Advice Starting a high School cycling team/club
01-28-19, 04:09 PM
#1
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Advice Starting a high School cycling team/club
My son is a Junior and has been cycling somewhat seriously since he was 12 years old. Several metric centuries, 2 full century and the full length of the 2018 Ragbrai under his belt. However I have a feeling he is getting tired of riding with his old man and my older friends. He has mentioned he would like to ride with people his age but we don't really know anybody with kids his age who ride.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
01-28-19, 07:21 PM
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Liability maybe an impediment, but as a dutiful father, my suggestion is to get some of the hotter girls involved from school to be part of the riding club. This will help keep him motivated. 
Not sure how much support for a riding team you will garner. I will tell you a pretty serious concern is rider safety sharing the road with automobiles. I lost a good friend this past year and other friends were badly hurt. These are 'very' serious cyclists. Young people even show less discretion due to lack of experience which needs to be taught.
if your son has talent, I suggest he get with the local racers in your town to hone his riding ability.
Best of luck.
Not sure how much support for a riding team you will garner. I will tell you a pretty serious concern is rider safety sharing the road with automobiles. I lost a good friend this past year and other friends were badly hurt. These are 'very' serious cyclists. Young people even show less discretion due to lack of experience which needs to be taught.
if your son has talent, I suggest he get with the local racers in your town to hone his riding ability.
Best of luck.
01-29-19, 07:41 AM
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01-29-19, 09:15 AM
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ling/31330695/
This is in my region and I've raced against a lot of the kids in the program over the years. Yea, not exactly a level playing field because that school has $$$$$$$$$ and is a boarding school so they can draw in the best endurance athletes in that age range with scholarships etc, but it's still a relevant story.
01-29-19, 09:42 AM
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You need to sell it as a brother/sister sport to the other endurance sports. That will help increase the interest. Swimming, X Country, Cycling, Tri etc. That means more potential athletes that can find their niche. The cross training will help across the board. Dan gave a good example. Those kids then go on to college programs such as this one that is also in our region.
Cycling | Team Page | Club Sports | Liberty University
https://www.liberty.edu/campusrec/cl...5959&TeamID=12
Cycling | Team Page | Club Sports | Liberty University
https://www.liberty.edu/campusrec/cl...5959&TeamID=12
01-29-19, 11:47 AM
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My son is a Junior and has been cycling somewhat seriously since he was 12 years old. Several metric centuries, 2 full century and the full length of the 2018 Ragbrai under his belt. However I have a feeling he is getting tired of riding with his old man and my older friends. He has mentioned he would like to ride with people his age but we don't really know anybody with kids his age who ride.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
01-29-19, 11:47 AM
#8
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This sounds like a great, worthwhile endeavor. I'd love to be part of it. Here are my thoughts.
Something you'll have to consider, at least in many states, is that if it's going to be officially sanctioned by the school, any adults involved will likely require a background check if you're interacting with the kids.
Obtaining bikes for some kids might be an issue also. Perhaps you could get used bikes donated from members of the community, bike shops.
Are you thinking you might draw off-season (endurance) athletes from other sports as a good cross-training activity? The season you do it in will affect that, of course. Depending on where you live, winter is probably out of the question. So swimmers could do it. But distance runners will be running CC in the fall, track in the spring. Soccer players (who actually run long distances) could be a draw. But you should advertise it as ALL LEVELS...from social riders to those who want to train for racing. A few years ago I read about a h.s. CC coach who recruited runners that way. More of a "club" than a "team." He ended with so many people on the club/team that he could field an "A" and "B" team for both boys and girls. Separate workouts for all levels. Some of the kids who eventually became among the best runners had never considered joining the CC team until the all-inclusive social club slant was put on it.
The PE teacher telling your son that he can't recruit from the school unless it's officially sanctioned...that's a little ridiculous. Why can't a student just ask a bunch of his classmates to go on a bike ride? He/you should do it that way to "test the waters." Then, if there's enough interest, go to the school to request official sanctioning.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Dan
Something you'll have to consider, at least in many states, is that if it's going to be officially sanctioned by the school, any adults involved will likely require a background check if you're interacting with the kids.
Obtaining bikes for some kids might be an issue also. Perhaps you could get used bikes donated from members of the community, bike shops.
Are you thinking you might draw off-season (endurance) athletes from other sports as a good cross-training activity? The season you do it in will affect that, of course. Depending on where you live, winter is probably out of the question. So swimmers could do it. But distance runners will be running CC in the fall, track in the spring. Soccer players (who actually run long distances) could be a draw. But you should advertise it as ALL LEVELS...from social riders to those who want to train for racing. A few years ago I read about a h.s. CC coach who recruited runners that way. More of a "club" than a "team." He ended with so many people on the club/team that he could field an "A" and "B" team for both boys and girls. Separate workouts for all levels. Some of the kids who eventually became among the best runners had never considered joining the CC team until the all-inclusive social club slant was put on it.
The PE teacher telling your son that he can't recruit from the school unless it's officially sanctioned...that's a little ridiculous. Why can't a student just ask a bunch of his classmates to go on a bike ride? He/you should do it that way to "test the waters." Then, if there's enough interest, go to the school to request official sanctioning.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Dan
01-29-19, 01:53 PM
#9
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Dan
01-29-19, 05:15 PM
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Call the folks at the Norcal High School Cycling League. They have a very successful high school mountain bike racing program that started very small. They've been through the process many times with many schools. My son raced with them 15 years ago. They've grown tremendously since then.
Brent
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01-29-19, 07:34 PM
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My son is a Junior and has been cycling somewhat seriously since he was 12 years old. Several metric centuries, 2 full century and the full length of the 2018 Ragbrai under his belt. However I have a feeling he is getting tired of riding with his old man and my older friends. He has mentioned he would like to ride with people his age but we don't really know anybody with kids his age who ride.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
I suggested he invited a few of his close friends but they are not really interested in cycling but they all said that him crossing the whole state of Iowa cycling was pretty bad ass. I then suggested he spread some flyers at school or post on their social media pages to see if he would find anybody interested but he told me the PE teacher told him it would have to be a sanctioned team or a club if he were to recruit from within the school. I haven't verified if that's true or not but I wouldn't be opposed if doing it in an official way. I just don't know how to go about it.
Anybody here have experience dealing with school clubs as a parent? Would I need a teacher to join us to be an official club? Maybe we could get the LBS to see if they could give us a discount on gear? We could start with recreational rides leading to organized events during the spring. Maybe even competing in a near future but I'd imagine that opens up a huge liability for the school which they may not be interested.
Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
For our school, we can start an indepenedent student club, but it is not allowed to go own field trips, and I would recon that cycling trips would count as field trip since it incurrs liability. You would have to get an administration run club if you want to go on official cycling trips. For my club, which is student run, we still take trips, but it's more just people hanging out at, say New York City, for a special event. There is also the minimum club member thing, so you probably need 10-15 people minimum at every meeting to remain an official club, at least for student run clubs
Source: I started and ran a successful club in my sophomore year
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