted by hpiguy

I too think it's great that this exists nowadays. I wish it had existed when I was in school, perhaps I would have made some healthier choices earlier in life.

LOL.. I'd have to agree. We had two smoking lounges in my high school... one for teachers and one for students.

[Chiphead]

Awesome to see this post come up! We are headed to our first NICA race this weekend at Mammoth, CA and I am beyond excited.

I have been an avid mountain biker since '93. My son, also my youngest, has enjoyed the sport with me. My two older daughters didn't want anything to do with riding bikes.

We have been 'members' of the our local NICA team for a couple of years, but this will be our first race. My son has either kept football as a first priority or the events have been canceled due to weather or Covid.

[Levi]

Originally Posted by Chiphead

Awesome to see this post come up! We are headed to our first NICA race this weekend at Mammoth, CA and I am beyond excited.

I have been an avid mountain biker since '93. My son, also my youngest, has enjoyed the sport with me. My two older daughters didn't want anything to do with riding bikes.

We have been 'members' of the our local NICA team for a couple of years, but this will be our first race. My son has either kept football as a first priority or the events have been canceled due to weather or Covid.

That's awesome. Good to see some other nica family here. Good luck at the first race. Same here my daughter didn't want anything to do with riding. My son loves it. We have a race next weekend out of town. Looking forward to going. He's already talking about next season and we're not even done with this season yet.

It's fun watching the kids race. I like seeing what bike problems come with racing. Broken chains, delailers, cables, flat tires is what we've seen some the teams. Unfortunately last race a week and half ago there was 2 separate injuries where they were transported by ambulance to the hospital.

[Levi]

Originally Posted by Chiphead

Awesome to see this post come up! We are headed to our first NICA race this weekend at Mammoth, CA and I am beyond excited.

I have been an avid mountain biker since '93. My son, also my youngest, has enjoyed the sport with me. My two older daughters didn't want anything to do with riding bikes.

We have been 'members' of the our local NICA team for a couple of years, but this will be our first race. My son has either kept football as a first priority or the events have been canceled due to weather or Covid.

How did the race go?

[Chiphead]

Race went well. We had a great time! My son didn't podium but didn't come in last either

I am super happy to see so many kids on bikes. There was an estimate of around 400 racers.

I thought the course, about a 4 mile loop, was very well laid out. It was mostly singletrack with a few sections of two-track, perfect for passing. A lot of ups and downs and few sections of tight trees with rocks and roots thrown in.

[Levi]

Sounds like he did good than. Long as he's having fun racing. Think it's great theses kids can have a opportunity to ride bikes. We have a race this weekend. So it will be a nice 5 days off for me. We have about 2000 racers at each race. It's crazy though the whole day with the wave of kids that races.