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Leaders’ Summits & Coach Retreats

NICA coaches are not just skills instructors; they are leaders, role models, and mentors for their student athletes. NICA’s coach retreats and leaders’ summits take a deep dive into the skills, knowledge, and best-practices of youth development.

Both coach retreats and leaders’ summits play an important role in coach development: they bring coaches together for live training, facilitate connection and community, and empower coaches to be effective leaders in their mountain bike communities.

Coach Retreats

Coach retreats are hosted by leagues. These in-person gatherings usually take place in the pre-season, and serve to connect and inspire NICA coaches regionally. Leagues determine the content and workshops that will best serve their coach community, and will often host various other training sessions during the same weekend, such as On-the-Bike Skills clinics, first aid training, and more. Coach retreats count for continuing education units; depending on the schedule, some coach retreats may also offer the core four workshops in NICA’s leaders’ summit.

Leaders’ Summits

The NICA Leaders’ Summit is defined as a set of four core workshops that build the foundation for coach leadership. Finishing all four Leaders’ Summit workshops is a requirement for anyone seeking a Level 3 coach license. Leaders’ Summits can also count as CEUs for any current Level 3 coach, or for Level 2 coaches seeking CEUs.

  • Session 1: Working with NICA Student-Athletes
  • Session 2: Managing NICA Teams
  • Session 3: Risk Management as a NICA Coach
  • Session 4: The NICA Handbook & Promoting Positive Behaviors

Hosted by leagues, an in-person leaders’ summit is a full day of connecting and learning with other local NICA coaches. In-person summits may be held at the same time as coach retreats. What defines an in-person summit (versus a coach retreat) is the ability to complete all four of the core summit requirements.

NICA’s coach education staff host online leaders’ summits throughout the year. These one-hour, live Zoom workshops are hosted at a variety of times/dates to accommodate coaches’ busy schedules. Coaches can complete the four core summit sessions in any order over the course of time. We keep track of attendance, but encourage participants to also track which sessions they complete.

Level 3 or CEUs?

To achieve a Level 3 license, coaches must attend all four core sessions of the NICA Leaders’ Summit. The Coach Education team tracks attendance using Zoom’s attendance reports. Once you’ve attended all four sessions, your Pit Zone profile will be updated within one week of finishing your final session.

If you are already a Level 3 coach, or you are a Level 2 coach looking for CEUs, you can attend sessions individually for 1 CEU each. Please inform the NICA coach education department if you are taking any workshops for CEUs. Instructions are provided at the beginning of each session.

ONLINE LEADERS’ SUMMITS

To attend NICA’s online Leaders’ Summit, view our schedule and pre-register for each workshop.* To complete the summit to fulfill your Level 3 license requirements, you must take each session once. You do not need to complete them in order, or during the same week. Note that you must register for each session individually; registering for a Monday session does not sign you up for the full week.

* Important Note: To register, you must have a Zoom account or create a free account before registering. If you have a Zoom account with the same email address as your Pit Zone account, this streamlines your attendance process.

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